Lectures and Symposia Sponsored by the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) sponsors the Annual History of Microbiology Lecture at the ASM General Meeting as well as Symposia on a wide range of topics related to the history of microbiology. 

Lists of Past History of Microbiology Lectures and Symposia are available here:

History of Microbiology Lectures 1990-Present

Past CHOMA Symposia 1993-Present

Recordings of the 2011 Lecture and Symposium are available here:

2011 History of Microbiology Lecture:
Death in a Small Package: Anthrax, History, and Microbiology
Susan D. Jones
University of Minnesota, St. Paul-Minneapolis

During the 1860s-1910s, a terrible disease killed many workers in British wool factories.  The disease turned out to be inhalational anthrax.  This lecture describes the intense scientific and public health investigations that discovered how "woolsorters disease" had spread globally and from animals to humans.  Historical research is combined with recent genomic studies of Bacillus anthracis' geographical distribution over the past two hundred years.  Finally, the lecture proposes the nineteenth-century "woolsorters disease" outbreaks as a key determinant in the development of B. anthracis as a biological weapon agent. 

{vimeo}31035990|500|380{/vimeo}

2011 CHOMA Symposium:  
Bacillus anthracis for War and Terrorism: A Continuing Story

This symposiumstarts with a clarification of why Bacillus anthracis has been favored by all national biological warfare programs of the 20th Century, the next two presentations focus on issues more relevant to today's threats as posed by lone operators and subnational actors, as exemplified by the "Amerithrax" case, and approaches for solving such cases.  The last presentation makes an argument for incorporating certain ethical issues that have so far been missing in the training of microbiologists, including the teaching of aspects of international law and mores that seek to prevent misuse of science.              

Symposium Conveners:
James A. Poupard (Pharma Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA) and
Raymond A. Zilinskas (Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA)

Symposium Speakers:
1.  Bacillus anthracis as a Biological Weapon Agent
    Raymond A. Zilinskas (Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA)
{vimeo}31032455|500|380{/vimeo}

2.  Reacting to Biological Threats: "Amerithrax" (recording currently unavailable)
     Douglas J. Beecher (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico VA)

3.  Applications of Bioforensics to Bioterrorism Investigations
      Paul Keim (Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ)
{vimeo}31033936|500|380{/vimeo}

4.  Incorporating Issues Pertaining to the Misuse of Applied Microbiology into an 
     Academic Curriculum
     Michael J. Imperiale (University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI)
{vimeo}31035317|500|380{/vimeo}


For questions or to suggest future Lecture and Symposia topics, contact the Archivist, Jeff Karr at jkarr@asmusa.org

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