4 minute read
A President speaks
Unparalleled achievements
On 8 December last year, a 91-year-old grandmother, Margaret Keenan, became the first person in the UK to be administered the first of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine. Regulatory approval for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine followed swiftly on 30 December 2020 and 8 January 2021, respectively. At the time of writing, over 18 million people in the UK have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and with current rollout rates 16 million people will have received their first dose of the vaccine by the middle of February.
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It’s well worth reflecting on; three vaccines developed, trialled and approved and several more in late-stage development, to combat a new coronavirus pandemic, all within a year of the first reported cases of SARS-CoV-2. By any measure, it is a remarkable feat of human endeavour and an achievement unparalleled in the history of medicine. Of course, some challenges remain, with new variants of the virus now becoming widespread in a number of countries, with information on the likely efficacy of these vaccines now emerging. Despite this, the speed at which new vaccines have been developed, the diversity of approaches to vaccine design and the speed at which production, validation and regulatory approval have taken place is nothing short of incredible. If politics is the art of the possible then science is surely the art of making the impossible possible.
Brendan Gilmore
Queen’s University Belfast These successes, after a year of tribulations, personal sacrifice and tragic loss, bring hope for a return to aspects of normal life. They also point towards the unfathomable value of the science base, not only here in the UK but across the world, and the importance of continuing to support and invest in both private and public sector scientific research and development. It’s always hard to predict when and from where scientific discoveries will arise, so investing in and maintaining a diverse science base is an essential part of any future pandemic preparedness, and also our ability as a society to respond to emerging global challenges including antimicrobial resistance, food safety and security, climate change, the health of our oceans and addressing health inequalities around the globe. A flexible and diverse science base is the foundation of a healthy economy and a healthy society. At SfAM we support scientists working in all areas of applied microbiology, across a wide range of disciplines, from science outreach activities in the classroom, right through to undergraduates, PhD candidates and scientists at all career stages in the public and private sectors.
Late last year it was my pleasure to inform our 2020 recipient of the WH Pierce Prize, Dr Joan Geoghegan from the Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, that she had been awarded the Society for Applied Microbiology’s most prestigious award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the understanding of the molecular basis of Staphylococcus aureus colonisation, biofilm formation and infection. The WH Pierce Prize is awarded annually to an early career microbiologist who has made a substantial contribution to the science of applied microbiology. Nomination (by members of the Society only) for the 2021 prize is now open, so please consider putting forward a nomination. You can read more about Dr Joan Geoghegan and her world-leading research later in this issue.
In February, SfAM joined forces with the National Biofilm Innovation Centre (NBIC) for a one-day virtual meeting ‘Microbes and Biofilms in the Food Industry’, with nine excellent speakers from the UK, Ireland and the USA and over 300 delegates, discussing the challenges of controlling microbial contamination, new technologies, biocides and regulatory control of contamination control measures in the food industry. Our varied and exciting programme of events for the remainder of the year is available on our website. In particular, I am looking forward to the Early Career Scientist (ECS) Research Symposium 2021, this year celebrating its 10th birthday and running from 22 to 26 March. The week-long event highlights and celebrates the very best of our early career scientists from industry and academia. Providing opportunities to present, listen, network and participate, this is a symposium not to be missed. I encourage you to support our early career scientists, the lifeblood of our Society and the future of our discipline, by joining us in March. I wish all of our ECS Committee and contributors a successful meeting and fruitful networking! I thank them for their dedication and hard work in organising this superb programme of talks and events, and for the valuable contribution they make to our Society. As we move from winter to spring, I look forward to continue working with and hearing from our members, and to seeing you (hopefully in person) at a future meeting.
