Applied Microbiology

The Profession of Microbiology (POM) track is everybody's track. No matter what area of microbiology you work in and what stage in your career you're at, the topics covered in POM are things you can use right away in your own practice, from improving your communication and teaching skills to getting out in the community and being an advocate for the microbial sciences!

Agricultural Microbiology covers topics related to the role of microorganisms in the mobilization of nutrients for plant growth such as the relationship of microbial genetics and biological nitrogen; plant surface microflora and plant nutrition; developments in grass-bacteria associations; discusses the use of microorganisms in the management of pathogens, pests, and weeds and includes topics such as the microbial control of insect pests; microbial herbicides; and agricultural antibiotics. It also strategies in bioconversion such as the production of biogas from agricultural wastes; bioconversion of lignocelluloses into protein-rich food and feed; and ethanol fuel from biomass.

Plant Pathology outlines how to recognize, treat, and prevent plant diseases. It covers the wide spectrum of abiotic, fungal, viral, bacterial, nematode and other plant diseases and their associated epidemiology. It also covers the genetics of resistance and modern management on plant disease.

Containing the latest information on Pathogenesis and Diagnosis, Veterinary Microbiology addresses both specific, defined problems, as well as trends in host/parasite interaction. This session is a complete reference on microbial biology, diseases, diagnosis, prevention, and control. Also foundation of knowledge on pathogens and how they interact with hosts.

We are in the era of speed and precision. Like many other disciplines in environmental biology, aquatic microbiology tends to move forward with new rapid and cutting edge tools to study water-related microorganisms from river banks to the abyss of the oceans. These innovations help to resolve the issues with determining the risks associated with climate change, human activities as well as the interactions between species to redefine what a healthy water environment is for all living organisms sharing these environments.

The track is organized into three thematic sessions: Soil Microbiology, Water Microbiology, and Environmental Biotechnology. The first sessions includes researches on soil as a habitat for microorganisms, and introduces the main types of soil microorganisms, how they interact with the soil, and the techniques used in their analysis. In the second section includes Freshwater, Wastewater, and Drinking Water Microbiology and assays of microbial pathogens-bacteria, viruses, and protozoan parasites which are used in food and water quality control as well as an exercise in applied bioremediation of contaminants in water. Environmental Microbiology also includes the study of microorganisms that exist in artificial environments such as bioreactors.

Exciting developments in Food Microbiology has been the availability and application of molecular analyses that have allowed scientists to address microbial food safety questions beyond merely determining whether particular pathogens are in a food. Such global analyses are allowing scientists to ask deeper questions regarding food-borne pathogens and are currently leading the way to ascertaining the genes, proteins, networks, and cellular mechanisms that determine the persistence of strains in foods and other environments, determine why certain strains are more commonly isolated from foods, and determine why certain strains are more pathogenic. Such molecular tools are also making it possible to more fully determine the microflora present in foods along with pathogens, and to assess the effect that the food microbiota has on the death, survival, and pathogenicity of food borne pathogens.

Molecular Biology and Physiology (MBP) covers the full spectrum of molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie microbiological phenomena. The shared emphasis in the various MBP sub-tracks is to achieve a detailed mechanistic understanding of microbial life at the cellular and molecular level.

Medical Microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious as well as non-infectious diseases. Medical microbiologists deal with clinical consultations on the investigation, principles of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases; the scientific development, administrative and medical direction of a clinical microbiology laboratory; the establishment and direction of infection control programs across the continuum of care; communicable disease prevention and epidemiology and related public health issues.

Host-Microbe Biology (HMB), sessions on studying phages, conflict and resolution in evolution, bacterial warfare within the host, and more will cover the cutting-edge biology in the field.

Applied and Environmental Science (AES) is well-covered in the program of Applied Microbiology-2020. The most exciting findings in this field in the last few years will be presented including recent, game-changing discoveries of microbial players and physiologies in the major Biogeochemical Cycles, Microbial Interactions, Electromicrobiology and Syntheticmicrobiology.

Industrial microbiology is primarily associated with the commercial exploitation of microorganisms, and involves processes and products that are of major economic, environmental and gregarious consequentiality throughout the world.

Pharmaceutical Microbiology is an applied branch of Microbiology. It involves the study of Microorganisms associated with the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Other aspects of Pharmaceutical Microbiology include the research and development of anti-infective agents, the use of microorganisms to detect mutagenic and carcinogenic activity in prospective drugs, and the use of microorganisms in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products like insulin and human growth hormone.

Clinical and Public Health Microbiology (CPHM) has always been well-represented at Applied Microbiology Conferences, Meetings and will continue to be so at Applied Microbiology-2020. Thorough coverage of the science of antibiotic susceptibility testing: new protocols, new drug panels, new drugs in the pipeline, and new organisms to test are among the most important part of the track. Sessions in this track will also deep dive into testing and treatment of all clinically important microbe with growing incidence.

Clinical Infections and Vaccines (CIV)  will cover a range of important topics relevant to Infectious diseases and their impact on human health. The latest information on common healthcare-associated infections, such as Clostridium difficile, Pneumonia, and complicated urinary tract infections and others will be featured in this track. The science in this track works to bring together angstrom-level discovery and clinical research to reduce the burden of infectious diseases around the globe. 

Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance (AAR) will cover a range of important topics. One of the major challenges today is the rising tide of antimicrobial resistance, with the emergence of "untreatable" microbes causing diseases that were once readily treatable. The AAR track is the best place to find information regarding new antimicrobial agent discovery, preclinical investigations of new antimicrobial drugs in the pipeline, and first-look data of human clinical trials using new antimicrobial agents.