The Luxembourg Society for Microbiology (LSfM) held its first national conference at the Laboratoire national de santé in Dudelange on 11 May.  

The day was hailed a great success by the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg (IBBL) and the occasion for its members to meet, present their activities, discuss the impact on science, health and the economy, as well as to establish new synergies.

“Microbiology is a flourishing sector in Luxembourg and abroad. It was stimulating to see the 70 participants, coming from fields as different as healthcare, ecology, academia and industry, exchange ideas and knowledge. The high rate of participation at the first Luxembourg Microbiology Day reflects the need for local actors to interact and ideally coordinate their actions”, said Conny Mathay, LSfM’s Board Member and IBBL’s Biospecimen processing team leader.

Three speakers opened the scientific programme on the agenda. Professor Paul Wilmes from the University of Luxembourg focused on the latest results in microbiome research. Dr Guy Colling from the National Museum of Natural History highlighted the importance of microorganisms in museum collections. Finally, Dr Philippe Delfosse from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology closed the first discussion session by exploring the use of microorganisms in agriculture to ensure circular economy. 

The second part of the agenda was dedicated to the LSfM members’ activities. Eight young researchers competed in pitching their research projects in just five minutes. Linda Wampach and Dr Anna Heintz-Buschart, both from the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, were selected by the audience and rewarded for their oral presentations. 

The Luxembourg Society for Microbiology was founded in 2016 in an effort to to consolidate the activities in the field of microbiology on the national level. The founding institutes are the Luxembourg Institute of Health, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, the Laboratoire National de Santé, the University of Luxembourg and the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg.