The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It was founded in 1899. The Society publishes a variety of scientific journals, textbooks, and other educational materials related to microbiology and infectious diseases. ASM organizes annual meetings, as well as workshops and professional development opportunities for its members.
Gopinath Balakrish Nair is an Indian microbiologist known for his work on cholera. At present, he is the Ag. Regional Adviser, Research Policy and Cooperation Unit, Department of Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization. Before joining WHO, he was the executive director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, NCR, India. Before joining THSTI, he was working in NICED as the director. He has also served as the director of Laboratory Sciences Division at the International Center for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research,, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes safety, security, and sustainability through science and innovation. CRDF Global was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1992 under the FREEDOM Support Act and established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation. This unique public-private partnership promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, and training. CRDF Global was originally named the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation for the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (CRDF).
A cloth filter is a simple and cost-effective appropriate technology method for reducing the contamination of drinking water, developed for use mainly in Bangladesh. Water collected in this way has a greatly reduced pathogen count. Though not always perfectly safe, it is an improvement for poor people with limited options.
Dr. Margaret Jane Pittman (1901–1995) was a pioneering bacteriologist whose research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on typhoid, cholera, and pertussis helped generate the development of vaccinations against these diseases as well as others. Dr. Pittman was also the first female to lead a NIH laboratory, when in 1957, she was appointed chief of their Laboratory of Bacterial Products, a position she held until 1971. In the 1960s she was a key NIH participant in developing standards for cholera vaccine in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization's campaign to control cholera in the region that is now Bangladesh. After her retirement in 1971, she continued to work for the World Health Organization as a consultant on vaccine standards, working in Cairo and Madrid and for the State Institute for Serum and Vaccine in Iran and Connaught Laboratories, Ltd., in Toronto.
Presented annually since 1991, the Stockholm Water Prize is an award that recognizes outstanding achievements in water related activities. Over the past three decades, Stockholm Water Prize Laureates have come from across the world and represented a wide range of professions, disciplines and activities in the field of water.
Firdausi Qadri is a Bangladeshi scientist with specialization in immunology and infectious disease research. She has worked over 25 years on the development of vaccines for cholera and has expertise on other infectious disease like ETEC, Typhoid, Helicobacter pylori, rotavirus, etc. Currently, she is working as a director for Centre for Vaccine Sciences of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). She also serves as chairperson of the Institute for developing Science and Health initiatives. Her scientific achievements lie in enteric infections and vaccines including Vibrio cholerae and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli—major causes of severe diarrhea. She has also focused on studying the immune response in Helicobacter pylori infected people in Bangladesh and the responses in patients with typhoid fever as well as vaccinees. The Government of Bangladesh awarded her the Independence Award in 2023.
Ashanti Johnson is an American geochemist and chemical oceanographer. She is the first African American to earn a doctoral degree in oceanography from Texas A&M University.
Umesh Chandra Chaturvedi was an Indian virologist, immunologist, medical microbiologist, CSIR Emeritus Scientist and a former chairman of the Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation. The founder head of the department of microbiology at King George's Medical University, he is known for his studies on Dengue virus infection. Chaturvedi is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian National Science Academy as well as the Royal College of Pathologists and National Academy of Medical Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1981.
Brahm Shanker Srivastava is an Indian microbiologist, inventor and a former deputy director and head of Microbiology division of the Central Drug Research Institute. He is the founder of Biotech Research, a non-profit non governmental institution promoting research in the field of biotechnology and is a director of Nextec Lifesciences Private Limited, a start up involved in biomedical products and research applications. He is known for his researches on microbial genetics and is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.
Jody W. Deming is an American oceanographer. She is a professor of Oceanography and a marine microbiologist at the University of Washington (UW). Her research interests include studies of cold adapted microbes in their relation to astrobiology, biotechnology, and bioremediation. She is known for her extensive field work, being involved in over 50 nautical research expeditions. Deming is also the cofounder of the UW Astrobiology Extremophile Laboratory.
Saundra Herndon Oyewole is an American microbiologist.
Laurence G. Rahme is an American microbiologist who is Professor of Surgery and Microbiology at Harvard Medical School (HMS). At Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) she also holds the title of Director of the Molecular Surgical Laboratory as a microbiologist in the Department of Surgery and Molecular Biology. Additionally, she holds a Senior Scientific Staff position at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Boston.
Iruka Okeke is a Nigerian pharmaceutical microbiologist currently holding the position of professor at the College of Medicine,University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Iruka's career is the study neglected enteric bacteria such as E. coli, known for their potential to cause fatal bloodstream and diarrheal infections. She advocates for the utilization of Genomics approaches to enhance surveillance and gain a better understanding of pathogen virulence. Iruka's research interests extend to combating antimicrobial resistance and investigating bacterial pathogenesis, epidemiology, and antimicrobial resistance of enteric bacteria. Iruka's contributions to the field have earned her recognition as a fellow of esteemed institutions such as the Nigerian Academy of Sciences, and African Academy of Sciences.[1]
Riley D. Housewright was an American microbiologist who conducted research on germ warfare. Having been assigned to the Fort Detrick laboratory in the mid-1940s and appointed scientific director in 1956, Housewright played a major role in the development of bioweapons for a proposed attack on Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1966, he was appointed president of the American Society for Microbiology. He left Fort Detrick in 1970 following President Nixon's moratorium on US bioweapons research, and later published several books on water safety for the National Academy of Sciences. In the 1980s, Housewright became executive director of the American Society for Microbiology. He died in Frederick, Maryland, in 2003.
Dr. Shanta Dutta is an Indian medical researcher on Gastrointestinal diseases and currently the director of ICMR-National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (ICMR-NIRBI). She has over 35 years of research experience on infectious Diseases especially enteric diseases. Topics of her research interest include prevention and control of acute and chronic diarrheal diseases, Antimicrobial resistance, Disease pathogenesis, Developing point of care diagnostics, enteric vaccines and alternative therapeutics, AI & Analytics. She has been elected as a Fellow of West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology (FWAST); National Academy of Sciences, India (FNASc), and Fellow of National Academy of Medical Science (FAMS). In recognition to her immense contribution to the medical science she has been awarded by ICMR, IAAM, ISCA, IPHA etc.
Melanie Blokesch is a German microbiologist. Her research focuses on Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium causing cholera. She is a professor of life sciences at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where she heads the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology.
Dorothy May Powelson was an American microbiologist and associate professor at Purdue University. She is known for her mentorship and her research on cell properties of cancers and myxospores.
Ramalingam "Rama" Chellappa is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, who works at Johns Hopkins University. At Johns Hopkins University, he is a member of the Center for Language and Speech Processing, the Center for Imaging Science, the Institute for Assured Autonomy, and the Mathematical Institute for Data Sciences. He joined Johns Hopkins University after 29 years at The University of Maryland. Before that, he was an assistant, associate professor, and later, director, of the University of Southern California's Signal and Image Processing institute.
