Welcome from ASM President

Dear Members and Fellow Microbiologists,
Welcome to the ASM 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, the premier event on our calendar. Thediscipline of microbiology continues to display its importance in all aspects of our lives, and ourmeeting will showcase scientific advances and breakthroughs made by you our members over thelast year.
The Local Organising and Scientific Program Committees have put together a fantastic and diversescientific and social program for all of us to enjoy. I would like to congratulate and thank them fortheir hard work, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of their efforts play out over the next fewdays.
Our meeting provides many opportunities for you to engage with our community, including plenarytalks, symposium sessions, award lectures, Nancy Millis student award talks, the Nancy Millismentoring program, networking sessions and interactive poster sessions. The program bringstogether international experts and leaders complemented by the best of our local microbiologycommunity to explore all things microbiology, which we hope will inspire you. We will see manypresentations from our students and early career researchers, and we strive to showcase thistalented up-and-coming next generation at our national meetings. This year our program will alsofeature new awards in industry engagement and education, highlighting our commitment to supportall sectors of our discipline.
I am delighted to say that our meeting will also support the important work of our microbiologyeducators through EduCon, as well as our diagnostic laboratory scientists, technicians, microbiologyregistrars and clinical microbiologists through CliniCon. These focussed meetings provide a fantasticcomplement to our scientific program, and I hope they will create new networking opportunities. Ialso encourage all attendees at this conference to join presentations offered in these adjunctmeetings if there are topics that grab your interest.
For those who are not yet ASM members, I encourage you to join. Becoming a member is easy, andprovides many benefits, such as the ability to attend other ASM specialised conferences atsignificantly reduced rates and state-based meetings at no cost, as well opportunities to receiveprizes and awards that recognise your contribution to microbiology. More information about theASM, including details on how to become a member, can be found at our website:
www.theasm.org.au
, where you can also apply for membership online.
Thank you also to all our wonderful industry supporters. We are grateful for your continued supportthis year and over many years. I urge all delegates to engage with the trade exhibition.
Finally, thank you to everyone attending this meeting for your support of ASM 2023. I welcome youand hope you enjoy this meeting, learn new things about the science of microbiology, make newfriends, network and connect with colleagues. Its time to enjoy the meeting!

Mark Schembri, FASM
ASM President