American Society for Microbiology

The American Society for Microbiology, abbreviated ASM ( German: American Society for Microbiology ), is an association of microbiologists based in Washington, DC, United States. The ASM was founded in 1899, and then consisted of 59 members.

Objectives and Activities

The objectives of the ASM are promotion of microbiology and their public attention, the application of microbiology to the welfare of mankind and the advancement of knowledge in the field of microbiology.

The activities of the ASM consist of

• The support of education and training of microbiologists,
• Information to the public in the field of microbiology,
• Publication of journals and books,
• The organization of scientific conferences, workshops and seminars.

Structure and Membership

Member of ASM can be anyone who is interested in microbiology and at least holds a bachelor degree in microbiology or a neighboring science or equivalent experience. The number of members in 2011 was more than 43,000, of which nearly two-thirds in the U.S. were located and more than a third outside the U.S. The ASM is the microbiologist - union with the most members.

The society is divided into 27 academic departments, 35 local groups, six committees, which are responsible for training, international affairs, conferences, memberships, Public and Scientific Affairs and publications, and the American Academy of Microbiology. The Committee consists of a President, a Vice President who replaces the President after his term of office, a secretary and a treasurer.

Publications

The ASM continuously published reference books and periodical journals. The following journals are published by the ASM:

• Academy Colloquia Reports
• Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
• Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Clinicat and Vaccine Immunology
• Clinical Microbiology Reviews
• Eucaryotic Cell
• Infection and Immunity
• Journal of Bacteriology
• Journal of Clinical Microbiology
• Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education
• Journal of Virology
• MBio ( one for everyone accessible, only published online magazine, http://mbio.asm.org ) /
• Microbe ( member magazine with news and technical papers )
• Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
• Molecular and Cellular Biology