Professor Fanus Venter and the University of Pretoria hosted the South African Society of Microbiology (SASM) conference from 4-7 April at the Misty Hills Hotel and Conference Centre in Muldersdrift. This beautiful venue, nested within the Cradle of Humankind, accommodated delegates from countries including South Africa, Australia, Germany, Spain and England. With eight keynote addresses, over 70 presentations and more than 100 posters, the conference boasted an incredible variety of research.  

Many FABIans attended, presenting a total of eight posters and eight oral presentations. Additionally, Prof Brenda Wingfield gave a keynote address titled “Genes to Genomes and Back Again”. Nicole Soal and Claudette Dewing were awarded 2^nd and 3^rd place Honours posters prizes, respectively, and Andi Wilson was awarded best PhD presentation at the gala dinner on 6 April. The highlight of the gala dinner however, was the awarding of the SASM Gold Medal to our very own, Prof Brenda Wingfield. This is also the first time this medal has been presented to a woman. A huge thank you goes out to Prof Venter and his team for organising a fantastic event and to Prof Bernard Slippers and FABI for sponsoring one of the night’s poster session.

(Photos by Kinosha Moodley, Andi Wilson, Claudette Dewing, Bernard Slippers and Dineo Mailula)