Newsletter
Special Group Microbial Viruses October 2025
Autumn greetings, dear researchers of the bacteriophage and archaeal viruses!
As the leaves change colors and the universities fill again with students for the new semester, we are pleased to share some exciting updates and opportunities with you regarding bacteriophage research.
Autumn greetings, dear researchers of the bacteriophage and archaeal viruses!
As the leaves change colors and the universities fill again with students for the new semester, we are pleased to share some exciting updates and opportunities with you regarding bacteriophage research.
Upcoming symposium: Join us at the annual meeting of the VAAM 2026!
We are thrilled to announce that the Fachgruppe "Mikrobielle Viren" and Fachgruppe "Regulation" will be co-hosting a joint symposium at the annual meeting of the VAAM taking place from March 22 to 25, 2026 in Berlin:
We especially encourage early career researchers to submit abstracts and join us for an engaging discussion. Please spread the word!
Following the symposium, we will hold the annual general assembly of the Fachgruppe “Mikrobielle Viren”. Importantly, we will have our biannual speakers’ election. So be sure to mark your calendars! If you have agenda topics, please let us know in advance. Your input is highly appreciated.
For more opportunities to meet in 2026: You find an actual microbial virus conference selection below, together with a report of our Speed Dating at DGHM in Jena this September. We hope you find these updates and opportunities inspiring and helpful. As always, we are here to support and connect with you in the world of bacteriophage research.
Best regards,
David Gerlach (DGHM), David.Gerlach@bio.lmu.de
Katharina Höfer (VAAM), katharina.hoefer@synmikro.mpi-marburg.mpg.de
Stefanie Barbirz (VAAM), stefanie.barbirz@medicalschool-berlin.de
Katharina Höfer (VAAM), katharina.hoefer@synmikro.mpi-marburg.mpg.de
Stefanie Barbirz (VAAM), stefanie.barbirz@medicalschool-berlin.de
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Speed dating Success (with room for improvement)
We and our viral mascot recently represented the special group at the "Fachgruppe speed dating" organized by the "Junge DGHM" at the DGHM meeting 2025 in Jena. We loved the concept of offering a low-barrier entry to connect with young scientists, but we hope that the general concept and visibility of the event will be improved in future iterations.
Mark your calendars: upcoming phage-related conferences and events
We're happy to share the following upcoming conferences and events with you:
- DZIF TransPhage-Net Meeting
February 26 2026
https://www.dzif.de/de/dzif-transphage-net - 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for Virology
March 17-20, 2026, Heidelberg, Germany
https://virology-meeting.de/ - Annual meeting of the VAAM 2026
March 22-25, 2026, Berlin, Germany
https://vaam-kongress.de/ - 2026 Phage Discovery Workshop 19A
June 12-18 2026
https://seaphages.org/meetings/91/ - Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Meeting
August 3-7,2026, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
https://conferences.union.wisc.edu/phages/ - Oxford Bacteriophage Conference – Phages 2026
September 1–2, 2026, Oxford, UK
http://lpmhealthcare.com/phages-2026/ - International symposium of the SPP2330
October 5-7, Berlin, Germany
https://spp2330.de/news/2026-international-spp-2330-symposium-save-the-date/
