ESCMID Study Group for Epidemiological Markers - ESGEM

ESGEM Annual Report

Download the latest Annual Report.

News & Activities

2021 Annual Report Published

The Annual Report showcasing the achievements of the previous year is now available to view. Be sure to check out the report to see what the Study Group was able to accomplish in 2021 as well as what they plan for the future.

ESGEM Executive Committee election results

The ESGEM Executive Committee elections have concluded and the following members have been elected for the term of 2021-2023:

  • Guido Werner, Germany (Chair)
  • Natacha Couto, UK (Secretary)
  • Angela Novais, Portugal (Education Officer)
  • Kristin Hegstad, Norway (Science Officer)
  • Benjamin Peter Howden, Australia (Treasurer)

    The new Executive Committee will take office during the ESGEM meeting at ECCMID this year.

    We thank all previous Executive Committee members for their excellent work over the last years and are looking forward to continuing this work.

    You can find the full election report here

    2020 Annual Report Published

    The Annual Report showcasing the achievements of the previous year is now available to view. 2020 was a challenging year due to COVID-19, but check out the report to see what the Study Group was able to accomplish or plan for the future.

    ESCMID Conference

    12th International Meeting on Microbial Epidemiological Markers (IMMEM XII)

    Co-organised by ESGEM and ESCMID

    18 – 21 September 2019, Dubrovnik, Croatia

    “Moving towards genome-based pathogen surveillance – lessons learnt and challenges ahead”

    Since the mid 1980s, the ESCMID study group ESGEM has organized a tri-annual meeting called International Meeting on Microbial Epidemiological Markers (IMMEM). Altogether, 275 participants from 35 countries covering all continents convened to discuss and exchange ideas on various aspects of microbial strain typing and characterization. The programme consisted of scientific sessions, workshops, and two days of poster discussions. The application of next generation and whole genome sequencing to answer various research, public and veterinary (public) health questions was a central topic. IMMEM-XII again managed to attract an international audience and clearly demonstrated that the key issues of IMMEM and the aims and objectives of ESGEM work are more current and in demand than ever.

     

    Read the full report on the congress by clicking here

     

    See the conference programme page here

    New Executive Committee takes office

    April 16, 2020

    ESGEM has a new executive committee composed of:

    • Chairperson: Prof. Guido Werner, Germany
    • Secretary: Dr Natacha Couto, Netherlands
    • Treasurer: Prof. Edward Feil, United Kingdom
    • Education officer: Dr Joao Andre Carrico, Portugal

    Mario Ramirez and Dominique Blanc as members of the election committee invited the membership to nominate candidates and vote. The results of the elections are the following:

    • Number of members with voting right: 96
    • Number of voters: 44 (45.8%)

    Candidates:

    • João André Carriço, Portugal       30, elected
    • Guido Werner, Germany        30, elected
    • Edward Feil, United Kingdom        27, elected
    • Natacha Couto, The Netherlands        20, elected
    • Sandra Reuter, Germany        10, non-elected
    • No preference        2

    The new executive committee is elected for two years.

    ESCMID Postgraduate Education Course

    3rd Course on Principles of Molecular Microbiological Diagnostics

    Co-organised by ESGEM, ESGMD and ESCMID

    17 – 19 January 2018, Maastricht, Netherlands

    Course Objectives: Basic information on microbiological molecular diagnostics and set-up; Advanced education (interactive workshops) on technical items (participants can discuss their own questions with experts); Advantages and pitfalls of specific techniques; Setting up molecular diagnostic laboratory (low resource settings); Typing approaches for infection control; New MDx techniques (NGS, automation, multiplex, mass spectrometry); Emerging fields in MDx (microbioma diagnostic applications; electronic nose expectations, etc.); Future perspectives of MDx in the clinical microbiological laboratory

    Programme

    Course material in the ESCMID eLibrary

    ESCMID Postgraduate Education Course

    Workshop on Migrants’ Health

    Co-organised by ESGCP, ESGVH, ESGEM, ESGMYC, the Ministry of Health of Oman, the ESCMID Task Force for Emerging Infections (EITaF), WHO EMRO, ECDC

    8 – 10 March 2018 Muscat, Oman

    Course Objectives: to highlight the initiatives for monitoring migrants’ health, prevent and control infectious diseases in migrants in GCC and EMRO; to discuss the impact of migrants on the health systems of the hosting countries especially for vaccine preventable diseases, importation of communicable diseases and AMR; to present the ways to enhance GCC / EMRO preparedness for infectious diseases in migrants during peace and conflict; to highlight the importance of intergovernmental and international organizations collaboration required to address migrants’ health needs in GCC / EMRO; to discuss the role and impact of migrants on the elimination programs for TB, malaria, HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses, and what strategies countries can follow to address the challenge; to discuss the ways on how countries can establish surveillance and integrated research for migrants’ health

    Programme

    Course material in the ESCMID eLibrary

    ESCMID Postgraduate Technical Workshop

    Diagnostic Microbiology: MALDI-TOF, Bacterial Genomics, Metagenomics, Automation and Molecular Microbiology

    Co-organised by ESGMD, ESGEM, the University and the University Hospital of Lausanne

    25 – 28 September 2018, Lausanne,Switzerland

    To further improve patients care, it is crucial to continue to develop new tools providing faster results, with a broader diversity of pathogenic agents with very high sensivity and specificity. To reach these goals, it is important to be aware of the new innovative methods that have recently been developed and to exchange knowledge and ideas on the future of diagnostic microbiology, including the emerging indications of metagenomics for non-infectious diseases such as obesity and asthma. This course thus aims to provide a unique platform to learn about the strengths and limitations of new diagnostic tools including Maldi-TOF, molecular diagnosis, genomics and metagenomics, as well as novel innovative technics such as nanoplasmonic sensors and atomic force microscopy. The course also offers a unique opportunity for participants to gain practical experience during the twelve different practicals led by local microbiologists.

    Programme

    Course material in the ESCMID eLibrary