Founded in 1927, IUMS is a prestigious Union that has been serving microbiology for nearly a century. IUMS brings together the microbiological societies of the planet, facilitates scientific interactions, fostering and promoting international exchange, dialogue, and collaboration amongst the international community of microbiologists involved in the discovery and applied sciences as well as in development of policy. IUMS uses the input from microbiological societies to generate a vision and shape the future.
In a moment characterized by the dramatic climate change, IUMS is concerned about climate change and the loss of diversity of the microbial world and has therefore published a paper entitled “Save the Microbes to Save the planet”. With this paper IUMS seeks to align all microbiological societies in raising awareness on the importance of microorganisms in sustaining every form of life on the planet through working towards, and advocating strongly for, the preservation of global microbial diversity. IUMS calls for an active participation of all microbiological societies to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Microbes can provide sustainable solutions to mitigate the degeneration of climate and loss of biodiversity on the planet. IUMS is calling all microbiology societies to join the union so that together we can raise the voice of microbiology to prioritize and promote globally research for microbe-based sustainable solutions. Microbiology can have a powerful impact on the health of the planet and its inhabitants, but to achieve this IUMS needs the active and massive participation of microbiological societies and their members.
IUMS is a member of the International Science Council (ICS). ICS is a non-governmental organisation with unique global membership that brings together 45 international scientific Unions and Associations. IUMS works with ICS, at the intersection of science and policy, to ensure that science is integrated into international policy development and that relevant policies consider both scientific knowledge and the needs of science. Much of the ICS work on science for policy takes place at the international level, working with the United Nations (UN).
The scientific activities of the Union are conducted by three specialist international committees, five international commissions and two federations. Their major activities include the classification and nomenclature of bacteria, fungi and viruses, food microbiology and culture collections.
Coherent with its mission, IUMS organizes an International Congress every 2 years. The next edition of the IUMS Congress will be held in Florence (Italy) on October 23-25, 2024 (https://iums2024.com). The overarching theme of the meeting will be Microorganisms for sustainable solutions: environmental & clinical implementations. In addition to scientific exchanges, round tables and workshops will be organized to facilitate discussions on important topics.
Members of IUMS microbiological societies have a discount on registration fees and their attendance is prioritized.
If you are interested in becoming a IUMS member and sharing our mission, please contact:
