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IS-MPMI Reporter
Editor-in-Chief : Brad Day Managing Editor : Michelle Bjerkness Editor : Lauren Bennett Design : Joel Berg
The IS-MPMI Reporter is published three times per year by the International Society of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions at 3340 Pilot Knob Road , St . Paul , MN 55121 U . S . A ., Phone : + 1.651.454.7250 , Fax : + 1.651.454.0766 , E-mail : ismpmi @ scisoc . org , Web : www . ismpminet . org . The IS-MPMI Reporter is distributed to all members .
IS-MPMI Board of Directors
President SOPHIEN KAMOUN
President-Elect SHENG YANG HE
Immediate Past President , ex officio FELICE CERVONE
Treasurer PETER DODDS
Immediate Past Treasurer MATTEO LORITO
Editor-in-Chief , Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions Jane Glazebrook
Editor-in-Chief , IS-MPMI Reporter BRAD DAY
Director MARIA J . HARRISON
Director ROGER W . INNES
Director REGINE R . KAHMANN
Director EVA KONDOROSI
Director MARY BETH MUDGETT
Director CORNE M . J . PIETERSE
Director KEN SHIRASU
Executive Vice President , ex officio AMY HOPE
IS-MPMI REPORTER DEADLINE The deadline for submitting items for the next issue is August 20 , 2013 . Share your news , accomplishments , and upcoming meeting details with your colleagues . Submit articles , announcements , and any ideas you may have for the next issue . You can send an e-mail ( ismpmireportereditor @ scisoc . org ) or submit your item online ( www . ismpminet . org / newsletter / submissionform . asp ).
Send items to : Editor-in-Chief Brad Day Michigan State University Phone : + 1.517.353.7991 Fax : + 1.517.375.1781 E-mail : bday @ msu . edu
Sophien Kamoun , President
A Letter from the President
Science on The Med Sophien Kamoun , The Sainsbury Laboratory sophien . kamoun @ tsl . ac . uk
I am pleased to report that preparations for the XVI International Congress , to be held July 6 – 10 , 2014 , on the Greek island of Rhodes , are proceeding according to plan . Congress Chief Organizer Eris Tjamos and his Local Organizing Committee have been working diligently toward an exciting high-quality program . They have been consulting closely with the Board of Directors ( BOD ), which forms the bulk of the International Scientific Committee .
In recent years , the International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions ( IS- MPMI ) has received much feedback from its members about improving the scientific program of the international congresses . We listened . Our main action is the approval by the BOD in January 2013 of a document entitled “ Guidelines for organizing the scientific program of IC-MPMI .” The objective of this framework is to streamline the organization of the congress to ensure a consistent scientific program that matches the expectations of the BOD and the society membership .
The key feature of the “ Guidelines ” document is that the program is developed through a collaboration between the local organizers and the BOD . Specific rules have been set . To encourage interactions between members of different communities , overly specialized concurrent session topics , particularly taxon-specific ones , will be avoided . For example , a session on “ pathogenesis ” is preferable to one on “ bacterial pathogenesis .” Similarly , talks on “ nematodes ” are better spread throughout the program than grouped together in a single specialized session , which runs the risk of being attended mainly by specialists .
Another excellent decision that has broad support from the BOD is based on the positive experience of the 2007 Sorrento Congress . Concurrent session topics may be revised following abstract submission to ensure that the program reflects the interests of the participants and to bring about a balanced program . We also plan to offer abstract authors the option to choose an “ OTHER ” option , in addition to the preliminary list of topics , to capture the interests of all the participants . More than half of the congress speakers will be selected from the abstracts , so those who submit their best work will be rewarded .
A related decision is to mix speakers presenting different topics in the plenary sessions . This worked well at the 2012 Kyoto Congress . It should ensure better attendance throughout the conference . For instance , in the past , participants working on pathogens may have skipped the “ Symbiosis ” Plenary Session ( I sheepishly admit to doing just that ), and vice versa . Therefore , plenary sessions will not be labeled with specific themes but rather arbitrarily numbered to encourage broad and consistent attendance .
Finally , IS-MPMI must ensure that its congress truly reflects the diversity of the society membership . The speaker lineup must guarantee balance in gender , career stage , and geography . The BOD decided that gender balance should be at worst 35 – 65 %. Also , at least 50 % of the plenary speakers should be different from those who spoke at the preceding congress .
Many of us wait in anticipation for the biennial IC-MPMI . I am personally thrilled about the prospect of discovering historic Rhodes and experiencing again the legendary Greek hospitality . Our Greek hosts are fully dedicated to delivering an exceptional congress in the beautiful setting of the Mediterranean Sea . We hope that the “ Guidelines ” will contribute to the success of the next congress and beyond . You can be the judge and arbiter . n
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