Represents the interests of Microbiologists within the Association and national professional bodies.
Clinical Microbiologists are a subgroup of Clinical Scientists, a professional group registered by the Health and Care Professions Council who provide science-based diagnostic, reference and research healthcare services and whose title is protected by law in the UK. In 1984 the Association of Clinical Microbiologists (ACM) was formed to represent Clinical Microbiologists in all professional matters, such as relations with the Department of Health and the Royal College of Pathologists. The ACM established a clear role for Clinical Microbiologists in the health service by producing grading criteria, job descriptions and management roles, and recommend National Assessors when appointing Consultant Clinical Scientists in microbiology. On 1st July 2010 the ACM was dissolved and reformed as a Special Interest Group within the Association for Clinical Biochemistry called the Microbiology Group (ACB MG). Within the Association an elected Microbiology Professional Committee (MPC) was formed to act on behalf of all Clinical Microbiologists in professional affairs. In this way the ACB MG and its MPC continue the work of the Association as the professional body for Clinical Microbiologists.
The MPC also provides training schemes and supports qualifications for the registration of Clinical Scientists, and organises scientific meetings and events for all Members and the wider scientific community.
For more information on what the committee have been doing, see our Microbiology Group Annual Reports, to see who is on committee click below, and to read a message from the Chair of the committee click here.
Microbiology Professional Committee
- Rob Shorten - Chair
- Catherine Moore - Vice Chair
- Lisa Berry - Education/Workforce Lead
- Zoie Aiken - NSHCS Lead station writer / pre-registration training
- Kate Templeton - ACS/Equivalence (AHCS) / post registration training
- Penny Cliff - Scientific/Clinical Practice
- Naomi Gadsby - Meetings Secretary
- Magdalena Karlikowska - Web content
- Ijeoma Okoliegbe - LabMed News
- Eleanor Finnie - Pre-registration Trainees representative
- Ijeoma Okoliegbe - Equivalence Trainees representative
- Amy Coward - Post registration Trainees representative
- Seshadri Vasan - FCS representative
- Kirsty Dodgson / Kate Templeton - RCPath representatives
- Shoshanna May - NQAAP
- Cassie Pope - CVN representative
- Hannah Pymont - BIA/SfAM representative
- vacant - NGS/emerging technologies/horizon scanning representative
- Callum Goolden - Ordinary Member
- Vicki Fleming - Ordinary Member
- Leila White - Ordinary Member
- Stephen Kidd - Ordinary Member
- Kevin Scott - Ordinary Member
- Shoshanna May - Ordinary Member
- Umar Anjum - Ordinary Member
- Stuart Reid - Regional representative - Scotland
- Michael Perry - Regional representative - Wales
- Alison Watt - Regional representative - Northern Ireland
- Gemma Clark - Regional representative - Trent, Northern & Yorkshire
- Andrew Fox - Regional representative - North West
- Gemma Vanstone - Regional representative - South West & Wessex
- vacant - Regional representative - West Midlands
- Cassie Pope - Regional representative - Southern
The ACB MG – increasing integration with the ACB
Since the Association of Clinical Microbiologists was dissolved on 1st July 2010 and all of its existing members automatically became members of the ACB, the MPC have been working hard to integrate the MG with the existing infrastructure of the ACB. Microbiologists now sit on several committees (including the ACB Council, National Meetings Committee, Education Committee and Publications Committee), are representatives in several ACB regions, work on the ACB News and have presented at regional scientific meetings. In 2011 microbiologists began hosting meetings as part of the highly successful Spotlight meeting series. Since 2008 microbiologists have hosted satellite meetings at the annual ACB Focus meeting and ran parallel sessions at the Focus 2012 Training Day.
We can only continue to do this with your help. Please keep attending the scientific meetings and submitting articles for ACB News and the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry. Don't forget that any member of the ACB is eligible to stand for election to ACB committees and regions, keep a look out on the website and the ACB News for current vacancies. Please help to ensure that the voice of microbiology in the ACB becomes stronger and stronger.