FEMS Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist Award
We recognise excellence in microbiology and its contribution to society through our high profile awards programme. This Award in particular aims to recognise Early Career Researchers that have realised an excellent body of (published) research and research potential. The nomination can be based on a single exceptionally significant achievement or the aggregate of a number of exemplary achievements.
Frequency: biennially
Who is eligible?
- microbiologists within 5 years of receiving their highest qualification/PhD*
- active in any field of microbiology
- member of a FEMS Member Society
*periods of maternity/paternity leave, special leave or illness do not count toward this definition
Timeline
- The deadline for nomination is 6 weeks before the abstract deadline of the FEMS Congress, which is held every uneven calendar year.
- Following selection by the FEMS Awards Board and approval by the FEMS Directors, FEMS will contact all applicants at least 1 week before the abstract submission deadline of the FEMS Congress.
What does an Awardee receive?
- a free registration and travel grant to attend the FEMS Congress, provided they give an oral presentation at this Congress
- FEMS will give the awardee recognition by promoting the presentation through its channels
How to apply
You can apply via our awards submission system. In order to apply, you need a FEMS profile/account.
- Please create an account here or login with your credentials here.
- Once logged in to your FEMS profile, you can access the nomination forms for our Awards via this link.
You can also find the application forms at any time within your FEMS profile/account:
- login to your FEMS profile
- then under ‘Announcements’ click on the ‘Nominate for an award’ link
- select the Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist award nomination form link
- fill in the form, save your progress and come back to it and once you are ready – Submit
Awardees:
2025 – Merve Zeden
Merve Zeden is a Cypriot scientist whose passion for microbiology led her to Imperial College London, where she earned her BSc in Microbiology. She furthered her studies by completing a Master of Research in Bacterial Pathogenesis and Infection. Driven by her research interests, Merve pursued her PhD in the Gründling lab, focusing on the role of c-di-AMP in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. In 2020, she relocated to Ireland for a postdoctoral position in the O’Gara lab at the University of Galway, where she integrated molecular microbiology with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research. Currently, Merve is a Research Ireland Pathway Fellow, and her research group is dedicated to unraveling the molecular mechanisms of AMR in ESKAPE pathogens.
Since completing her PhD in 2020, Merve Zeden has shown remarkable scientific independence, with 16 first-author publications—several without her supervisor—and multiple last or sole-author papers. Awarded the prestigious Research Ireland Pathway Fellowship (2023–2027), she now leads her own group studying antibiotic resistance in MRSA. She is an active lecturer and mentor, with strong contributions to outreach and academic service. These include roles on 12 editorial boards, co-chairing conferences, and founding the Research Staff Network at the University of Galway. Her science communication efforts and awards further highlight her broad impact. An outstanding researcher with a clear leadership profile and societal engagement. These achievements led to his being recognized with this Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist Award.
2023 – Khaled Selim
Junior Group leader at Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”, the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Organismic Interactions Department and member of VAAM
Dr Selim made ground-breaking discoveries with respect to signaling mechanisms and function of carbon dioxide metabolism in cyanobacteria. Besides his outstanding publication record, his teaching experience and his being acknowledged through many scientific awards, he has also shown very good scientific outreach as a lecturer at different national and international conferences and refereeing for several journals. These achievements led to his being recognised with this Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist Award.
2021 – Elisa Granato
Research Fellow at the University of Oxford
Her achievements in the field of microbiology, in particular in the fields of bacterial ecology and evolution led to her being recognised with this Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist Award. Read more about Elisa’s award and research here.
All but one of the FEMS journals are fully open access (OA), with one journal, FEMS Microbiology Letters, offering free-to-publish and OA options. Open access is key to supporting the FEMS mission of disseminating high quality research as widely as possible: when high quality, peer reviewed sound science is open access, anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet connection, can read it.
