The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) is pleased to announce the election of three new members to its Board during the Annual General Meeting of the FEMS Council, held on Thursday 12 September 2024, in The Hague (The Netherlands). 

The new board members, who will assume their roles starting 1 January 2025 for a term of 3 years, are:

• Evelyn Doyle
• Cecilia Flocco
• Michael Sauer

The Board is the executive body of FEMS, responsible for developing and implementing the Federation’s strategy. Together with the President, Secretary General, Treasurer, and 2 other board members, these 3 newly elected individuals will be part of this core leadership group.

The men and women driving FEMS believe so much in the power of microbes to solve the challenges faced by humanity that they are willing to volunteer their time to help the FEMS achieve its mission. We are extraordinarily lucky to have such dedicated people in our community.

Evelyn Doyle

Evelyn Doyle is an environmental microbiologist, Professor, and current Head of the University College Dublin School of Biology and Environmental Science in Ireland. She has extensive experience in microbiology society leadership, previously performing the roles of General Secretary (2013-2016), Scientific Meetings Officer (2011-2013), Deputy Scientific Meetings Officer (2009-2011) and Chair of the Irish Division (2006-2009) of the Microbiology Society. She is a member of the FEMS Programme Committee for our upcoming Congress & Exhibition 2025 in Milan, Italy.

Cecilia Flocco

Cecilia Flocco is renowned for her contributions to environmental microbiology and biotechnology. As an interdisciplinary scientist, educator and technology advisor she works at the intersection of life sciences with science policy and diplomacy. Her international career extends across Europe, the Americas and Antarctica. Currently, she is the Scientific Advisor and Deputy to the Director of the Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH (Braunschweig, Germany), one of the largest biological resources centers worldwide.

Michael Sauer

Michael Sauer is a leader in the field of synthetic biology and has been instrumental in developing innovative approaches to microbial systems. He has had extensive involvement with FEMS as Delegate to the Council from the Austrian Association of Molecular Life Sciences and Biotechnology. He is currently Head of the Department of Biotechnology at OMV AG. He is a member of the FEMS Programme Committee for our upcoming Congress & Exhibition 2025 in Milan, Italy. Previously he was Associate Professor  at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU).

Empowering FEMS For Future Impact

“These appointments come at an exciting time for FEMS as we continue to expand our influence in the microbiological community and beyond,” said the current President of FEMS, Antonio Ventosa. “The diverse expertise of our new board members will undoubtedly empower FEMS to foster and support microbiological research and its application for global challenges. We are enthusiastic about the new perspectives and ideas they will bring to the board.”

FEMS remains dedicated to its mission of advancing microbiology for the benefit of society in Europe and around the world, with a strong focus on collaboration, innovation, and solving global challenges with microbial knowledge.

The new members of our Board replace those who will be stepping down at the end of 2024 as their terms come to an end. We extend our dearest thanks to Prof. Patrik Bavoil, University of Maryland (USA). Prof. Andriy Sibirny, University of Rzeszow (Poland), and Prof. Vaso Taleski, University of Goce Delcev (North Macedonia).

The FEMS Council 2024 election had a record number of candidates step up to seek election to the Board. We thank each and every candidate for their time, enthusiasm, and dedication.