Bacteriophage SIG AGM Agenda - Wed June 2nd, 3:30-4pm (AEST)

 Dear Phage SIG members,

We hope you are all doing well. This is a brief email to invite you all to attend our SIG AGM that will be held on Wednesday June 2nd from 3:30-4pm (AEST) during the afternoon tea break of ASM and right before the "Biology and Applications of Phages" session. 

Please see below the meeting agenda and Zoom details. Finally, we are still looking for a state rep for Victoria and any interested student or ECR reps to also join the SIG committee.

Zoom Details: 

Topic: Phage SIG AGM 

Time: Jun 2, 2021 03:30 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82116124773

Meeting ID: 821 1612 4773 

 Bacteriophage Biology & Therapeutics SIG Annual General Meeting – June, 2021 

Agenda: 

1. Welcome everyone a. Provide an overview on the goals of the SIG – being to increase networking, recognition and opportunities for Australian phage researchers 

2. Formal election of SIG convenor and state reps a. SIG convenor and state reps will be elected to serve a two-year term. The next election for reps and convenor will be the ASM 2023 conference 

• We will be working on a new Terms of Reference document for SIG convenor and state reps that will outline expectations and commitments to help improve SIG events and participation with members (discussed further below).
• We would like to thank Matt Payne for his commitment and support for the Phage SIG over the past three years. Matt was part of the initial group of phage researchers who helped establish the SIG as part of ASM. He will be stepping down from his role as WA State Rep. 
• We are also interested in seeking expressions of interests from any students or ECRs who would like an active role in the SIG to help with communication and blog posting. Please contact Jeremy Barr if you are interested.
• Will move to elect each position and ask for a second to support each nomination.

Convenor: Jeremy Barr 

State Reps 

QLD: Karen Weynberg 

NSW: Carola Venturini 

VIC: -no applicants, position available 

SA: Peter Speck 

WA: Lucy Furfaro 

3. Update on SIG members. Currently sitting at 46 SIG members 

One of the goals for coming two-year term is to build Phage SIG members and community, particularly with an increase in student and ECR presence. 

4. Summary of past year – Lack of SIG activities due primarily to COVID.

• Total of six blog and email posts over the past year and a half.
• Had planned a ‘Monash-UCSD Phage Symposium’ that was to run free-of-charge for SIG/ASM members in Melbourne. There were two plenary talks from researchers and clinicians for iPATH UCSD, along with four national invited speakers, and ~eight student presentations schedules. Unfortunately, this event had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• We are planning to re-run this meeting as a hybrid event later this year (2021), with both invited speakers and talks chosen from abstracts. We will have virtual presentations from UCSD colleagues, local presentations from Melbourne-based phage researchers, and virtual talks from national presenters with a focus on students and ECRs. 

5. Proposed major events – VoM2024.

• Successfully led a bid to host the ‘Viruses of Microbes’ 2024 meeting in Cairns, Australia. This meeting will run in July, one week after the national ASM conference. 
• This will be a major initiative with involvement by the SIG. We are working on building a scientific committee for the conference and welcome any expressions of interest, particularly from senior academics with experience in conference organisation. 

6. SIG Blog site. The general consensus is that the blog site has been an important tool to help communicate SIG activities. Improving the SIG communication with its members will be a major initiative over the next two years. 

• Potential role here for a student or ECR rep to assist with the SIG blog site and increase our communication with members. 

7. Feedback and suggestions on any of the below topics: 

• Blog site and SIG communication
• Events or conference that the SIG can assist with 
• Any other input or suggestions from members