Latest Society News

The ISME Journal Best Paper Award 2025
The ISME Journal Best Paper Award 2025

The Editors-in-Chief of The ISME Journal announce the 2025 Best Paper Awards, recognising three outstanding articles that advance microbial ecology and highlight scientific excellence.

Editorial Board Member Awards 2025
Editorial Board Member Awards 2025

Congratulations to Burak Avcı, Marie Simonin, and Yinzhao Wang for winning the Outstanding Editorial Board Member Awards for their contribution to The ISME Journal.

ISME/IWA BioCluster Rising Star Award 2026
ISME/IWA BioCluster Rising Star Award 2026

Congratulations to Cresten Mansfeldt and Min Zheng, winners of the ISME/IWA BioCluster Rising Star Award, recognising outstanding research at the interface of microbial ecology and water treatment.

Call to Host ISME Regional Meetings 2027
Call to Host ISME Regional Meetings 2027

ISME invites expressions of interest to host a 2027 regional meeting in Africa or Asia. Connect microbial ecologists, showcase regional science and foster new collaboration.

Winner of the ISME/IWA BioCluster Grand Prize 2026
Winner of the ISME/IWA BioCluster Grand Prize 2026

ISME congratulates Satoshi Okabe of Hokkaido University, Japan, winner of the 2026 ISME/IWA BioCluster Grand Prize, recognising internationally outstanding research of unusual merit.

Call for microbial ecology photos and videos 2026
Call for microbial ecology photos and videos 2026

Enter the ISME photo competition for a chance to be featured on the front covers of ISME Publications or on the ISME Society promotional materials. Submit your entry by 4 November!

Salmonella Features on the ISME Host Microbe Cover
Salmonella Features on the ISME Host Microbe Cover

How does Salmonella enterica enter a tomato plant? Michel Schrader’s winning electron microscopy image captures the pathogen at a leaf stoma, offering a glimpse into its colonisation strategy.

The Diatom Behind The ISME Journal’s 2026 Cover
The Diatom Behind The ISME Journal’s 2026 Cover

Congratulations to Morgan Pavelsky and Margarita Lankford, whose striking image of the centric diatom Corethron features on the 2026 cover of The ISME Journal.

ISME Publications news

The ISME Journal Best Paper Award 2025
The ISME Journal Best Paper Award 2025

The Editors-in-Chief of The ISME Journal announce the 2025 Best Paper Awards, recognising three outstanding articles that advance microbial ecology and highlight scientific excellence.

Editorial Board Member Awards 2025
Editorial Board Member Awards 2025

Congratulations to Burak Avcı, Marie Simonin, and Yinzhao Wang for winning the Outstanding Editorial Board Member Awards for their contribution to The ISME Journal.

Salmonella Features on the ISME Host Microbe Cover
Salmonella Features on the ISME Host Microbe Cover

How does Salmonella enterica enter a tomato plant? Michel Schrader’s winning electron microscopy image captures the pathogen at a leaf stoma, offering a glimpse into its colonisation strategy.

The Diatom Behind The ISME Journal’s 2026 Cover
The Diatom Behind The ISME Journal’s 2026 Cover

Congratulations to Morgan Pavelsky and Margarita Lankford, whose striking image of the centric diatom Corethron features on the 2026 cover of The ISME Journal.

Structured interactions reduce keystone effects
Structured interactions reduce keystone effects

Not all species are created equal – the structure of their interactions determines their impact on the ecosystem. New research reveals microbial communities stay stable even when species are removed.

Close to home: measuring microbial dispersal
Close to home: measuring microbial dispersal

Microbial movement into soils occurs at a surprisingly local scale. By measuring dispersal rates and spatial patterns, this study challenges the assumption that microbes freely mix across environments.

Hidden drivers of wastewater treatment microbiomes
Hidden drivers of wastewater treatment microbiomes

Wastewater treatment and resource recovery are key for human and environmental health and green transition. Here, Riisgaard-Jensen et al. uncover how the underexplored sewer microbiome shapes the activated sludge communities of the systems.

Cable bacteria transfer electrons through contact
Cable bacteria transfer electrons through contact

Cable bacteria in freshwater sediments connect through brief end-to-end contact to relay electrons, unveiling a novel cooperative strategy among microbes.