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Claudio Bandi wins the Alberto Tedeschi Award – Giallo Mondadori

Claudio Bandi, Full Professor of Microbiology at the University of Milan, won the Alberto Tedeschi Prize with his debut novel LA CITTA’ E L’ABISSO, published in the Il Giallo Mondadori…

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History

In 1982, the Italian Society of General Microbiology was founded on the initiative of several microbiologists, including Franco Graziosi, Giovanni Magni, Mario Polsinelli, Vittorio Treccani, and Vito Mastrandrea, reflecting a broad range of scientific interests. That same year, the Society held its first conference, electing Prof. Franco Graziosi as President and Prof. Laura Frontali as Secretary.

Many researchers from industry soon joined the Society, and in 1983 the assembly voted to adopt its current name: Società Italiana di Microbiologia Generale e Biotecnologie Microbiche (SIMGBM). Since then, annual conferences have been held, and in recent years, joint meetings have been organised with other societies (AGI, ABCD, SIBBM), culminating in the Society’s inclusion in the Italian Life Sciences Federation (FISV).

The Society has been led, in chronological order, by the following Presidents: Franco Graziosi, Laura Frontali, Marco Nuti, Enrica Galli, Mario Polsinelli, Franco Tatò, Maurilio De Felice, Davide Zannoni, Gianni Dehò, Giovanna Riccardi, Bianca Colonna, Ezio Ricca, Paolo Visca and Paolo Landini.

The birth of the Italian Society of General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology

Conversation by Maurilio De Felice with Laura Frontali

Maurilio De Felice
Laura Frontali

In 1982 the Italian Society of General Microbiology was born, a name that would be expanded the following year to include Microbial Biotechnology. This marked the birth of what is now our historic Society, SIMGBM. Yet there was already an Italian Society of Microbiology at the time.

What were the motivations that led a group of 24 scholars, including you, to take such an initiative?

Read the conversation

Bylaws

A nonprofit society is hereby established and named “Società Italiana di Microbiologia Generale e Biotecnologie Microbiche”.

The purpose of the Society is to further the studies and research of General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology in the various heads of bacteriology, virology, mycology, phycology, protozology, and the study of the somatic cells of artificially cultivated higher organisms, as well as the technologies in which the aforementioned organisms and their products are used for the production of goods and services.

Organs of the Society are:
– The Members’ Meeting
– The President
– The Secretary-Treasurer
– The Steering Committee

The assets of the Society consist of contributions from Members and donations to the Society. The membership fee is set by the Assembly.

Upon its establishment, the proposing signatories are part of the Society as Founding Members. Scholars in General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology who carry out research activities in this field, substantiated by publications in scientific journals, are eligible for membership in the Society. Admission of Members is delegated to the Steering Committee of the Society, according to the practice to be established in the Bylaws. Delinquent Members may not be elected to office.

The President shall have the direction and representation of the Society, and the Secretary Treasurer shall have administrative responsibility and bookkeeping. The President and Treasurer may operate fully, on behalf of the Society, on multi-channel checking and bank accounts, use the instruments incidental thereto, such as ATM and credit cards, and have full operation for day-to-day administration on the bank account.

The Steering Committee, beginning in the third year of the Society’s existence, consists of the President, Secretary Treasurer, and nine Directors. Appropriate rules of procedure should encourage representation on the Steering Committee from the major fields of General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology. The Steering Committee shall be convened by the President whenever he deems it necessary, or at the request of a majority of its members.

Committee members are elected by the Members’ Meeting. The President serves a three-year term and cannot be immediately re-elected to that office. Councilors are renewed for one-third each year beginning in the third year of the Society’s existence. They cannot be immediately re-elected to the office of Councilor, but may be elected President and Secretary Treasurer. For the first three years of the life of the Society, three Councilors drawn by lot each year will expire; thereafter each year the three Councilors with the most seniority will expire. The Secretary Treasurer shall serve a three-year term and may be immediately re-elected to the office only for another three-year term. The practice for submitting nominations to the Assembly is set by the Bylaws.

An Ordinary Meeting is called by the President at scientific meetings of the Society. An Extraordinary Meeting may be called by the President at the request of the Executive Committee by majority vote or at least 20 percent of the Members. All resolutions of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Meetings are passed by a majority vote of those present and with the presence of at least half of the duly registered members with the exception of votes for amendments to the Bylaws, which must be communicated to the Members at least 30 days before the Meeting that is to decide on them. The Ordinary Meeting shall consider for approval the final budget. This budget must be approved in advance by two auditors elected by the previous Assembly. Members may be consulted by letter on any matter of interest to the Society except for elections of officers and changes in the Bylaws, which must always be voted on and approved at the Meeting.

The social year begins with January 1 and ends with December 31.

For all that is not specifically provided for in the Bylaws, the Regulations apply. The Bylaws are approved by the Members’ Meeting upon the proposal of the President. Amendments to the Bylaws are decided by the Assembly by majority vote.

Regulations

CHAPTER I - Election of Officers

Art. 1 – The Steering Committee, at the Annual Meeting of Members, proposes one or more nominations for each of the expiring elective offices including those of the members of the Steering Committee who will represent the main fields of General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology referred to in Art. 7 of the Bylaws. These areas will be reviewed periodically by the Steering Committee and discussed at the Members’ Meeting.

Art. 2 – At the same venue, or even earlier through the Steering Committee, members have the right to propose other nominations supported by at least 10 members, taking into account what is in the previous article.

Art. 3 – Voting is conducted list composed of the candidates referred to in arts. 1 e 2. Each candidate may be voted only for the office and area for which they are proposed. Each member casts, at the expiration of the terms of office, one vote for the President, one vote for the Secretary-Treasurer, and one vote for one position of Councilor for each of the indicated sectors. The President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Councilor from each sector who have obtained a simple majority of votes shall be elected. In case of a tie, a draw shall be made.

Article 4 – The Assembly elects two auditors by simple majority.

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CHAPTER II - Admission of New Members

Art. 5 – The Executive Committee decides each year on the number of new members to be admitted the following year. Applications for membership, accompanied by Scientific Curriculum and a list of no more than five publications, must be submitted by two members. Each member may submit no more than two applicants. The Executive Committee reviews the applications, and decides on their eligibility for a vote of the Assembly. Those with a majority vote of those present shall be eligible.

Ordinary Members. Ordinary Members are those who, upon application and vote of the Assembly, become members of the Society as of January 1 of the year following the year in which the application is approved.

Junior Members. Junior Members are members under the age of 31 who, upon application and vote of the Assembly, become members of the Society as of January 1 of the year in which the application is approved. Junior Member status lasts for a maximum of 4 years and automatically lapses upon reaching the age of 31.

Honorary Members. Former presidents of SIMGBM who have been retired for at least three years and have distinguished themselves for special scientific and organizational merits within SIMGBM may be appointed Honorary Members. Nomination for Honorary Membership must be submitted and justified in writing by the Executive Board and must be approved by the Members’ Meeting, which provides for election by a simple majority. Appointment as an Honorary Member is for life.

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CHAPTER III

Art. 6 – Membership dues are determined annually by the Members’ Assembly.

Ordinary Members are required to pay annual dues no later than April 30 of each year.

Failure to pay dues for 3 consecutive years will result in forfeiture of membership. To exercise the right to vote at the meeting, one must be in good standing with the payment of all dues, including the current year’s dues.

For the sole purpose of determining dues, Structured Ordinary Members (including also Fixed-term Researchers) are distinguished from Unstructured Ordinary Members (including but not limited to, Assignees, Fellows, Contractors, PhD students and other unstructured personnel over 31 years of age).

Junior Member dues are paid “one-time” at the same time as the application for membership and subject to acceptance.

The Honorary Member is exempt from paying annual dues.

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Elected Offices

Governing Bodies in Office as of January 1, 2025

President (Expires 2027)

Marco Ventura
Dept. of Chemical, Life and Environmental Sustainability Sciences – University of Parma
Parco Area delle Scienze, 11/a – 43124 Parma

Secretary Treasurer (Expires 2027)

Prof. Arianna Tavanti
Department of Biology, University of Pisa
Via San Zeno 37 – 56127 Pisa

Steering Committee

Biomedical Microbiology Branch (Expired 2027)

Prof. Francesco Iannelli
Department of Medical Biotechnology, University of Siena
Policlinico Le Scotte, Viale Bracci 16, V lotto, 1°P – 53100 Siena

Microbial Physiology Sector (Expired 2027)

Prof. Federica Briani
Department of Biosciences, University of Milan
Via Celoria 26 – 20133 Milano

Agribusiness Microbiology Sector (Expired 2027)

Dr. Chiara Devirgiliis
Food and Nutrition Research Center, CREA, Rome
Via Ardeatina 546 – 00178 Rome

Virology Sector (Expired 2026)

Francesca Esposito
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences – University of Cagliari
Cittadella Universitaria, SS 554 – Km. 4.5 – 09042 Monserrato (CA)

Genetics of Microorganisms Sector (Expired 2027)

Prof. Gianni Prosseda
Dept. of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin,” Sapienza University, Rome
Via dei Sardi 70 – 00185 Rome

Biotechnology Sector (Expires 2025)

Rosa Valeria Alduina
Dept. of Biological Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF)
University of Palermo
Parco d’Orleans II, Viale delle Scienze, Ed 16 – 90128 Palermo

Industrial Microbiology Sector (Expires 2025)

Mariagrazia Pizza
Imperial College, South Kensington Campus
Huxley Building, 180 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington – London SW7 2AZ, UK

Environmental Microbiology Branch (Expires 2025).

Paola Quatrini
Dept. of Biological Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF)
University of Palermo
Parco d’Orleans II, Viale delle Scienze, Ed 16 – 90128 Palermo

Systems Microbiology and Microbial Process Chemistry Sector (Expires 2026)

Livia Leoni
Department of Sciences – Roma Tre University
Viale G. Marconi 446 – 00146 Roma

Microbiome Sector (Expired 2027)

Prof. Francesca Turroni
Dept. of Chemical Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma
Parco Area delle Scienze 11/A – 43124 Parma

SIMGBM Delegates.

FEMS

Ezio Ricca
Department of Biology – University of Naples “Federico II” Monte S. Angelo Complex
Via Cinthia 4 – 80126 Napoli

FISV

Marco Ventura
Dept. of Chemical, Life and Environmental Sustainability Sciences – University of Parma
Parco Area delle Scienze, 11/a – 43124 Parma

FISV

Paolo Landini
Department of Biosciences – University of Milan
Via Celoria 26 – 20133 Milan

De Felice: In 1982 the Italian Society of General Microbiology was born, a name that would be expanded the following year to include Microbial Biotechnology. Thus was born our now historic Society, SIMGBM. But an Italian Society of Microbiology already existed in those years. What were the motivations that led a group of 24 scholars, including you, to take such an initiative?

Front: As early as the early 1950s with Watson and Crick and again in the 1960s with Jacob and Monod, the scientific view of living systems was undergoing profound transformations. In this context, microbial models were becoming essential, and this could only change studies in microbiology. In the 1970s many of us who were following these paths were members of the Italian Society of Biophysics and Molecular Biology (SIBBM, still active) of which I was Secretary for several terms, but we felt the need for an Association that would allow us to discuss new issues in microbiology. However, the Italian Society of Microbiology, then and still in existence, continued to be predominantly focused on the medical implications of the microbial world, and the related congresses were of limited interest to us. It was after the conclusion of one of these congresses (if I remember correctly it was the one in 1981) that a group of microbiologists with different interests but all with an open mind toward the new frontiers of Microbiology, proposed to establish an Italian Society of General Microbiology, which would not be limited to medical issues.

De Felice: Can you give us some names of the microbiologists from whom this initiative started?

Frontali: One name immediately comes to mind, that of Franco Graziosi. His story symbolizes the gradual change I was referring to. As early as the 1960s, driven by the new perspectives of Modern Biology at the Italian and international level, Franco left the Institute of Microbiology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rome to take a leading part in the great adventure of the International Laboratory of Genetics and Biophysics in Naples, where some of the most enlightened minds of the time were gathering together with Franco and Adriano Buzzati Traverso. Franco’s collaboration with physicists Mario Ageno and Edoardo Amaldi was instrumental in leading him since the 1950s to new directions in the approach to the study of microorganisms, so much so that he deserves ample mention in Treccani’s “Biographical Dictionary,” 2015 edition (http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ricerca/Franco-graziosi/).

De Felice: Enrica Galli showed me a minute booklet dated June 10, 1982, in which the birth of the Italian Society of General Microbiology was announced to the Italian scientific community. Among the 24 signatories, together with you, Franco Graziosi and numerous other microbiologists – among whom I like to remember Mario Polsinelli, Giovanni Magni and Orio Ciferri – appeared the names of personalities linked to the world of industrial production, in particular Celestino Spalla, Giancarlo Lancini and Luigi Silvestri. So the Society was already born with the idea of creating an interaction of the academic world that that of the fermentation industry?

Front: As early as the nineteenth century, Pasteur’s studies on alcoholic fermentation had clearly highlighted the multiplicity of domains of the microbial world. It is therefore not surprising that, from the very beginning of the growing season of the Scientific Societies, among the microbiologists from different cultural fields-from those devoted to molecular aspects to those interested in physiology, metabolism, and cell structure-there were also scholars interested in the production of microbial cells and products for medical, pharmaceutical, food, or environmental applications, such as the people you mentioned. I also like to recall that among the signatories of the notarial act by which the Italian Society of General Microbiology was established in 1982 were, along with Franco Graziosi, two professors of Fermentation Chemistry, a university discipline that was then highly innovative: Alma Ponente Schiesser and myself. The first President of the Society was Franco Graziosi and I was its Secretary.

De Felice: How did it come, within a year, from the Society for General Microbiology to the Society for General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology?

Frontals: The change of name and statute was deemed necessary by all precisely because of the presence of numerous facets in the composition of the membership list. I like to recall that in leading to this change, the contribution provided by the researchers of the Lepetit Research Laboratory was very important, and in particular another unforgettable personality of those years, Luigi Silvestri, a colleague and great friend of Franco Graziosi, who had had a parallel path to Franco’s, landing, however, in industry after having grown scientifically in the Faculty of Medicine, was essential.

De Felice: I remember very well Luigi Silvestri, a charismatic man of great culture who in the intervals of a Congress taught me to look at and understand Kandinski’s paintings. Here it is, the Lepetit of Geranzano, a very important reference of those years, still an important reality in today’s Naicons of Gerenzano that has picked up its cultural and biotechnological message. Can you tell us more about that?

Frontals: The Lepetit Research Laboratories had had great success in research on Streptomycetes and with the discovery of an extraordinary new antibiotic: rifamycin. The participation of Lepetit researchers in SIBGBM was very important, with the active and often enlightening presence of many of them on the Society’s board. I remember in particular Giancarlo Lancini, who was for years our contact with the European Federation of Microbiology Societies, a valuable role more recently played by Stefano Donadio and Paolo Visca.

De Felice: Of course, all of us less young people remember how important were the legendary reports Lancini used to give us during the membership meetings, stimulating us to promote international contacts and activating us to award scholarships for short stays abroad to young Italian researchers. Tell us more about that.

Frontals: The task of Lancini and later Stefano Donadio and their collaborators in Gerenzano was fundamental in promoting in Italy the new vision of microbes not only as agents of disease, but also as producers on an industrial scale of molecules and cells of great interest in the pharmaceutical, environmental and food fields. The contribution of the Lepetit researchers was not limited to the plant aspects of industrial fermentations, but focused heavily on studies of the biochemistry, metabolism and genetics of microorganisms, with the publication of papers of high scientific impact.

De Felice: Was it easy to bring together cultures and goals that did not always coincide, or were there also some difficult events? Do you have any personal memories to tell us?

Frontals: It was not all easy. I will recount a personal episode, which shows how gradual and sometimes painful it was to become aware of the interdisciplinarity of modern microbiology. Towards the end of the ’70s, a competition was announced by La Sapienza University of Rome for the Chemistry of Fermentations, a subject I was teaching at this University as an adjunct professor. I turned out to be the winner, but Prof. Vincenzo Scardi of Naples, the only tenured professor of that discipline in Italy, objected to the verdict of the committee of which he himself was a member. He even filed a minority report, which was also followed by an appeal to the Council of State, as he was convinced – certainly in full good faith – that my work on yeasts did not fall within the subjects of Fermentation Chemistry. In both cases his opposition was not upheld, but as you can imagine I lived through two very hard years before leaving this adventure. After many years, as the interdisciplinary character of modern Microbiology became established, Vincenzo Scardi was even part of the group of 24 founders of our Society, with many of whom ten years earlier perhaps he would not have sat at the same table. When I first met him at a SIMGBM congress, he told me, “Of course you must have understood that I had nothing against you, it was a matter of principle….” Then our relations became very good. You yourself, Maurilio, who had been his student and was involved in bacterial genetics, became professor of Fermentation Chemistry in Salerno, before becoming professor of Microbiology in Naples. When Scardi died I, moved, commemorated him at the Congress of the Society. He was a man all of a piece, a very good researcher who knew how to show character but also intellectual honesty.

De Felice: In 1982 the Italian Society of General Microbiology was born, a name that would be expanded the following year to include Microbial Biotechnology. Thus was born our now historic Society, SIMGBM. But an Italian Society of Microbiology already existed in those years. What were the motivations that led a group of 24 scholars, including you, to take such an initiative?

Front: As early as the early 1950s with Watson and Crick and again in the 1960s with Jacob and Monod, the scientific view of living systems was undergoing profound transformations. In this context, microbial models were becoming essential, and this could only change studies in microbiology. In the 1970s many of us who were following these paths were members of the Italian Society of Biophysics and Molecular Biology (SIBBM, still active) of which I was Secretary for several terms, but we felt the need for an Association that would allow us to discuss new issues in microbiology. However, the Italian Society of Microbiology, then and still in existence, continued to be predominantly focused on the medical implications of the microbial world, and the related congresses were of limited interest to us. It was after the conclusion of one of these congresses (if I remember correctly it was the one in 1981) that a group of microbiologists with different interests but all with an open mind toward the new frontiers of Microbiology, proposed to establish an Italian Society of General Microbiology, which would not be limited to medical issues.

De Felice: Can you give us some names of the microbiologists from whom this initiative started?

Frontali: One name immediately comes to mind, that of Franco Graziosi. His story symbolizes the gradual change I was referring to. As early as the 1960s, driven by the new perspectives of Modern Biology at the Italian and international level, Franco left the Institute of Microbiology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rome to take a leading part in the great adventure of the International Laboratory of Genetics and Biophysics in Naples, where some of the most enlightened minds of the time were gathering together with Franco and Adriano Buzzati Traverso. Franco’s collaboration with physicists Mario Ageno and Edoardo Amaldi was instrumental in leading him since the 1950s to new directions in the approach to the study of microorganisms, so much so that he deserves ample mention in Treccani’s “Biographical Dictionary,” 2015 edition (http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ricerca/Franco-graziosi/).

De Felice: Enrica Galli showed me a minute booklet dated June 10, 1982, in which the birth of the Italian Society of General Microbiology was announced to the Italian scientific community. Among the 24 signatories, together with you, Franco Graziosi and numerous other microbiologists – among whom I like to remember Mario Polsinelli, Giovanni Magni and Orio Ciferri – appeared the names of personalities linked to the world of industrial production, in particular Celestino Spalla, Giancarlo Lancini and Luigi Silvestri. So the Society was already born with the idea of creating an interaction of the academic world that that of the fermentation industry?

Front: As early as the nineteenth century, Pasteur’s studies on alcoholic fermentation had clearly highlighted the multiplicity of domains of the microbial world. It is therefore not surprising that, from the very beginning of the growing season of the Scientific Societies, among the microbiologists from different cultural fields-from those devoted to molecular aspects to those interested in physiology, metabolism, and cell structure-there were also scholars interested in the production of microbial cells and products for medical, pharmaceutical, food, or environmental applications, such as the people you mentioned. I also like to recall that among the signatories of the notarial act by which the Italian Society of General Microbiology was established in 1982 were, along with Franco Graziosi, two professors of Fermentation Chemistry, a university discipline that was then highly innovative: Alma Ponente Schiesser and myself. The first President of the Society was Franco Graziosi and I was its Secretary.

De Felice: How did it come, within a year, from the Society for General Microbiology to the Society for General Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology?

Frontals: The change of name and statute was deemed necessary by all precisely because of the presence of numerous facets in the composition of the membership list. I like to recall that in leading to this change, the contribution provided by the researchers of the Lepetit Research Laboratory was very important, and in particular another unforgettable personality of those years, Luigi Silvestri, a colleague and great friend of Franco Graziosi, who had had a parallel path to Franco’s, landing, however, in industry after having grown scientifically in the Faculty of Medicine, was essential.

De Felice: I remember very well Luigi Silvestri, a charismatic man of great culture who in the intervals of a Congress taught me to look at and understand Kandinski’s paintings. Here it is, the Lepetit of Geranzano, a very important reference of those years, still an important reality in today’s Naicons of Gerenzano that has picked up its cultural and biotechnological message. Can you tell us more about that?

Frontals: The Lepetit Research Laboratories had had great success in research on Streptomycetes and with the discovery of an extraordinary new antibiotic: rifamycin. The participation of Lepetit researchers in SIBGBM was very important, with the active and often enlightening presence of many of them on the Society’s board. I remember in particular Giancarlo Lancini, who was for years our contact with the European Federation of Microbiology Societies, a valuable role more recently played by Stefano Donadio and Paolo Visca.

De Felice: Of course, all of us less young people remember how important were the legendary reports Lancini used to give us during the membership meetings, stimulating us to promote international contacts and activating us to award scholarships for short stays abroad to young Italian researchers. Tell us more about that.

Frontals: The task of Lancini and later Stefano Donadio and their collaborators in Gerenzano was fundamental in promoting in Italy the new vision of microbes not only as agents of disease, but also as producers on an industrial scale of molecules and cells of great interest in the pharmaceutical, environmental and food fields. The contribution of the Lepetit researchers was not limited to the plant aspects of industrial fermentations, but focused heavily on studies of the biochemistry, metabolism and genetics of microorganisms, with the publication of papers of high scientific impact.

De Felice: Was it easy to bring together cultures and goals that did not always coincide, or were there also some difficult events? Do you have any personal memories to tell us?

Frontals: It was not all easy. I will recount a personal episode, which shows how gradual and sometimes painful it was to become aware of the interdisciplinarity of modern microbiology. Towards the end of the ’70s, a competition was announced by La Sapienza University of Rome for the Chemistry of Fermentations, a subject I was teaching at this University as an adjunct professor. I turned out to be the winner, but Prof. Vincenzo Scardi of Naples, the only tenured professor of that discipline in Italy, objected to the verdict of the committee of which he himself was a member. He even filed a minority report, which was also followed by an appeal to the Council of State, as he was convinced – certainly in full good faith – that my work on yeasts did not fall within the subjects of Fermentation Chemistry. In both cases his opposition was not upheld, but as you can imagine I lived through two very hard years before leaving this adventure. After many years, as the interdisciplinary character of modern Microbiology became established, Vincenzo Scardi was even part of the group of 24 founders of our Society, with many of whom ten years earlier perhaps he would not have sat at the same table. When I first met him at a SIMGBM congress, he told me, “Of course you must have understood that I had nothing against you, it was a matter of principle….” Then our relations became very good. You yourself, Maurilio, who had been his student and was involved in bacterial genetics, became professor of Fermentation Chemistry in Salerno, before becoming professor of Microbiology in Naples. When Scardi died I, moved, commemorated him at the Congress of the Society. He was a man all of a piece, a very good researcher who knew how to show character but also intellectual honesty.