The 52nd annual conference of the Association of
Microbiologists of India (AMI) 2011 was formally inaugurated by honourable chief guest
Dr. D. Balasubramanian, Director, LV Prasad Eye Institute on 3rd November, 2011. The
Vice Chancellor welcomed around 1500 delegates from India and abroad to the four-day
event. The theme of the meet and scientific challenges for the sustainable development
of mankind through the use of microbes was highlighted by the Organizing secretary
Prof. Prince Sharma and General secretary Dr. Tapan Adhya. The presidential address by
Prof. R.C. Kuhad mainly focussed on the ubiquity and role of microbes in improving the
quality of life in the 21st century. The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Asis
Datta, Former Director, National Institute of Plant Genome Research. A vote of thanks
was given by Prof. Vijay Prabha. The whole event was compared by Dr. Praveen Rishi.The
Vice Chancellor honored all the distinguished scientists for their immense
contribution to the field of microbiology.
           
Earlier in the morning, a workshop on the art of scientific writing andpublishing was
organized in collaboration with the American Society of Microbiology (ASM). Prof.
Larry S. McDaniel, University of Mississippi and Dr. Dhan Kalvakolanu, University of
Maryland, delivered informative and interactive lectures covering all aspects related
to paper writing, submission process and different types of scientific writing.
              The second day of AMI 2011 began on a more scientific front with a
number of parallel sessions being conducted at different venues in Panjab
University.Experts from different fields delivered lectures on Microbial diversity,
Industrial microbiology, Microbial pathogenesis, Vaccine and theraupeutics,
epidemiology, Drug resistance, metagenomics, proteomics, bioinformatics. The second
half of the day marked the poster presentations by the students from different
universities and colleges. The posters highlighted different topics such as molecular
biology, food and dairy, agriculture and environment.
       A gala cultural event enlightened the evenings on the first two days of the
conference having a package of performances, Indian in origin and modern in
presentation. The event consisted of a variety of acts ranging from kathak, punjabi
folk dances to a scintillating rock band performance. The event was cheered by a very
enthusiastic audience hailing from diverse regions and religions.
Press Note No.459
MMK/PS