Do you want to be a disease detective? In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new, free iPad app, you get to "solve the outbreak".

You’ll play the role of an Epidemic Intelligence Service agent. Find clues about outbreaks and make tough decisions about what to do next: Do you quarantine the village? Talk to people who are sick? Ask for more lab results?

With fictional outbreaks based on real-life cases, you’ll have to puzzle through the evidence to earn points for each clue. The better your answers, the higher your score – and the more quickly you’ll save lives. You’ll start out as a Trainee and will earn badges by solving cases, with the goal of earning the top rank: Disease Detective.

http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USCDC-6d0654

Printed in ASM's Journal of Clinical Microbiology in October, 2010, this commentary addresses the clinical microbiology laboratory (CML) director who is medically, scientifically, and administratively responsible for all that happens in the laboratory. Topics discussed are--who are CML directors? how are they trained and certified? what does a CML director do, and what is the best way to accomplish multiple challenges? how is a CML director paid? and, what are future challenges for the clinical microbiology laboratory director?

Full Text and PDF

Thomson, R. B., Jr., M. L. Wilson, and M. P. Weinstein. 2010. The clinical microbiology laboratory director in the United States hospital setting. J. Clin. Microbiol. 48:3465–3469.

ASM General Meeting Travel Grants

• ASM General Meeting Student Travel Grant. A $500 grant is given to approximately 160 students who will be presenting an abstract at the General Meeting.
• Richard and Mary Finkelstein Travel Grant. Also a $500 grant given to six students presenting at the General Meeting whose research is in the area of microbial pathogenesis.

ICAAC Travel Grants

• ASM Student and Post Doctoral Fellow Travel Grant Award.  Travel grants, worth at least $500, are offered to support students' attendance at the annual ICAAC meeting. Recipients are selected based on the scientific quality of their submitted abstracts.

ASM Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting

• Student Travel Grants. ASM provides support for students/postdoctoral fellows attending the Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting.

ASM Conferences

• Student Travel Grants. ASM provides support for the awarding of $500 travel grants to predoctoral students to attend ASM conferences.

ASM International Travel Grants

• Carlyn Halde Latin American Student Travel Grant.  Administered by ASM and the Medical Mycological Society of the Americas, it supports the travel of a student medical microbiologist from Latin America, Puerto Rico or the Caribbean to participate in ASM General Meeting. Administered by ASM and the Medical Mycological Society of the Americas, it supports the travel of a student medical microbiologist from Latin America, Puerto Rico or the Caribbean to participate in ASM General Meeting.

ASM provides resources to assist graduate students pursuing careers in microbiology.

ASM Kadner Institute in Preparation for Careers in Microbiology.
Intensive and closely guided experience in grant writing, scientific presentations, teaching, career planning and ethics.

ASM Scientific Writing and Publishing Institute.
Hands-on intensive training in scientific writing and publishing under mentorship of ASM Journal editors and reviewers.

Raymond W. Sarber Awards. Recognize students at the undergraduate and predoctoral levels for research excellence and potential.