Established in 1920,  the Eastern Pennsylvania Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (EPAASM) is one of the oldest branches of the ASM.  It is also one of the most active branches, serving professional microbiologists across Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and South/Central New Jersey.

Home to numerous educational institutions including five medical schools (University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, Drexel University, Temple University,  Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine), a strong biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, and several public health institutions,  the Philadelphia area has an abundance of scientists working in the field of microbiology, biotechnology and related disciplines.  The EPAASM membership reflects this diversity-our members including academic educators and researchers, clinical microbiologists, public health laboratorians, and pharmaceutical research and development scientists.

A very active branch, the EPAASM sponsors several annual events as well as regular monthly meetings from September to June. Major annual programs include the Infection and Immunity Forum (focused on microbial pathogenesis and host defense) and held in December,  and the Annual Symposium (focused on Clinical Microbiology) usually held in November. Monthly meetings (as of this writing, our 792nd in February 2022) are held virtually but prevIously on the Thomas Jefferson University campus in Center City. Some of our programs are devoted to a specific theme, such as education. Monthly programs are free of charge and are a great place to meet friends and colleagues for socializing and professional networking, which we hope to restart when the pandemic subsides and we can meet again in person. The May meeting is planned and organized by our Student Chapter.

If you are not a member of the EPAASM, but you’d like to get more involved in our activities,  meet new friends or catch up on your educational activities, please consider joining and attend one of our meetings.  

If you’d like to see more about the history of our branch,  visit the branch history webpage.

Twitter: @EPAASMBranch

YouTube Channel : https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCSDt74wgFFwVQZtMAO4Rr2Q?noapp=1