IWA/ISME BioCluster Award

The BioCluster facilitates the cooperation among Specialist Groups in the International Water Association (IWA) on one hand and between IWA and the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) on the other hand.

The mission of the BioCluster is described in the MoU: To inspire, facilitate and support the mutual exchange of knowledge and the cooperation between IWA and ISME on the field of microbial ecology research and its application for water science and management. The driving force has been the fantastic developments in novel molecular technologies, particularly related to DNA/RNA sequencing, that are taking place among microbial ecologists and biotechnologists.

Clearly these technologies have significant potential to solve many of the challenges IWA faces related to either microbiological problems, such as human health, or to the application of microbial communities for specific purposes, such as wastewater treatment or bioenergy production. A close collaboration with ISME will ensure the transfer and application of the latest knowledge to the water science and management community. In return, the researchers in ISME will be exposed to a range of profound and important (and often new) research questions, where their expertise can be applied, new questions can be asked and where joint research projects can be developed.