The Society caters for the different areas of modern microbiology through ten special interest Groups and one regional Branch. The main business of the Groups is to propose and set up scientific meetings and symposia .
Groups frequently organize meetings jointly with other learned societies.
The laboratory study of viruses and virus infection in the context of human and veterinary disease. To communicate and develop advances in teaching and training in microbiology, and to promote the role of general skills such as computer applications or microscopy that are fundamental to many areas of microbiology. The biology of microorganisms both in their natural habitats and introduced into novel habitats. The exploitation of microorganisms in fermentation and other industrial and biotechnological processes, including biotransformations and the isolation and identification of novel producing organisms. The microbiology of infectious cellular agents in a broad context, including pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.