The ASM Puerto Rico Branch is pleased to announce its 2008 Semi-Annual Conference to be held at the University of Puerto Rico, r’o Piedras Campus on December 13, 2008. The main topic will be "Enhancing Research and the Quality of Life through Biotechnology". We will explore the myths and realities of Puerto Rico as a Bioisland for the next decade in a panel of prominent professionals from Academia and Industry. The panel includes the President of the Puerto Rico Biosciences Alliance, Dr. Reynaldo Hern‡ndez; the executive Director of the Puerto Rico Industry and University Research Consortium (INDUNIV), Eng. Iv‡n Lugo; the Vice-President for Research and Technology of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Dr. Emma Fernandez-Repollet and the Director of the Environmental Biotechnology Institute of the California Polytechnic State University, Dr. Raœl Cano. An interesting lecture on scientific and historical issues in Antibiotic Resistance will be presented by Dr. Sonia Saavedra, Chief of Infectious Diseases from the Veteran Administration Medical Center in San Juan. The keynote conference "Biotechnology: From Pharmaceuticals to Biofuels" will be presented by Dr. Raœl Cano. Graduate and undergraduate students who are carrying out microbiological research have been invited to present their experimental findings in poster and oral formats. The PRSM will also present the "Dr. Arturo L. Carri—n Memorial Lecture Award" to Dr. Idali Martinez from the UPR Medical Sciences Campus who will be talking on "Cross-Protection Studies between Dengue and West Nile Viruses". For more information visit our web site www.micropr.org or send a message to the ASM Puerto Rico Branch e-mail, smpr50@gmail.com.