The Spanish Association of Mycology (AEM), formerly The Spanish
Association of Mycology Specialists was created in 1977 as a scientific
society aiming to promote the development of basic, applied and clinical
aspects of Mycology in Spain and to establish the bases of cooperation with national or international companies that share the same purpose.
Since its inception, the AEM has given support to General and monographic courses of Mycology, developing scientific workshops which have Transformed into coordinated gatherings of Mycology in 1982. These meetings have been taking place every two years in collaboration with the Specialized Group of Mycology of the Spanish Society of Microbiology until they became the National Congress of Mycology in 1992, of which the 14th and last edition was held in September 2018 in Tarragona.
The educational activity of the AEM also has been focusing on creating
theoretical and practical courses that allow participants to work directly with laboratory technicians and learn techniques and learn from the best qualified professionals of these subject areas. The theoretical and practical course of In vitro Sensitivity to Anti-fungal Drugs was held annually from 1998 until 2013, completing 14 editions in thirteen Spanish cities. In January 2016 following the great success of these courses, the I Course of Basic theory and Practice of Identification of the Filamentous Fungi with equally fantastic results was held in Valencia (2017) and Madrid (2019).
Consequently, the reforms that took place in 1995 led to the creation of a
department of Medical Mycology and several other work groups. These
entities organized AEM members into thematic areas for the development of scientific activities and research.
Since 1979 the AEM is a member of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM) and our partners can apply for membership to this international partnership without the necessity of approval of partner presenters. The AEM is also a founding member of the European
Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) celebrated with a congress each year. The sixth celebratory congress took place in Barcelona in November 2000. Since 2003 the congresses have been carried out jointly with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) at biannual intervals, which have been since renamed as the Congress on Trends in Medical Mycology (TIMM). The fifth edition of the TIMM event was held in Valencia in 2011.
The Department of Medical Mycology of the AEM actively collaborates with
the ECMM work groups that develop research on the epidemiology of mycosis
/ fungal infections.
Within international relations the AEM has maintained fraternal relationships
of cooperation with Latin America, notably with the Argentinian Association of
Mycology and the Venezuelan Association of Mycology.