The history of the Hellenic Society of Medical Mycology

              The development of Medical Mycology was almost unknown in Greece until 1951. Most microbiologists had interest in Medical Bacteriology, while other Microbiology sectors were completely unknown. Prof G. Pangalos (1930-1960), a leading microbiologist and professor of Microbiology at the Athens School of Hygiene at the time, noted this gap in microbiological science and foresaw the importance of Mycology, proposing to the National Scholarship Foundation (I.K.Y.) to issue a scholarship in "Medical Mycology". The scholarship was won by a young medical doctor, Ourania Marcelou-Kinti (later Professor of Microbiology at the School of Hygiene), who attended a two-year-training at the newly established Department of Medical Mycology at the Pasteur Institute of Paris. A year later, in 1954, the VII International Botanical Congress was held in Paris. Mycologists from all over the world gathered there and founded the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM) counting 150 members, including Dr. Ourania Marcelou-Kinti. As soon as she finished her further education, she returned to Greece with a vision of developing the field of Medical Mycology in this country. In 1965, she was appointed director of the Microbiological Laboratory at the "Andreas Syggros" Hospital of Venereal and Skin Diseases, where she developed the Department of Fungi, contributing at the same time to the preparation of many doctoral dissertations, as well as to the publication of a large number of scientific papers, in the field of Medical Mycology. She continued her work as a Professor in the School of Hygiene from 1977 to 1988 in the chair of Parasitology, Entomology and Tropical Diseases.

              At the same time, Assistant Professor Athena Stylianea-Fountoulaki, Head of the Microbiology Laboratory of the General State Hospital of Nikaia, Piraeus, (1969-2000), contributed to the evolution of Medical Mycology in Greece. Prof. A. Stylianea-Fountoulaki initially worked at the Pasteur Institute in France (1959-1961), under the supervision of the leading professors of Mycology, G. Segretain, E. Drouet, and F. Mariat, and worked out her doctoral thesis entitled: "Contribution to the study of Aspergillus spp.".

              The vision of the above-mentioned Mycologists became a reality in 2001, when the Hellenic Society of Medical Mycology (HSoMM) was founded. This became possible on the initiative of the then Associate Professor Georgios Petrikkos, with the encouragement of Prof. O. Marcelou-Kinti and of Prof Georgios K. Daikos, who is one of the leading pioneers in the field of Infectious Diseases in Greece. Prof. Petrikkos had foreseen the increasing occurrence and importance of systemic fungal infections in immunosuppressed patients during his training at the Jules Bordet Brussels Cancer Institute. Founding members of the HSoMM were a group of 34 scientists and clinicians with a special interest in the field of Medical Mycology.    

The EIIM objectives, according to its first and updated statutes, are:

• The promotion of Medical Science, in particular of Medical Mycology, in Greece.
• The encouragement and strengthening of research efforts and studies in Greece, aiming for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of fungal infections.
• The promotion of Greek Medical Mycology at an international level.
• The development of collaboration with public and private bodies and organizations in Greece and abroad for the progress of Medical Mycology.

              The president and the members of the HSoMM Executive Board are elected every three years. Professor O. Marcelou-Kinti, in recognition of her many years of contribution to the field, was declared Honorary President of the Society for life, until December 2017 when she sadly passed away. Today (2024), the Honorary President is Professor G. Petrikkos.

              Today, the Society includes about 290 members and has developed a great activity to achieve its goals since its establishment. It has organized 9 Panhellenic Congresses, 10 Post-educational Seminars in Medical Mycology, two International Fora on Zygomycosis, the 2nd Balkan Congress (Balkan Fungus 2022), and participated in the organization of two TIMM (Trends in Medical Mycology) events (TIMM 2009 and TIMM 2023). At the same time, HSoMM is a member of the ECMM (European Confederation of Medical Mycology), with Prof. Emmanuel Roilidis, as its national representative.

              A wish by the members and friends of HSoMM is that the new generation of scientists working in the field of Medical Mycology, continue the Society’s work, promoting further the goals of Medical Mycology in Greece and internationally.

Founding members of HSoMM