Let's Talk Micro

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Louise Francois Watkins and Dr. Naeemah Logan from the CDC. They join the podcast to talk about extensively drug resistant Shigella (XDR). What is Shigella? How is it transmitted? What makes it an XDR? Tune in to find out. Resources: Health Alert Network (HAN) - 00486 | Increase in Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigellosis in the United States (cdc.gov) Webinar Tuesday, February 28, 2023 - Epidemiology, Testing, and Management of Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigellosis (cdc.gov) Information for Healthcare Professionals | Shigella – Shigellosis | CDC Health Promotion Materials | Shigella – Shigellosis | CDC

The Clinical Microbiology Procedures Handbook (CMPH)—a cornerstone resource for clinical labs—has just released its 5th edition. In this episode of Let's Talk Micro, I'm joined by the editors-in-chief, Dr. Amy Leber and Dr. Carey-Ann Burnham, to discuss what's new, what's essential, and why the CMPH continues to be a trusted reference in clinical microbiology. What role does it play in the lab? How has it evolved? Tune in to find out. 📘 Link to ClinMicroNow below Link to ClinMicroNow: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781683670438 Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

Happy Lab week! Thank you for all you do. This episode features a conversation with Amanda Reed , director of the St. Louis University Medical Laboratory Sciences program (SLU-MLS). In addition to being the director, she also teaches Microbiology. Tune in to find out about their program, a talk about the importance of biochemicals , and more. They also have something called "Name that bug" that prepares students to recognize and learn about organisms.Link to program attached.

This episode features a conversation with the team behind Bacteria Game: Mathilde Lescat, Nicolas Piñeros and Katie Teinallon. A good educator is always trying to find ways to improve and reach the students. There is a lot of information in Microbiology, so coming up with ways students can learn the material is very important. Mathilde Lescat came up with a game to teach students Microbiology. It is supported by the French Society for Microbiology and it is available in French and English. What is Bacteria Game? What audience is it intended for? Tune in to find out. Link to the French Society for Microbiology page where the game can be ordered is attached.

In this episode, Dr. Andrea Prinzi and Dr. Rodney Rohde join the podcast to discuss the article 'The Role of Bacterial Biofilms in Antimicrobial Resistance.' What exactly are biofilms? Which organisms are commonly associated with them? And how do they contribute to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? Tune in for an insightful conversation on this important topic. Link to article: https://asm.org/Articles/2023/March/The-Role-of-Bacterial-Biofilms-in-Antimicrobial-Re Link to quorum sensing article: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/June/How-Quorum-Sensing-Works Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a press release on March 20, 2023 about Candida auris. There is an increase in cases, so it is a good time to talk about it. Dr. Shawn Lockhart, from the Mycotic Diseases Branch of the CDC joins the podcast to talk about C. auris. What is C. auris? How is it transmitted? What kind of antimicrobial resistance does it exhibit? Tune in to this episode to find out. Link to EPA's P list: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-p-antimicrobial-products-registered-epa-claims-against-candida-auris Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

This episode features an interview with Dr. Kristen Pesavento, from the Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) program in Loyola University. Unlike traditional MLS programs where typically a bachelors degree is obtained upon completion, this program confers a Master of Science degree. What prerequisites do you need? Dr. Pesavento also talks about their summer immersion program, which takes place from May 17-19 of this year. Here students can get familiarized with Medical Laboratory Sciences.Link to Loyola MLS program: https://www.luc.edu/parkinson/mls/msinmedicallaboratoryscience/Link to Loyola MLS Immersion Experience: https://www.luc.edu/parkinson/mls/mlsimmersionexperience/

This is part 2 of a two part series. Dr. Rachael Liesman goes over scenarios where genotypic and phenotypic testing do not match and what to do. What do you do when your molecular instrument detects mec-A and Staphylococcus aureus but your susceptibility report shows oxacillin susceptible? What about VanA and Enterococcus? As Medical Laboratory Scientists in Microbiology, we encounter this type of situations. Tune in to find out how to troubleshoot these discrepancies. Link to Dr. Patricia Simner's article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/JCM.00138-20

Those of you that work in Clinical Microbiology have seen at one point that a molecular test detects a gene for antimicrobial resistance and the susceptibility profile does not match. What do we do then? In this episode Dr. Rachael Liesman joins to the podcast to talk about this. What is genotypic testing? What is phenotypic testing? How do we perform these in the lab? How do we troubleshoot these discrepancies? Tune in to this episode which is the first of a two part series to find out. Link to Dr. Liesman's presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dphVN79alVfQERTL_rTihUA-zlqBOJfY/view?usp=share_link

This episode features an interview with the first graduate from the Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (DCLS) program from Rutgers University: Dr. Brandy Gunsolus. What is the DCLS program? What are the requirements for this degree? What does a Doctor in Clinical laboratory Sciences does? Can they be directors? Tune in to find out about this career path for laboratorians and its contribution in Laboratory Medicine. Link to DCLS programs: https://shp.utmb.edu/clls/dcls/home https://shp.rutgers.edu/clinical-lab-and-imaging-sciences/doctorate-of-clinical-lab-science/ https://www.kumc.edu/school-of-health-professions/academics/departments/clinical-laboratory-sciences/academics/doctorate-in-cls-program.html

In this episode we talk about a relationship between bacteria and the Hawaiian bobtail squid. Dr. Sarah McAnulty and Dr. Spencer Nyholm join the podcast to talk about a study about this squid and bacteria. What is symbiosis? What is the accessory nidamental gland? How does a bacterial community contribute to the development of this gland? What bacteria make up this community? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.02131-22 Link to Skype a Scientist: https://www.skypeascientist.com/meet-us.html

The show "The last of us" has brought the topic of fungal infections to the spotlight. What is Cordyceps? Why is the the term zombie used? What is the relationship between fungi and body temperature? Dr. Andrej Spec, an Infectious Diseases physician, joins the podcast to talk about Cordyceps and fungi.

This week's episode is about one species of Bacillus that causes disease and has the potential of being used as a bioterror agent : Bacillus anthracis. What is anthrax? How is this organism identified in the lab? What about Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis? Tune in to this episode to find out the answers.

In this episode I continue going over Bacillus. Now that we know its groups and what diseases they are implicated on, it's time to talk about media and morphology. What do the colonies look like? What is MYP agar? PEMBA? Tune in to find out.

This week's episode is about Bacillus and related genera. What are the groups that are part of this genus? Which species cause food poisoning? What about endophthalmitis? What are spores? Tune in to find out. Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

In a previous episode we talked about microbes in food. What about appliances such as a washing machine or a dishwasher? Or cleaning tools such as a sponge? Dr. Madeline Barron joins the podcast to answer those questions. She is the author of an article titled "Microbial Inhabitants of Cleaning Appliances and Tools". Tune in to find out what microbes are in those tools and appliances, recommendations for reducing their number, and more. Link to article: https://asm.org/Articles/2022/November/Microbial-Inhabitants-Cleaning-Appliances Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

This episode features an interview with Dr. Jose Alexander and Dustin Evans from AdvenHealth. They join the podcast to talk about a PCR test that they developed to detect amoeba. Not only it detects Naegleria fowleri, which is isolated in cases of Primary Amebic meningoencephalitis, but two other amoeba as well. Which ones does this test detect? Detecting amoeba in the laboratory is challenging due to lack of tests and trained personnel. How does this test compare to others? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://www.adventhealth.com/medical/adventhealthmd/news/adventhealth-physician-and-team-develop-a-new-test-quickly-detect-brain-eating-amoebas

In this week's episode we go outside of Clinical Microbiology into Marine Microbiology. What better way to do that than talking with Dr. Jeanette Davis, a.k.a. Dr. Ocean. How do you become a Marine Microbiologist? What kind of work do they do? Besides her work, Dr. Davis is also a published author. Tune in to this episode to learn more! Dr. Ocean's website: https://drjeanettedavis.com

This episode features a conversation with Callum, an Infectious Disease physician and one of the co-hosts of ID:iots, an infectious disease podcast. What is their podcast about? What kind of work does an Infectious Disease doctor do? How do their work relates to the laboratory? Tune in for a great talk about the laboratory, challenges we have, and more. Link to ID:iots podcast: https://idiotspodcasting.buzzsprout.com

This episodes is about microbes in food. It features a conversation with Dr. Andrea Prinzi. Those of us that work in Microbiology are familiar with foods such as yogurt containing microbes. What about feta cheese? Enterococcus in your food? Tune in to find out more about this interesting topic that includes a popular meat substitute. Link to article: https://asm.org/Articles/2021/January/Microbes-That-Span-the-Clinical-Lab-and-Your-Groce

One of the ways of assessing and reinforcing a Microbiology student's learning is by giving them unknown organisms. They typically get a broth containing the organism, and they plate it on agar, and perform a gram stain and biochemical testing to properly identify the organism. How can this concept be applied online? This is what this episode is about. Learn how two educators from the University of Nebraska Medical Center incorporated the use of unknowns to remote teaching. How did the students do? How was this done? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.00071-22 If you have any questions, feel free to contact the authors : [email protected] [email protected]

In this episode Dr. Andrea Prinzi returns to the podcast to talk about respiratory cultures. What are the types of respiratory cultures? What are the pathogens? What is the significance of yeast in respiratory cultures? Sputum rejection?Tune in to this episode to learn more about these cultures. Link to article about sputum rejection that Dr. Prinzi mentions in the episode: https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/jcm.16.4.627-631.1982 Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

This episode was originally released on February 24 of this year. It features an interview with Dr. Paul Luethy from the University of Maryland Medical Center. It is about a case of Wohlfarhtiimonas chitiniclastica that was seen in bacteremia. Typically this organism is seen in polymicrobial infections. It is being re-released for the benefit of new listeners so it complements the latest episode (66). Link to article : https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/12/21-0327_article

This episode is about another case of Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica. It was presented in an article titled : "The fly who cried wolf" which was published by the American Society for Microbiology. Drs. David Gaston and Yembur Ahmad joined the podcast to discuss it. Tune in to listen to a great conversation about this organism, including morphology, biochemicals, and so much more. Link to article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01073-21 Check out Dr. Diana Zhong' s twitter page (came up with the tittle of the article) : @doctordianasaur

Following the last episode about Yersinia species, on this episode I go over Y. pestis. Why is there concern about encountering Y. pestis in the laboratory? What do you do if you encounter potential bioterror agents? How does the laboratory handle those? As laboratories we are trained on how to recognize, test, handle, and ship these organisms. Tune in to this episode to learn about terms like Laboratory Response Network and the proficiency testing called LPX.

Following last week's episode about Y. pestis, what better than to learn about different species of Yersinia. What temperature range does Yersinisia grow at? Have you heard the term "bull's eye"? How about CIN agar? From enterocolitis to different forms of plague, tune in to this episode to lear about Yersinia, including media, biochemicals and more.

This episode features an interview with Philip Slavin and Maria Spyrou. They talk about Y. pestis and the second plague pandemic. A historical overview is provided and they talk about how DNA was obtained from 7 individuals buried in two cemeteries in the fourteenth century. Find out how this information points to an early source of the second plague pandemic. Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04800-3

This week Dr. Paul Hergenrother from the University of Illinois joins the podcast. Dr. Hergenrother talks about Fabimycin, an antibiotic candidate for gram negative bacteria. What is Fabimycin's mechanism of action? To which bacteria does it show activity against? Any intrinsic resistance? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.2c00598 Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

This episode features an interview with Kathryn Lionetti and Heather Townsend. They are two Microbiology college professors. They implemented two ways of teaching microscopy remotely as a result of the pandemic. Just like other educators, they had to adapt. What do these methods consist of? How did the students perform? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00332-21

Releasing on World Rabies Day (Sept. 28), this episode features an interview with Dr. Rodney Rohde, a Microbiologist and Professor and Chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science program at Texas State University. Dr. Rohde joins the podcast to talk about rabies. What is rabies? How do we acquire it? Prevention? Also, what is World Rabies Day? Tune in to find out. Dr. Rohde's rabies book and website : https://www.elsevier.com/books/rabies/wilson/978-0-323-63979-8 https://rodneyerohde.wp.txstate.edu/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33659941/

This episode features an interview with Dr. Garcia- Ojeda from the University of California Merced. One of the results of the pandemic was that educators had to adapt to remote teaching. How do they remotely teach students those hands-on skills that are so important in Microbiology? Dr. Garcia Ojeda talks about what he did with his Microbiology laboratory. What was the outcome? How did the students perform? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00328-21 If you have any questions please email Dr. Garcia Ojeda at: [email protected]

In this episode I continue going over S. pneumoniae. This time I go over a popular antigen test, and I also discuss molecular testing, including limitations and the importance of correlating the gram stain with the result. Also, have you heard of Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae?

This week I return to Streptococcus, this time S. pneumoniae. In this episode I go over its virulence, pathogenicity, and more. How do we identify it in the lab? What tests can we use? What is the bile solubility test?Tune in to this episode to find out.

This week's episode features an interview with Dr. Jeniffer Dien Bard and Dr. Amy Leber. Dr. Dien Bard is the Director of Microbiology at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Leber works at the Department of Pathology Laboratory Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. They join the podcast this week to talk about the shortages of Clinical Medical Laboratory Professionals in Microbiology. Why do we have these shortages? What about training programs? How long does training a professional takes? Tune in to this episode to find out. Link to original article: https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.00241-22 Link to certification for laboratory personnel: https://www.ascp.org/content/board-of-certification/get-credentialed Link for accredited programs: https://www.naacls.org/Find-a-Program.aspx

This episode features an interview with Claire Danielson and Sarah LewAllen form the Medical Laboratory Sciences Program at Michigan Tech University (MTU). They discuss an initiative that has been in place for quite some time: the Summer Youth Program. This program brings awareness to the Medical Lab Science profession by teaching high school students about the laboratory.

In this episode I go two types of media and one PCR test used for the detection of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE). What is this media composed of? How does it detect VRE? What about this PCR test? What is it looking for? Tune in to find out.

In this episode I go over Enterococcus species. What are the most clinically significant species of Enterococcus? Morphology? Biochemicals? Tune in to find out more about these organisms, and why are they so significant in healthcare settings.

In this episode I continue going over tips and suggestions you can use when you don't have supplies or are having difficulty isolating an organism. What if you are out of PEA or CNA? Will Lim broth help? What else can you use Martin Lewis and Modified Thayer Martin for ? How do susceptibilities help you isolate an organism? Tune in to find out.

In the laboratory we have all experienced a shortage of supplies. We have also struggled to isolate and organism. What do we do when this happens? What if you are trying to isolate a gram positive cocci but there is no PEA or CNA? What if you need to isolate a Pseudomonas aeruginosa from a mixed culture? Tune in to this episode to find out.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Alan Wu, Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-Laboratory Director at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Wu has made numerous contributions to the laboratory field—and now he's bringing the lab to television. He's working on a show designed to accurately depict the clinical laboratory and highlight the essential role laboratorians play in patient care. 🎬 Tune in to hear more about Dr. Wu's project, his vision for the show, and why it matters for the future of laboratory medicine. Read more about the show here: UCSF article Check out the website: https://www.letstalkmicro.com/ Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

In this episode I continue going over beta hemolytic strep: this time Streptococcus anginosus group. What are the species that compose this group? What is the Lancefield group? What about biochemicals and morphology? Tune in to find out. Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

This is a special edition episode. In lieu of all the recent information about monkeypox, Dr. Rodney Rohde comes to the podcast to provide us with some information about this virus. Dr. Rohde is an experienced microbiologist and educator. He is program chair and professor in the Clinical Laboratory Science program at Texas State University. Tune in to learn about monkeypox, including signs, symptoms, treatment options, and outbreak information. Dr Rhode's most recent publication: https://theconversation.com/what-is-monkeypox-a-microbiologist-explains-whats-known-about-this-smallpox-cousin-183499

This week I continue going over beta hemolytic strep: this time Streptococcus dysgalactiae. What Lancefield group is it? What about media, biochemicals and pathogenicity? Tune in to find out the answers.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Lacy Moss, a professor at the University of Utah Medical Laboratory Sciences program. She joins the podcast to discuss an initiative launched by the MLS program and the University: the Summer Immersion Program. In this program high school students will learn about laboratory medicine. How does it work? How does it help the Medical Laboratory Sciences profession? Tune in to find out. Link to article: https://medicine.utah.edu/pathology/medical-laboratory-science/news/med-lab-sci-summer-immersion-program.php

This episode features an interview with Dr. Andrea Prinzi, an infectious disease medical science liaison and a contributor of many articles published in the American Society for Microbiology website. She comes to Let's Talk Micro to talk about antimicrobial susceptibility testing and breakpoints. Many laboratories are or have been using outdated breakpoints? What is the significance of this? How are breakpoints updated? Tune in to this episode to find out and check out Dr. Prinzi's article on the subject. Link to article: https://asm.org/Articles/2022/February/Updating-Breakpoints-in-Antimicrobial-Susceptibili

What is BacterioSight? As automation becomes a larger part of Laboratory Medicine, how could it help with urine cultures? This episode features an interview with Dr. Daniel Rhoads from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Dr. Rhoades talks about BacterioSight, a deep learning model that was used to interpret images from urine cultures. Other areas of the laboratory already have systems where some results autofile. What if this could be applied to cultures in Microbiology? Tune in to this episode to find out more about BacterioSight and its potential applications. Link to article: https://academic.oup.com/clinchem/article-abstract/68/4/574/6520601?redirectedFrom=fulltext

This episode features a collaboration between two Microbiology podcasts: The Microbe Moment and Let's Talk Micro. On this episode I am the one being interviewed. Find out what is like being a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) in Microbiology and what teaching is like. What does an MLS do? What are the responsibilities of a supervisor? What about teaching? Find out by listening to this episode.

This week on Let's Talk Micro, we're tackling a remarkable story in virology—the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a patient who may have been cured. Dr. Jingmei Hsu, a stem cell specialist from Weill Cornell Medical College, joins the podcast to break down a fascinating case involving a cord blood stem cell transplant. What's the role of the CCR5 gene in HIV resistance? Don't miss this compelling conversation. Link to article: https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2022/02/patient-possibly-cured-of-hiv-infection-by-special-stem-cell-transplant Check out the website: https://www.letstalkmicro.com/ Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected] Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

This episode features an interview with Dr. Charlene Kahler from the Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training at the University of Western Australia. She discusses and article titled "Neisseria species and their complicated relationships with human health". Tune in to this episode to find out more information about different species of Neisseria and their significance in the human body. Link to article: https://www.publish.csiro.au/ma/fulltext/ma21024

This episodes features an interview with Dr. Ayesha Khan, one of the authors of a study performed on automated susceptibility testing on S. maltophilia. Three systems were evaluated. How did they perform? Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a very significant organism that has a high level of intrinsic antibiotic resistance. What are the challenges with breakpoints? Tune in to find out.