Editors in Conversation

During the pandemic researchers who focus on the microbiology of built environments suddenly found themselves at the center of attention. Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 may be spreading indoors became incredibly important to ensure we can operate indoors in a safe manner. We now know that SARS-CoV-2 transmits through the air in droplets and as particles, and this information has helped us to provide...

Developing non-traditional antibiotics promises novel strategies to combat multidrug-resistant organisms but would they work? Are they feasible to develop? Topics discussed: 
 • The notion of non-traditional antibiotics as potential therapeutics against MDR organisms 
 • Increasing our understanding on the clinical efficacy of non-traditional antibiotics 
 • Regulatory pathways for approval of suc...

Fermentation is a wonderful thing! Thanks to new technologies and cheaper sequencing we are now able to dig deep into the microbial friends that supply fermentation for so many wonderful foods and drinks. Topics discussed: Why cheese? Other fermented foods that can help shed light on microbial dynamics. Employing metabolomics to explore fermented food mSystems papers that focuses on fermented food...

Blood cultures for bacteria and yeast are among the most clinically important and high-volume tests performed by clinical microbiology labs. Because these cultures are so important to clinical care, we want to make sure that blood cultures are performed as quickly and accurately as possible, and that they are ordered, collected and utilized appropriately. We are going talk about two recent papers....

What influential research outside of COVID-19 was published in AAC in 2020? Objectives: • Discuss pathways of young scientists in antimicrobial resistance • Highlight important papers in AAC in 2020 that were not related to COVID-19 • Stimulate discussion in important topics related to antimicrobial agents I want to welcome my co-host Dr. Maria Fernanda Mojica who is the host of the ASM Journal Cl...

Susceptibility testing for staphylococci other than S. aureus , or SOSA, has become increasingly complicated, as more laboratories use MALDI-TOF to routinely identify these bacteria to the species level. In particular, accurate identification of methicillin resistance has become more complex as the different species are distinguished by the accuracy of different susceptibility testing methods and...

What is Synthetic Microbiology and why is systems biology central to the development of this exciting scientific discipline? Topics discussed: What is synthetic microbiology? How systems biology and synthetic biology interact What studies should mSystems publish in the field of synthetic microbiology? Guests: Prof. Pam Silver and P rof. Danielle Tullman-Ercek . Visit msystems.asm.org to read artic...

The speed of development of vaccines for COVID-19 has been unprecedented, exceeding expectations. A reflection of the process and lessons for the future. A conversation with Dr. Carol Baker.  Topics discussed: The vaccine development for COVID-19 and key elements in the initial success Understand the clinical data leading to approval of the vaccines  Comment on the future of vaccines with implemen...

2020 was a great year… for research in clinical microbiology. The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, including challenges to clinical laboratories. Clinical microbiologists rapidly created a variety of tests for SARS-CoV-2, figured out innovative ways to collect and transport samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing, and also continued their research in areas outside of the pandemic. In t...

The emergence COVID-19 changed the entire world, a look back to one of the most difficult years for public health in modern history. Objectives: • Summarize the key events leading to the COVID-19 pandemic • Discuss the missteps and successes on the COVID-19 fight in the US • Comment on the future and what 2021 is likely to bring in relation t the COVID-19 pandemic Guest: • Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo: The...

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought more media attention to clinical laboratories than at any time in recent history. Today we'll talk about media coverage of diagnostic testing for COVID-19 with two experts. Some of the questions we'll discuss include: How has the media coverage of tests for COVID-19 affected the public's view of these tests? What is the role of social media in talking about testin...

ARLG is changing the field of clinical research in antimicrobial resistance. We will talk with the Principal Investigators of the ARLG to discuss their strategy Objectives: • Review the history and accomplishments of ARLG • Discuss the missions of ARLG including training new clinical investigators focused on antibiotic resistance • Comment of the future of ARLG and clinical research on antibiotic...

Let's talk about total laboratory automation in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Highly automated systems are fairly common in the clinical chemistry and hematology labs, and they are increasingly common in clinical microbiology. Here are some of the questions we'll answer today. What does total laboratory automation look like in the clinical microbiology laboratory? Are there still manual st...

AAC Launches a new section. New perspectives on antimicrobial agents seeks to provide a clinically-oriented, concise summary supported by emerging clinical trial and/or real-world data. Our first article will be focused on remdesivir Objectives: • Review the rationale for the use of remdesivir against SARS-CoV-2 • Discuss the clinical data supporting the use of remdesivir for COVID-19 • Elaborate...

Laboratory testing for COVID-19, what's new since we talked about this in August? A lot. Here are some of the questions we'll talk about. • Do positive antibody tests indicate that people are immune to infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19? • What sample types might replace the dreaded nasopharyneal swab for more comfortable sample collection? • What are the new rapid tests for C...

How are we discovering new antibiotics in the 21st, How is science responding to the antibiotic crisis? Objectives: • Discuss the challenges on discovering new antibiotics in the modern era • Debate the current strategies to find new molecules against the most recalcitrant pathogens • Understand the multiple approaches that could lead to antibiotic development. Visit aac.asm.org to read the latest...

Let's talk about parasites. Parasites are shocking. Some of them are large enough to be seen without magnification as they crawl across eyeballs, wriggle under the skin or exit from various orifices of the body. But parasites are fascinating and diverse creatures which live in association with a host, such as a human, and they cause the host harm. Many parasites have complicated life cycles that c...

Why are we running out of antibiotics? A look at the pharmaceutical development of one of the most life-saving class of drugs. Topics discussed: The reasons behind the stagnant and declining antibiotic development pipeline New initiatives focused on stimulating the antibiotic market Strategies to spur the antibiotic development Guests: Helen Boucher, MD. Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division o...

• How can the clinical laboratory detect carbapenemases, which are enzyme that can make bacteria resistant to some of the most potent or broad-spectrum antibiotics available? • What is the clinical significance of detecting such an enzyme? Does it affect the care of the patient? • Finally, what practical advice can we give to help labs decide which of the many available tests is the best one for t...

Discussing new guidelines on the use of vancomycin for severe Staphylocccus aureus infections. The August issue of AAC includes interesting papers about mechanism of resistance to metronidazole in C. difficile, a variant of KPC resistant to ceftazidime-avibactam and description of a new "ultra-broad spectrum B-lactamase inhibitor" among others! You can find the issue at https://aac.asm.org.

The state of the art treatment of COVID-19, understand the role of some medications currently used for COVID-19 and dissecting novel approaches and strategies for the treatment of COVID-19 likely to become available in the short term. Guests: Henry Masur MD and Adarsh Bhimraj MD. Read the current issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy at https://aac.asm.org

A conversation with Lou Rice about his career and his experience of being the Editor of Chief for the AAC Journal for the past decade.  Visit aac.asm.org to read the current issue.

A discussion about laboratory testing for COVID-19 with two experts, Dr. Melissa Miller and Dr. Elitza Theel. Hosted by Journal of Clinical Microbiology Editor in Chief, Dr. Alexander McAdam. Get the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology at https://jcm.asm.org/

Objectives: • Discuss the therapeutic options currently being used for COVID-19 • Evaluate some clinical data supporting the use of these drugs • Comment on clinical trials and enrollment Participants: • Andre Kalil, Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NB, USA. Lead Investigator, NIH Clinical Trial for COVId-19 • Miguel A. Martinez, Editor AAC. Professor, AIDS Research Institu...