Matters Microbial

Today, Dr. Jo Handelsman of the University of Wisconsin Madison and Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work she and her research collaborators do on interactive microbial communities, using THOR (the hitchhikers of the rhizosphere) as a model system.  She will also remind us how vital soil is to our lives. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Jo Hand...

Today, Dr. Geo Santiago-Martinez, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Microbiology at the University of Connecticut joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the mysteries of the archaeal world, and how one group of these organisms produce methane gas as a byproduct of metabolism.  These methanogens are thus involved in climate, symbioses, biotechnology, and even astrobiology! Host:  M...

Today, Dr. Rachel Dutton, Science Resident at the Astera Institute in Berkeley, California, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the complex (and tasty) microbial communities responsible for cheese as a model system for microbial interactions, as well as her interesting path through science. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Rachel Dutton Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matter...

Today, Sarah Bordenstein, Associate Research Professor of Biology & Entomology at Penn State University and Director of Discover the Microbes Within! The  Wolbachia  Project joins the  #QualityQuorum to tell us about the most successful pandemic on the planet, the fascinating endosymbiotic bacterium  Wolbachia , and how she has used this fascinating system to teach young people about molecular bio...

Today, Dr. Jeri Barak of the University of Wisconsin Madison joins the #QualityQuorum to chat about how various microbes (some of which can cause disease in humans) can gain access to  plants, sometimes via group behavior.  With media coverage of  Salmonella contamination in lettuce, Dr. Barak's work is especially timely!  She will also discuss what it is like to be a plant pathologist! Host:  Mar...

Today, Dr. Vincent Young of the University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease Division in Ann Arbor, joins the #QualityQuorum to chat about the ecology of the human gut as it relates to a serious bacterial disease caused by  Clostridiodes difficile .  He will also discuss what it is like to be a medical scientist with both MD and PhD degrees. Host:  Mark O. Martin G...

Today, Dr. Ana Maria Porras of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida, joins the #QualityQuorum to chat about her work studying gut microbes and the gut, IBDs, representation, and even how fiber arts can inspire microbial wonder! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Ana Maria Porras Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this...

Today, Dr. Paula Welander, Associate Professor of Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford University (and #DocMartian #4) joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the work she and her colleagues are doing probing at early life by studying lipid biosignatures that can appear in the fossil record—and the role that cholesterol and related molecules have on microbial life. Host:  Mark O. Martin Gues...

Today, Dr. Manu Ramalho of West Chester University in Pennsylvania joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the wonderful world of ants, their microbiomes, and what their intersection can teach us about our place in the natural world. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Manu Ramalho Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode I wear some microbial theme...

Today, Dr. Brian Stevenson of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss a twisty twirling form of life, spirochetes, ticks, and human diseases like Lyme Disease. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Brian Stevenson Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The  Latin Translator  I have used (because if I am...

Today, Dr. Jennifer Biddle of the School of Marine Science and Policy at the University of Delaware joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss deep microbial life in marine environments (and why you should care about it), as well as her fascination with archaea! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Jennifer Biddle Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episod...

Today, Dr. Hazel Barton, Loper Endowed Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama,  joins the #QualityQuorum to tell us about her explorations of cave microbiology and the relationship between microbiology and geology! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Hazel Barton Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An introduction of...

Today, Dr. Franny Gilman, Principal Scientist at the Kraft-Heinz Company (and another #DocMartian who worked in my undergraduate research lab),  joins the #QualityQuorum to tell us about the path that took her from studying the cloacal microbiome of lizards to Greenland and eventually to food science! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest: Franny Gilman Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron...

Today, Dr. Sue Ishaq of the University of Maine joins the #QualityQuorum to tell us about the relationship between what we eat and our microbes, as well as making microbiology more inclusive to everyone. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Sue Ishaq Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An  explanation  of Charles Darwin's quotation about hav...

Today, Dr. Cameron Thrash of the University of Southern California will discuss marine microbiology, an extremely…ubiquitous…microbe (with a name every #Micronaut should know!), conducting research at sea, and his path in science. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Cameron Thrash Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode Here is an  essay  descr...

Today, Dr. Danielle Campbell (and former #DocMartian!), a postdoctoral scholar of the Baldridge group at Washington University in St. Louis, will share her research into the relationship between bacteriophage and the gut microbiome…as well as chat about her path in science. Host: Mark O. Martin Guest: Danielle Campbell Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Li...

Today, Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Julia van Kessel of Indiana University will chat with us about how groups of bacteria can sense one another and carry out behavior as a collective…including some kinds of disease! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Julia van Kessel Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode An introduction to the horrific...

Today, the impressive Dr. Arturo Casadevall of Johns Hopkins University will joint #MattersMicrobial to discuss his path in science, how fungi need more study, that some fungi are literally cool, and others a looming threat.  Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest: Arturo Casadevall Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode A wonderful  remembrance  (...

Today my former undergraduate student Lauren Augusta, currently in a PhD program in Microbiology at the University of Indiana, joins the podcast to chat about how she chose her career path in the microbial sciences, and her future path. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest: Lauren Augusta Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The program for cre...

Today Dr. Christina Kellogg of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg Florida chats with the podcast about her many diverse adventures in marine microbial ecology! It's quite a high energy microbial journey! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Chris Kellogg Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The recycle...

Today Dr. Suzanne Devkota of the Cedars-Sinai Division of Gastronterology and Director of the Cedars Sinai Human Microbiome Research Institute will tell us about the role that our diet plays in the gut microbiome, and how that can impact health.  So it really is true:  you ARE what you(r microbes) eat! Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Suzanne Devkota Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  pat...

Today Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences at UC San Diego and Co-Director at the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics, will chat with us about how bacteriophages—viruses that attack bacteria—changed her life and are becoming part of our future. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest: Steffanie Strathdee Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron...

Today Dr. Vaughn Cooper, Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, will chat with us about how he and his team teach high school students and undergraduates about evolution occurring in real time—using bacteria. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest:  Vaughn Cooper Subscribe: Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for...

Today Dr. Nichole Broderick, Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Johns Hopkins University, will chat with us about how the study of the fruit fly microbiome can give us insights into human health and disease. Host:  Mark O. Martin Guest Nichole Broderick Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify Become a  patron  of Matters Microbial! Links for this episode The artist " Chocolate Menageri...