Let's Talk Micro

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, sympto...

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 pro...

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 Many laboratories are or have been using outdated breakpoints?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 a...

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...

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 comp...

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...

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.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Carey-Ann Burnham, Dr. Daniel Webber and Meghan Wallace from Washington University in St. Louis. They are the authors of a study where disk diffusion testing was performed on isolates that had an incubation time of 6 hours. One of the challenges in Microbiology is time. In Microbiology organisms are incubated for 18 to 24 hours, Tune in to this episode t...

In January there was an episode about Staphylococcus argenteus , a member of the S. aureus complex . This episode features an interview about a new member of the Staphylococcus aureus complex: Staphylococcus singaporensis . Dr . Jeanette Teo joins the podcast to discuss her study about this organism. How similar is S. singaporensis to S. aureus? Any virulence factors? Tune in to find out.

What is Todd Hewitt broth? Is it the same as LIM broth? What's in it? In this episode I go over Todd Hewitt Broth, and two PCR tests used for the detection of S. agalactiae (GBS).

In this episode I continue going over species of Streptococcus . This week's episode is about Streptococcus agalactiae . What is the Lancefield group of this Strep species? Is it pathogenic?. Tune in to this episode to find the answer to these questions and more.

Wohlfahrtiimonas what? Have you heard about this organism? It is a gram negative rod and it is very unusual. In this episode Dr. Paul Luethy from the University of Maryland School of Medicine comes to the podcast to discuss a case regarding this organism. How is it identified? Does it grow on standard media? What about susceptibilities? Tune in to this episode to find out. The case was published i...

In this episode I go over three tests used for the detection of S. pyogenes : two antigen based and one PCR. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one? Do negative results need to be confirmed by a culture? Tune in to find out.

After going over Staph and other gram positive cocci (gpc) in clusters, now is the turn for gram positive cocci in chains. This week's episode is about S. pyogenes or Group A Strep (GAS). What is the clinical significance of GAS? How do we identify it in the lab?. Tune in to this episode to find the answers to these questions and more.

This episode goes beyond Microbiology. It is about Medical Laboratory Sciences. In the episode I talk to Xander Fernandes and Maria Roussakis, two Medical Laboratory Technologists from Ontario, Canada. They talk about their website, medlabscholar.com, which contains great resources for Medical Laboratory Science students and professionals. What can we do to bring more awareness to this profession?...

In this week's episode I continue going over Coagulase negative Staph. I also go over other gram positive cocci in clusters such as Micrococcus and Aerococcus . Are these pathogenic? How do we identify them in the lab? Tune in to find out.

In this episode I go over Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus or CNS. Are they pathogenic or normal flora? Do we identify them or is a presumptive identification enough? Tune in to this episode to find out.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Robin Patel and Dr. Audrey Schuetz to discuss an article titled "Phenotypic and Genomic Profiling of Staphylococcus argenteus in Canada and the United States and Recommendations for Clinical Result Reporting". They are Co-Directors of the Bacteriology Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Challenges in identifying this organism are discussed. Staph...

This the last episode of 2021. What is chromogenic agar? In this episode I go over chromogenic agar used to detect MRSA. I also talk about Mannitol salt agar and how it aids in the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus.

On this episode I go over how to identify Staphylococcus aureus from a standard set of agar plates. I also go over a test used to determine if this organism is an MRSA or not.

In this episode I talk about Staphylococcus aureus. This is one of the most common organisms seen in Clinical Microbiology and a very serious one. Tune in to find about more about this organism, including its pathogenicity and significance in health care settings. Questions? Feedback? Send those to letstalkmicro@outlook.com Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letsta...

This episode is part two of a two-part episode. What are the limitations of the Vitek MS? In this episode I go over the limitations of the Vitek MS regarding identification of organisms. I also go over the pros and cons of having this system in the laboratory.

What is MALDI-TOF? How is it used in Clinical Microbiology?. This is the first part of a two part episode where I discuss MALDI-TOF, and its applications in Clinical Microbiology.