Let's Talk Micro

This episode is the first episode in what is going to be an Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) sub-series. Dr. Andrea Prinzi joins me in this series. Together we breakdown this complex topic. In this episode we start with an overview of the state of AMR, Dr. Prinzi provides some history, and we explain what the series is going to be about. Learning this information can be challenging for professionals...

Digital technology is part of the laboratory. We see it on instruments in Urinalysis and Hematology where images such as those of cells are produced. What about Parasitology? Can it be used for it? Dr. Bobbi Pritt, from the Mayo Clinic Laboratory , joins the podcast to talk about it. An algorithm with Artificial Intelligence has been implemented in her lab for protozoa. How did it do? What are the...

This episode was recorded while at the American Society for Microbiology's (ASM) Microbe 2023 at Houston. I go over my favorite posters, sessions and more. It was great connecting with fellow microbiologists. Great posters such as Shewanella and oysters, frogs and potential compounds, and more. Of course, as a podcaster I had to sit through an episode of Editors in conversation.

This episode was recorded while at the American Society for Microbiology's (ASM) Microbe 2023. I went over what I liked about this conference as a first timer. I also talk more about other courses I took and my experience overall. Then I was joined by great company: Elizabeth Deyett and Jon Mitchell from the Microbe Moment, They have a podcast called the Microbe Moment with the Microbigals. They t...

In this episode I am joined by Dr. April Bobenchik, the Medical Microbiology Director at Penn State Health. She talks about the latest updates of the CLSI's M100. CLSI (Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute) publishes many documents, the M100 being one of them, which is updated yearly. What is the M100? How does it relate to the work that we do in Clinical Microbiology? What is new this year? Tu...

Some of you may be familiar with the popular Parasite Wonders blog. In this episode of Let's Talk Micro , Luis is joined by its creator, Dr. Bobbi Pritt, Director of the Parasitology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. They dive into key questions: What specimens are typically tested for parasites? What testing methods are used? Is there a role for digital parasitology? Dr. Pritt shares her insights and ex...

This episode is the conclusion of Dr. Wojewoda's story about her hospital's network going down. What was the overall effect of the network going down? What happened when the system came back up? Any lessons learned and advice? Tune in to find out. Questions? Feedback? Send those to letstalkmicro@outlook.com Want to support the podcast? Here's how: Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro Buy me a...

Those of us that work in the laboratory have experienced a downtime at some point or another. They tend to be about 4 hours long. What if the downtime went on for days? How would you perform tasks such as add-on testing or referencing cultures? What if the whole system was down? Dr. Christina Wojewoda from the University of Vermont Medical Center joins the podcast to tell her "horror" story of whe...

This episodes features a conversation with Dr. Romney Humphries and Dr. April Abbott. They join the podcast to talk about a study where Piperacillin-Tazobactam (TZP) was evaluated. Testing results from automated systems were compared to a reference method. How did the systems perform? What are the challenges? What are CLSI breakpoints and FDA breakpoints? What is the MERINO trial? Tune in to find...

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...

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?...

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 pr...

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...

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/Art...

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...

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 M...

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 S taphylococcus aureus but your susceptibility report shows oxacillin susceptible? What about VanA and Enterococcus ? As Medical Laboratory Scientists in Microbiology, we encounter this type...

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...

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 contributio...

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....

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 letstalkmicro@outlook.com 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, recommendati...