Meet the Microbiologist

Viral gastroenteritis around the world causes 200,000 deaths globally each year. Mary Estes talks about her work on 2 gastroenteritis-causing viruses, rotavirus and norovirus, and tells the story of her discovery of the first viral enterotoxin. She also describes how noroviruses have changed from human volunteer studies to studies using "miniguts," a system now used with many enteropathogenic micr...

The most abundant organism on Earth lives in its seas: the marine bacterium SAR11. Steve Giovannoni describes how the origins of SAR11 provided its name, and the ways that studying SAR11 have taught scientists about ocean ecology. He also discusses how the different depths of the ocean vary in their microbial compositions and what his big questions are in marine microbiology. Different depths of t...

Can a protein be contagious? Jason Bartz discusses his work on prion proteins, which cause spongiform encephalopathy and can be transmitted by ingestion or inhalation among some animals. He further discusses how prions can exist as different strains, and what techniques may help improve diagnosis of subclinical infections. Links for this Episode: Jason Bartz Creighton University website Holec SAM,...

Microbial interactions drive microbial evolution, and in a polymicrobial infection, these interactions can determine patient outcome. Deb Hogan talks about her research on interkingdom interactions between the bacterium Pseudomonas and the fungus Candida , 2 organisms that can cause serious illness in cystic fibrosis patients' lung infections. Her research aims to better characterize these interac...

Why is C. diff such a serious disease and what are clinical microbiologists doing to improve patient outcomes with better diagnostic tools?

Many hospital-acquired bacterial infections are also drug-resistant. Amy Mathers describes her work tracking these bacteria to their reservoir in hospital sinks, and what tools allowed her team to make these discoveries. Mathers also discusses her work on Klebsiella , a bacterial pathogen for the modern era. Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email . Julie...

How do medical professionals incorporate microbiome science into their patient care? Ami Bhatt discusses her research on the diversity within and between human gut microbiomes, and how this research is slowly and carefully being used to build new patient care recommendations. Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email . Julie's Biggest Takeaways Although the...

Identified in the 1980s, Borrelia burgdorferi and other Lyme disease-associated spirochetes have since been found throughout the world. Jorge Benach answers questions about Lyme Disease symptoms, his role in identifying the causative bacterium, and his current research on multispecies pathogens carried by hard-bodied ticks. Julie's Biggest Takeaways Erythema migrans (the classic bullseye rash) is...

Influenza is famous for its ability to mutate and evolve but are mutations always the virus' friend? Jesse Bloom discusses his work on influenza escape from serum through mutation and how mutations affect influenza virus function and transmission. Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email . Also available on the ASM Podcast Network app . Julie's Biggest Tak...

Graciela Lorca studies genetic systems to find positive and negative microbial interactions that lead to disease. She talks about her discovery of chemical inhibitors for the citrus greening disease bacterium, Liberibacter asiaticus, and how a specific strain of Lactobacillus johnsonii modulates the immune system and may help prevent development of diabetes in people. Subscribe (free) on Apple Pod...

When a new biothreat or emerging infectious agent threatens, how are diagnostic protocols put into place? It's up to the Laboratory Response Network (LRN), a multipartner network of public health, clinical and other labs, to generate and distribute reagents, and provide training to detect these threats. Julie Villanueva, Chief of the Laboratory Preparedness and Response Branch at the CDC, talks ab...

George F. Gao discusses how China CDC promotes global public health during outbreaks SARS and Ebola. He also talks about running a structural biology lab, the importance of both basic and translational research, and the most important discovery of the 20th century. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : China CDC was founded in 2001. Its experience with the SARS outbreak informed its response to the western...

Bacteriophage are viruses that infect specific bacteria. Jeremy Barr discusses his discovery that phage interact with (but don't infect) mammalian epithelial cells. He explains how these different organisms: bacteria, bacteriophage, and the mammalian host, may exist in three-way symbioses. Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email . Also available on the AS...

Stanley Maloy discusses his career in Salmonella research, which started with developing molecular tools and is now focused on the role of Salmonella genome plasticity in niche development. He further talks about his role in science entrepreneurship, science education, and working with an international research community. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Stanley's career began when transposon mutagenes...

Cheese rinds contain microbial communities that are relatively simple to study in the lab while offering insight into other, more complex microbial ecosystems. Rachel Dutton discusses her work studying these cheese microbiomes, one of the few microbial ecosystem types where almost all of the microorganisms are culturable. Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by...

Most diagnostic tests look for a single microorganism, or at most a limited panel of microorganisms. Charles Chiu discusses his research on metagenomic sequencing as a diagnostic tool that can identify all potential pathogens in a given patient sample. Links for this Episode: MTM Listener Survey , only takes 3 minutes! Thanks;) Charles Chiu Profile at UCSF Chiu Lab at UCSF Validation of Metagenomi...

While searching for lignin-degrading soil microbes, Gautam Dantas discovered growth in an antimicrobial compound-containing control! He has since studied the resistance determinants (resistome) of soil and clinical samples to determine their similarities. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Sequencing information is extremely useful for descriptive studies, but there's an increasing trend in microbiome st...

Pat Brown founded Impossible Foods with a mission to replace animals as a food production technology. Here, he discusses the ways microbial engineering helps produce the plant hemoglobin that provides the Impossible Burger's meaty qualities. Links for this episode: Take the MTM listener survey (~3 min.) The Microbial Reasons Why the Impossible Tastes So Good Impossible Foods The Conversation: What...

CRISPR is a genome-editing tool, but what is its role in microbial biology and evolution? Joe Bondy-Denomy discusses his discovery of the first anti-CRISPR protein and the many unanswered questions surrounding CRISPR biology. Julie's Biggest Takeaways CRISPR is a bacterial immune system that identifies and destroys specific nucleotide sequences. These sequences are most commonly associated with fo...

Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Parasites are incredibly varied in many characteristics, including their size! Some are microscopic, while others are macroscopic and can be seen with the naked eye. Not just small macroscopic, although some worms at 35 cm can be considered quite large. Some tapeworms can reach 50 feet! Bobbi Pritt's blog started as an exercise to share the cases she observed while a st...

How did discoveries made with bovine papillomavirus help scientists develop the human papillomavirus vaccine? Doug Lowy discusses his journey that began with basic research and led to the production of the HPV vaccine. Julie's Biggest Takeaways In the early 1950s, the U.S. was a high-incidence country for cervical cancer. Through application of screens using the Pap smear, doctors have been able t...

Burkholderia pseudomallei is an endemic soil-dwelling bacterium in southeast Asia, where it causes melioidosis. Direk Limmathurotsakul discusses his work to improve the official reporting numbers and how Julie's Biggest Takeaways: Melioidosis can present in a number of ways, such as sepsis, pneumonia, or abscesses. Because the symptoms are not specific, diagnosis requires isolation of the Burkhold...

When will the next disease outbreak occur? Why are some pests better at spreading disease than others? Disease Ecologist Barbara Han talks about her research that addresses these questions with computer modeling, as well as how modeling predictions can inform field and bench research. Take the listener survey: asm.org/mtmpoll Visit asm.org/mtm for all links and notes.

Why have scientists struggled to generate a protective HIV vaccine? Dan Barouch lays out the unique challenges and discusses the ongoing clinical trial with an adenovirus-based vaccine developed in his lab. Julie's Biggest Takeaways HIV poses unique and unprecedented challenges for vaccine development including: Viral diversity: extremely wide range of viral diversity. No natural precedent: No hum...

Erica Ollmann Saphire discusses her research on Ebola virus glycoprotein and the changing nature of structural biology. The Ebola virus glycoprotein sequence can vary up to 50% between Ebola virus species, presenting a challenge to develop pan-Ebola therapeutics or vaccines. Erica Ollmann Saphire discusses her work on antibodies that neutralize all Ebola virus species and the changing nature of th...