Meet the Microbiologist

We pull back the curtain as former show hosts Merry Buckley and Carl Zimmer talk Meet the Scientist origins, favorite interviews and microbial topics. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Though the show started before podcasts were as popular as they are now, this didn't pose a problem for Merry or Carl when soliciting guests - scientists were happy to have their work featured and to discuss their researc...

How does an engineer approach microbial genetics? cworks with microbes of all kinds to optimize metabolic and agricultural systems. Here he discusses his work with Rhodobacter to make biofuels and for membrane protein expression, with Agrobacterium and plant pathogenic viruses to make drought-resistant plants, and with Clostridium and yeast cocultures for lignocellulose digestion. Take the listene...

Over the course of a few decades, scientists have learned how insect endosymbiont bacteria affects insect reproduction and have used this understanding to control mosquito-born diseases. Seth Bordenstein talks about his research on the insect endosymbiont Wolbachia , human-microbiome interactions, and how the ecosystem of a host and its microbes can be refered to as a holobiont. Take the listener...

Christine Foreman explains how microbes can survive and grow on glaciers, and what we can learn from microbes in glacier ice cores. Take the MTM listener (that's you!) survey asm.org/mtmpoll it only take 3 minutes. Thanks! Julie's Biggest Takeaways Liquid inclusions between ice crystals create a vein-like network that allow microbes to survive between the ice crystals. Microbes living in glaciers...

A very small proportion of people infected with HIV do not develop AIDS. Mark Connors talks about 2 patient populations that his lab studies, the elite controllers and the elite neutralizers, who control HIV infection with their respective T cell or B cell responses. Connors hopes his work on killer T cells and broadly neutralizing antibodies will help scientists develop better HIV therapies or an...

In the early 2000s, Andrew Read predicted that non-sterilizing vaccines would lead to more virulent disease. He was able to test his hypothesis with the real-world example of Marek's disease, a disease of chickens. Read tells the story of his discovery, and talks about his work on myxoma virus. Take the MTM Listener Survey Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or b...

A recent Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, India, was halted due to improved detection capabilities. G. Arunkumar tells the story of his involvement. Host: Julie Wolf   Take the MTM Listener Survey Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email . Also available on the ASM Podcast Network app . Julie's Biggest Takeaways: Because bats are the normal reservoir, Nipah...

Robin Patel discusses her work on prosthetic joint infections and how metagenomics is changing infectious disease diagnostic procedures. Take the listener survey: asm.org/mtmpoll Julie's Biggest Takeaways : The term antimicrobial resistance can mean many things. Although acquisition of genetic elements can lead to drug resistance, so can different growth lifestyles of bacteria; the same bacteria g...

To eliminate malaria, you have to stop transmission, and that's what Carolina Barillas-Mury hopes to do. Her work on the interaction of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum may lead to a transmission-blocking vaccine. She explains how, and discusses the co-evolution of malaria, mosquitos, and man.   Take the listener survey : asm.org/mtmpoll   Julie's Biggest Takeaways: When born, babies car...

How do researchers study a new pathogen? Stanley Perlman talks about how virus researchers studied SARS and MERS after they emerged, what they learned, and why there are no more cases of SARS. He also discusses his work on a coronavirus model of multiple sclerosis.   We want to hear from you! Please take our listener survey.   Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Coronaviruses have the largest RNA genomes,...

You may know that beer is fermented, but did you know making chocolate requires a fermentation step? Kevin Verstrepen discusses how his lab optimizes flavor profiles of the yeast used in this fermentation step, and explains how yeast was domesticated before microorganisms had been discovered. Take the MTM listener survey , we want to hear from you. Thanks! Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Microbes are...

How can the humble zebrafish teach us about the human microbiome? John Rawls discusses the benefits of using animal models Take the MTM Listener Survey   Julie's Biggest Takeaways:   Zebrafish and other model animals provide opportunities to understand host-microbe interactions. Zebrafish are particularly useful for imaging studies, due to their translucent skin and the ease of in vivo microscopy....

Gemma Reguera discusses her studies of Geobacter pili, which transfers electrons to iron oxide and other minerals, and can be used for new biotech applications. Host: Julie Wolf   Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email . Also available on the ASM Podcast Network app . Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Geobacter sulferreducans , a bacterium that "breathes" rust...

Why do Legionnaire's Disease outbreaks occur mostly in the summer? What is the connection of the Flint change in water source and Legionella outbreaks in the area? Michele Swanson discusses her work on Legionella pneumophila and her path from busy undergraduate to ASM President. Julie's Biggest Takeaways: Legionella pneumophila is a waterborne microbe that lives in fresh water and can colonize wat...

How is Toxoplasma gondii , a protozoan that causes neuro-invasive disease, transmitted as a foodborne pathogen? Why are cats important in transmitting Toxoplasma infection? Anita Koshy answer these questions and talks about her research on the latest Meet the Microbiologist. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : The primary host for T. gondii is cats, in which the protozoan can undergo sexual reproduction....

Jennifer Gardy talks about whole-genome sequencing as a technique to address public health issues using genomic epidemiology. She talks about her research on TB and new DNA sequencing technologies, including her vision for microbial genetic sequencing as one piece of the puzzle in the future of public health. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : Whole-genome sequencing technologies are replacing older DNA...

See the full shownotes at: asm.org/mtm Julie Pfeiffer tells the story of how she serendipitously found a role for the gut microbiota during polio virus infection, and how she and her lab discovered an important role for bacterial glycans in viral biology. She also talks about viral fitness strategies, and how RNA viruses and DNA viruses benefit from making different amounts of errors when copying...

Pete Greenberg tells how bacteria can communicate based on cell density, a phenomenon he helped name quorum sensing. He talks about therapeutics based on quorum-sensing discoveries, and how studying bacterial interactions can be used to test ecological principles like cooperation and social cheating. Julie's biggest takeaways: Quorum sensing can be likened to an old-fashioned smoking room, where a...

Charlie Rice gives the history of learning to grow hepatitis C virus in culture, from pitfalls to hurdles and successes along the 20-year journey. He also talks about yellow fever virus, its vaccine, and the importance of curiosity-driven research

How are new diseases detected in a clinical microbiology lab? Melissa Miller talks about the time it takes to develop a test for a new disease (hint: it's getting shorter). She also shares her definition of 'point-of-care' diagnostics and explains the major trends for clinical microbiology labs. Host: Julie Wolf   Subscribe (free) on iPhone , Android , RSS , or by email . You can also listen on yo...

Veterinarian and epidemiologist Mathew Muturi tells how a Rift Valley Fever outbreak led to implementation of One Health-based policies. Muturi talks about his One Health training and its applications for health and biopreparedness. Julie's Biggest Takeaways: One Health Simple communication between experts helps facilitate implementation of one health in public systems. Sitting experts in human an...

Dave Rasko uses comparative bacterial genomics to find DNA sequences that influence virulence or antibiotic resistance. Dave talks about his studies of E. coli, Acinetobacter baumanii, and B. anthracis, and the state of bacterial genomics past, present, and future. Host: Julie Wolf Subscribe (free) on iPhone , Android , RSS , or by email . You can also listen on your mobile device with the ASM Pod...

Bill Jacobs talks about developing mycobacterial genetic tools and using them to discover ways to shorten TB treatment. He also talks about the SEA-PHAGES program that allows high-school students to participate in phage discovery. Host: Julie Wolf Subscribe (free) on iPhone , Android , RSS , or by email . You can also listen on your mobile device with the ASM Podcast app . Julie's biggest takeaway...

Ilaria Capua talks about running an internationally renowned animal influenza lab, and her time spent in the Italian Parliament. Accused of virus trafficking as part of a national scandal, she has since cleared her name and speaks here about the importance of scientific credibility and reputation.

Most bacteria live a sedentary lifestyle in community structures called biofilms. Vaughn Cooper tells us what bacterial biofilms are, why biofilms differ from test tube environments, and how long-term evolution experiments combined with population genomics are teaching us how bacteria really work. He also discusses using hands-on bacterial evolution activities to introduce high schoolers to future...