Microbe Magazine Podcast

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the largest threats to global public health, compromising all other advances in modern medicine. At the forefront of detecting AMR is the clinical laboratory.  However, walk into any clinical microbiology laboratory today and you will find this important task being accomplished using techniques that barely evolved from the methods proposed by Alexander Fleming, nearly 100 years ago.  Bacteria are exposed to antimicrobials, in an in vitro culture system, and growth inhibition is measured after overnight incubation. In the time of laboratory automation, molecular testing and artificial intelligence – are we ready for an antimicrobial susceptibility testing revolution? What are the technologies that might get us there? Guests: Dr. Daniel Rhodes Dr. Jacob Rattin Article Link: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00674-25 This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, P

Measles is becoming an important public health problem and it is important to recognize and understand the origins of this problem and how it can affect the population of our country. At the same time, it is critical to have updated and scientifically accurate information on the clinical presentations, risk factors and countermeasures. Today, we will discuss this topic with experts in field.  Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/oQDaa8J9v5w Topics:  • Define measles as an important public health threat  • Explain the origin of the epidemic  • Accurate information on countermeasures and strategies to tackle this outbreak. Guests:  - Hana Mohammed El Sahly, M.D.  Professor, Kyle and Josephine Morrow Chair, Department of Medicine, Molecular Virology and Microbiology; Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX US. - Natasha B. Halasa M.D., M.P.H. Craig Weaver Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, Vanderbilt University, Na

With Alex’s departure to new pastures, which include things like being the incoming President of ASM, we now have a new JCM Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Romney Humphries! Dr. Humphries is currently Director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Director of the Microbiology Laboratory at Vanderbilt University, as well as a Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. She is an absolute powerhouse in the AST world as we all know, and as of this month, is the new Editor in Chief of JCM. In this episode, we find out Dr. Humphries’s vision and new ideas for the Journal and where she’d like to see JCM go over the next few years. Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/xkyUb6zE9X4 Guests: Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM), M(ASCP) This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Alex McAdam and Dr. Elli Theel. JCM is available at https://jcm.asm.org and on https://twitter.com/JClinMicro. Visit journals.asm.org/journal/j

A common description of antibiotic action aims to classify them between “bactericidal” or “bacteriostatic”. Although these phenomena have robust in vitro foundations, the clinical translation of these concepts is sometimes difficult to ascertain. This controversial topic has important conceptual ramifications to treat severe infections. Today, we will discuss this topic with an expert in field.  Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/3z4BItBrzbk Topics discussed: The definitions of “cidal” vs “static” antibiotics The clinical applicability of the above terms in terms of antibiotic choice and syndromatic approaches antibiotic choices and the controversy between bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics.  Guest: Brad Spellberg, MD.  Chief Medical Officer at the Los Angeles General Medical Center  Links: ASM and IDSA launch the Interdisciplinary Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation (IMARI) in 2026 Watch this session on YouTube This episode is brought to you by the Antimicrobial Agen

Oversight and guidance for performing antibiotic susceptibility testing can be bewildering. There is an alphabet soup of agencies and bodies involved: FDA, CLSI, and USCAST, to name a few here in the US. How does the Food and Drug Administration, which has regulatory authority over AST, work with a nimble group like the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute?   Guests: Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM), M(ASCP) Patricia Simner, Ph.D., D(ABMM) Links: Major updates to FDA-recognized Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute breakpoints are a win for the fight against antimicrobial resistance Join ASM for up to 50% off the publication fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. Attend ASM Microbe This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Alex McAdam and Dr. Elli Theel. JCM is available at https://jcm.asm.org and on https://twitter.com/JClinMicro. Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/o

In the last decade, there have been major changes in the approach of the treatment of pneumonia, in particular, with the availability of new diagnostic tools. Additionally, new drugs have been approved for the treatment of pneumonia. We discuss the approach to the management of pneumonia with a person who has spent most of his professional career working on this topic. Topics discussed: Definitions and nomenclature of pneumonia and evolution of these terms Changes in the diagnosis of pneumonia Ttherapeutic changes and future approaches for the treatment of pneumonia. Guest: Daniel M Musher, M.D. Links: ASM and IDSA launch the Interdisciplinary Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation (IMARI) in 2026 This episode is brought to you by the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Journal.  Visit asm.org/aac to browse issues and/or submit a manuscript. If you plan to publish in AAC, ASM Members get up to 50% off publishing fees. Visit asm.org/joinasm to sign up.

Picture this, you wake up one morning with nausea, body aches, abdominal pain, and despite sleeping all night, you are exhausted. You then find yourself running to the restroom with watery and somewhat explosive diarrhea. You think to yourself – what could this be? Well, if the year was 2023, in the summer and you happen to live in Texas, chances were somewhat high that you had probably had cyclosporiasis.  And today, we are going to talk about this particular parasite and focus in on what our options are for detecting it given that it is not routinely picked up on O&P exams. And while there are molecular panels out there that include Cyclospora as a target, as our speakers will share, there is an easier and cheaper approach we can consider to quickly ID this pathogen. Guests: Dr. Angela Ma. Public Health Ontario and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Dr. Marc Couturier. Drector of the clinical microbiology lab at NorDx lab at MaineHealth in Scarborough, Maine Links: Shedding new light on

The past year in Clinical Microbiology, as seen through the lens of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Four JCM editors have each selected a paper they consider to be among the “best” we published in 2024. Of course there are no objective criteria for what makes a paper the “best.” So, by “best,” we mean “a paper that I find exciting.” View this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK9ZqZUrDiY Guests: Patricia Simner, Ph.D., D(ABMM), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM), M(ASCP), Vanderbilt University Medical Center Links: Wood RC, Luabeya AK, Dragovich RB, Olson AM, Lochner KA, Weigel KM, Codsi R, Mulenga H, de Vos M, Kohli M, Penn-Nicholson A, Hatherill M, Cangelosi GA. 2024. Diagnostic accuracy of tongue swab testing on two automated tuberculosis diagnostic platforms, Cepheid Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and Molbio Truenat MTB Ultima. J Clin Microbiol 62:e00019-24. Rodino KG, Luethy PM, Abbott AN, Bender JM, Eberly AR, Gitman M, Leber A, Dien Bard J, . 2024. Definin

2024 was a very active year on research in antimicrobial resistance, highlighted by an impactful and high level political declaration to combat antimicrobial resistance by the United Nations. In this episode, trainees from NIH-funded training program (T32) on antimicrobial resistance will help me discuss the most relevant research on the field in the year 2024. Welcome to editors in conversation! Topics discussed: The best papers of 2024 in gram-positive, gram-negative, mycobacterial and parasite resistance Guests: Nathalie Chen: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA Alex Kang: Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX Nathan Rabbe: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA Taylor Blackburn: Emory University, Atlanta, GA Jacon McPherson: University of Houston, Houston, TX. Harrison Lee, MD: Associate Chief of Epidemiology and Microbial Genomics, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Director, Center for Genomic Epidemiology, Director, T32 AMR, U of Pittsburgh William Shafer, PhD: Professor, Dep

Looking for a dynamic and rewarding career? Learn what it means to be a Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Director and the necessary steps to get there. It’s a diverse job encompassing infectious diseases diagnostic testing, patient care, teaching, and research. This episode is geared for those who are interested in pursuing (or already have) a Ph.D. or M.D. Guests: Alexandra Bryson, Ph.D. Andrea Prinzi, Ph.D Links: Join ASM for up to 50% off the publication fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Alex McAdam and Dr. Elli Theel. JCM is available at https://jcm.asm.org and on https://twitter.com/JClinMicro. Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript. Follow JCM on Twitter/

Lack of access to antibiotics including those with enhanced activity against multidrug-resistant organisms is a major barrier to combat antimicrobial resistance, particularly in the developing world. Furthermore, discovering and making available new antimicrobial agents against the most pressing antibiotic-resitant organisms is a challenge due to multiple barriers. The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) accelerates the development and access of treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections. Together with public, private and non-profit partners, GARDP works to preserve the power of antibiotics for generations to come. We discuss the important role that GARDP is playing in the worldwide fight against antimicrobial resistance. Topics discussed: GARDP function and role in the AMR field The strategies that GARDP is implementing to make new antibiotics available to all The future of antimicrobial research and development and the role of GARDP in this process. Guests: Jennifer

So you want validated, at-home, self-collected swabs for STI testing… Here's what you need to know!  Sexually transmitted infection rates continue to climb across the US and while testing for these diseases is widely available, for the most part it requires the patient to go to a local clinic to collect and submit their sample for testing. But, is that really necessary, especially from a test accuracy perspective? Today’s guests answer that exact question. And I’m sure that many, if not all of us would agree that the ability for patients to collect samples outside of a clinical setting has numerous benefits, including what the authors refer to as pseudo-anonymity, increased comfort and ultimately increased access to testing, which would be of particular value for patients that may avoid clinical settings due to various different socioeconomic barriers.  Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/40XCHpAFvqw Guests: Dr. Breland Hockman, who is a board certified clinical chemist and the Director of Clinical Affairs

The second High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) took place in New York on 26 September 2024 as the principal official, health-focused event during the UN General Assembly high-level week. The intergovernmental negotiations for the declaration were co-facilitated by Malta and Barbados. A political declaration for the meeting was produced highlighting the fact that AMR will cause even more global suffering, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In this episode we will debrief and analyze the possible impact of these meetings and consequences for the future of AMR research and antimicrobial development.  Topics discussed: The political implications of the UN declaration on AMR. Comment of the scientific and public health impact of the declaration Elaborate on future antimicrobial research and development Guests: John Rex, MD. Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd; Operating Partner, Advent Life Sciences Prabha Fernandes, PhD. Board Member of GARDP (Global Antibiotic Research and Developme

The American Society for Microbiology is launching a new journal, ASM Case Reports. The journal is already accepting submissions and will begin publishing in January of 2025. We discuss ASM Case Reports and what you can expect from this new journal. Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/zHdZL0PYTuE Some of the questions we will discuss include: What is the scope of ASM Case Reports? What makes a case report or case series interesting and important? Why should people publish in ASM Case Reports? Guests: Dr. Carey-Ann Burnham (twitter/

Heteroresistance is a phenomenon that has been well characterized for many years. However, we are only now starting to understand its mechanistic basis. Indeed, the manner how bacteria respond to antibiotics is complex and phenomena such as persistance, tolerance may be overlapping with heteroresistance. Furthermore, heteroresistance seems to be common in real clinical scenarios and understanding its basis is likely to open new avenues on how we deploy antibacterials in clinical practice., Today, we have experts in the field to discuss this important topic. Watch this episode at https://youtu.be/qcIcyn1bIHU. Topics discussed: The differences between heteroresistance, persistence and tolerance The mechanistic basis both in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria The clinical implication and diagnosis of heteroresistance Guests: David Weiss, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine and Director Center for Antimicrobial Resistance, Emory University School Of Medicine, Atlanta. GA. William Miller, MD. Assistant Professor

Join Dr. Ben Pinsky and Dr. Greg Berry as they dissect recent news stories, including the USDA's testing for H5N1 in ground beef and a surprising bubonic plague case in Oregon. They also tackle the resurgence of measles in the U.S., the local reappearance of malaria, and a curious study on Neosporin's potential to prevent viral infections. Overview: H5N1 Influenza Virus: Dr. Ben Pinsky provides an update on recent cases of H5N1 in humans and animals, including concerns about dairy cattle infections and the potential for human transmission. Bubonic Plague: Dr. Greg Berry discusses a recent case in Oregon, its transmission through cats, and the historical context of the plague. Measles: The resurgence of measles in the U.S. is addressed, with Dr. Pinsky noting an increase in cases compared to previous years and emphasizing the importance of vaccination. Malaria: The episode covers recent cases of locally acquired malaria in the U.S. and discusses the history of malaria in America. Neosporin and Viral Infection

The pipeline of antibiotic discovery is a major necessity due to the continuous evolution of resistance to currently used antimicrobials. This pipeline faces important challenges due to the lack of investment on antimicrobial research in the private sector and an economic model that discourages investment. In the last few years, however, encouraging signs are occurring but major gaps still remain. The World Health Organization has regularly assessed the preclinical and clinical antibacterial development pipeline and the latest report is now available in the journal, lets discuss it! Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/IgqWmHDIx-0 Topics discussed: The process for review of the antibacterial pipeline. The progress and gaps in antibiotic discovery The opportunities to overcome the numerous hurdles in the early stages of the antibacterial research and development space Guest: Valeria Gigante Ph.D., Team Lead at the World Health Organization's (WHO) in the AMR Division, Geneva, Switzerland. Link: Multi-year

The European alchemists of the 12th century sought to find the philosopher’s stone, a substance that would transmute base metals, such as lead, into precious metals, such as silver and gold. Today, we discuss whether data analysis, including machine learning, can transmute base laboratory data into precious clinical tools. We will use antimicrobial susceptibility testing as a case-study for new applications of data analysis. Some of the questions we will address include: How can relatively simple data analyses be used to build upon current methods of verification of antimicrobial susceptibility testing? How do commercial systems analyze individual susceptibility results and can we improve on this analysis using new methods? Finally, what is the long-term potential for leveraging laboratory data and other clinical data to improve and support clinical decision making? And what needs to happen to realize this goal? Guests: Dr. Sanjat Kanjilal (twitter/

Antimicrobial resistance is a priority public health problem with complex roots and connotations. However, due to a lack of focus on this topic, research training programs, specifically those focused on AMR are limited. Additionally, scientific meetings that particularly highlight the science of antimicrobial resistance are scarce. We recently published a commentary that evaluates the state-of-the-art of the training programs in AMR in the US. We discuss this topic with the leading author and discussed the issue with leaders in the field. Topics discussed: The challenges that training in AMR poses and how to approach them. The current status of training programs in the USA Specific strategies that could improve the access and dissemination of AMR research  Guest: William M Shafer, PhD,  Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Director Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutic Discovery Training Program. Lee H. Harrison, M.D. Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Associate chief of epidemiolo

Rhodococcus infections are uncommon, however they can cause serious disease in certain patients. There are a number of challenges though when dealing with Rhodococcus infections, including the fact that much of what we know around their susceptibility profiles and the clinical management of infected individuals actually comes from a number case series and in some situations, from the veterinary literature.  So today, our two guests are going to tell us about their experiences with Rhodococcus over a 10-year period and bring us up-to-speed on things like:   Which species of Rhodococcus are most commonly isolated and associated with clinical disease What is the recommended approach to susceptibility testing for Rhodococcus and what sorts of susceptibility trends do we see at both the genus and species levels And also, of course, we’re going to talk about the clinical manifestations and outcomes of clinically significant Rhodococcus infections Guests: Adi S. Shah, M.B.B.S., Mayo Clinic Nancy L. Wengenack, Ph.