Episodes
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This week Luis is joined by Dr. Callan Bleick and Dr. Mohammed Al Musawa to talk about an antibiotic that was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): aztreonam-avibactam. Our guests wrote a review about this drug and they joined the podcast to talk about it. What is aztreonam? What is avibactam? Why combine them? What type of activity has it demonstrated against beta-lactamase producing organisms? When will it be available? Tune in for more information.
Link to review:
https://accpjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/phar.4629
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There are many challenges when it comes to outbreak detection. It involves surveillance, time, and effort among other factors. Some of these challenges are linking multiple patients to an outbreak, or investigating a potential outbreak that turns out to be separate occurrences of an infection. In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Alex Sundermann to talk about an outbreak detection system developed by his team at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. What components did they use to develop this system? What were the major outcomes? Is there a potential for laboratories to develop a system like this one?
Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf216
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Missing episodes?
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This week Luis continues going over Haemophilus. This time he goes over biochemicals, testing systems, and susceptibility testing. What is the ALA test? What commercial systems are able to identify Haemophilus? What about for Haemophilus influenzae? What is HTM agar? Are there any vaccines for H. influenzae? Tune in to find out more.
More information on H. influenzae vaccines:
https://www.cdc.gov/hi-disease/vaccines/index.html
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In this episode Luis continues going over organisms. This time he goes over the genus Haemophilus. We start with an overview of the different species of Haemophilus. Why can’t Haemophilus grow on blood agar? What are the X and V factors? Satellite phenomenon? What is the gram stain? What about media? Tune in for the first part of a series about Haemophilus.
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If you are part of the clinical microbiology community, you might have heard of a CPEP Fellowship, or might have met someone pursuing one. In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Samuel Goodfellow to talk about the Subcommittee on Postgraduate Educational Programs (CPEP) Fellowship. Dr. Goodfellow is currently participating in one and he joins us to go over the different components of it. What is a CPEP Fellowship? What is the application process like? What are the daily activities of a fellow? What kind of training does it involve? Tune in to learn about this program and how it prepares you for your career in clinical microbiology.
Information on CPEP Fellowships: https://asm.org/fellowships/cpep
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What led or inspired you to choose the field of microbiology or laboratory medicine? Has your profession changed within the field? In this series where microbiologists and people from laboratory medicine talk about their careers, Luis is joined by Dr. Andrea Prinzi and Lisa Parlich. Andrea is a microbiologist that works in the industry and the co-host of the AMR series in this podcast. Lisa is a microbiologist who works now as an Infection Preventionist. What was their start in their lab like? What challenges did they encounter along the way? What led them to choose their profession? Tune in for another great episode.
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Discovery of new potential antimicrobial compounds is important as we take many measures to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Manoj Jangra and Dr. Dmitrii Travin to discuss lariocidin: a potential antibiotic. What is the mechanism of action? What are lasso peptides? Tune in to listen about the discovery of this potential antibiotic, organisms it has shown activity against, challenges, and more.
Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08723-7
Questions? Feedback? Send those to
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There are many challenges in the microbiology laboratory. As a leader, you have to deal with things like validations, verifications, and knowledge of regulations among other things. As a microbiologist in a non-leadership position you need to be familiar with some of these as well. With so much information out there, where do we go? In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Rebekah Martin, author of the “101 Topics for Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Leaders” book. This book was made in order to bring all of this information to one place. In the episode Dr. Martin discussed the process of writing the book, what type of content it has, and more.
Link to purchase the book:
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/101+Topics+for+Clinical+Microbiology+Laboratory+Leaders%3A+Accreditation%2C+Verification%2C+Quality+Systems%2C+and+More-p-9781683674474
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The field of Microbiology continues to change. Organisms were primarily identified in the clinical laboratory by biochemical testing. Then MALDI-TOF came to the lab and was incorporated into the workflow. Now labs are bringing next-generation sequencing (NGS). What is NGS? How does it work? Have you heard of Nanopore technologies? In this episode Dr. Jose Alexander and Daniel Navas from Advent Health Orlando, join the podcast to talk about NGS. They brought it to their laboratory and discuss the whole process, including the validation, challenges, and more.
Guest: Dr. Jose Alexander Daniel Navas
This episode was originally published on February 9th, 2024Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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Is your laboratory accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) ? Are you familiar with their checklists? What are the latest updates to the microbiology checklist? In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Christi Wojewoda to discuss the latest updates to the microbiology checklist: media quality control and nomenclature. Why are some media exempt and some non-exempt? Regarding nomenclature, do we need to report the new name or the old name? Tune in to find out.
ASM IQCP template link: https://asm.org/protocols/individualized-quality-control-plan-iqcp
Questions regarding checklists? Contact CAP at [email protected]
Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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The latest edition of the CLSI M100 has been published. What are the latest updates? One of them is the deletion of breakpoints for Burkholderia cepacia complex. What are the recommendations for susceptibility testing? Dr. April Bobenchik returns to the podcast to talk to Luis about the latest updates. She also talks about the M45. Will there be an update to the M45? Tune in to find out.
Link to CLSI free resources: https://clsi.org/all-free-resources/
Link to webinar: https://clsi.org/standards/products/microbiology/documents/m100/
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This week Luis continues going over organisms. This time he goes over Eikenella. Are there any other Eikenella species other than Eikenella corrodens? What is the morphology of E. corrodens? How about biochemicals? What are the members of the HACEK group? What is the HACEK group known for? Tune in to learn about this organism, which is seen in infections such as bite wounds, periodontitis, endocarditis, and more.
Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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Talk about a great career! In this episode Luis is joined by Janet Hindler. Janet is a microbiologist with a career that has spanned over many decades. Just like most Medical Laboratory Scientists, she started working in the lab and early on she had a passion for microbiology. Then she got involved in work that took her beyond the bench such as the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this episode Janet talks about her career and offers her opinions on mentorship and the value of networking. Tune in for a great episode!
Link to ASM's biographical feature: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00511-22
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In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Kristen Pesavento from Loyola University in Chicago. She was a guest in 2023 when she came to talk about the MS in MLS degree that her institution was offering. This time she joins the podcast to talk about clinical certificates. They are offered on three subjects of the clinical laboratory. These certificates allow you to sit for the categorical certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) on the areas of Hematology, Blood Banking, and Microbiology. Join in and listen to this episode to get more information on these certificates.
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Does your institution teach distance microbiology courses? What do you use to teach students those critical skills required in microbiology? In this episode Luis is joined by Brittany Jackson, a specialist from the Carolina Distance Learning section of the Carolina Biological Supply company. Brittany talks about the kits for microbiology students. Which materials are in those kits? Gram stains? Media? Tune in to learn more.
Link to website: https://carolinadistancelearning.com/ready-to-ship/
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A great conversation between three microbiologists! In this episode Luis is joined by Kelli Maddock and Jessica D'Angelo to talk about their careers. Kelli is a previous guest and is currently a section head in microbiology. Jessica is a microbiology supervisor. What inspired them to pursue a career in the laboratory and microbiology? What challenges have they encountered? What is their favorite bug?
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If you work in laboratory medicine or microbiology, what led or inspired you to choose that career? What have you learned? Do you have a different occupation within the field than the one you started with? This episode is part of a series that features members of the laboratory and microbiology community, who come in and share their journey. They talk about their positions, what they have enjoyed, what challenges they have encountered, and more.
Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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It's time to talk about AFB! What is acid fastness? What are some stains used for acid-fast bacilli? In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Filipe Cerqueira to talk about AFB. He goes over stains, media, processing of AFB cultures, Runyon groups, and more. He also talks about Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and provides examples of organisms. Tune in for another great episode .
Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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The next episode of the AMR series is here! This time Luis and Andrea are joined by Sonali Kalathiya, a pharmacist and Medical Science Liaison. Sonali joins the podcast to talk about two classes of antibiotics: macrolides and lincosamides. Have you performed a D-test in the lab? What is the purpose of the test? If you have performed it and perform susceptibilities for erythromycin and clindamycin, then you are familiar with these classes of drugs. Tune in to learn more. Also, in the episode Sonali asks Luis about the origin of the Let's Talk Micro logo.
Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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A simulation laboratory? In this episode Luis is joined by Emily Matthys, an Assistant Professor at Northern Michigan University. Emily teaches at a Medical Laboratory Sciences program and she joins the podcast to talk about a simulation laboratory that was implemented for blood bank and microbiology for medical laboratory technician students. As some labs become more centralized, and end result might be diminished exposure to some areas for medical laboratory science students undergoing their clinical rotations. How does this simulation lab help students? What do the students do in this lab? Tune in for another great episode.
Questions? Feedback? Send those to [email protected]
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