Editors in Conversation is the official podcast of the American Society for Microbiology Journals. Editors in Conversation features discussions between ASM Journals Editors, researchers and clinicians working on the most cutting edge issues in the microbial sciences. Topics include laboratory diagnosis and clinical treatment of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, epidemiology of infections, multidrug-resistant organisms, pharmacology of antimicrobial agents, susceptibility testing,…
Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections remain one of the most urgent public health challenges worldwide, with some infections approaching the limits of available treatment options. In this special edition of Editors in Conversation, we celebrate the remarkable 10-year tenure of Dr. Laurent Poirel, whose pioneering work has profoundly shaped our understanding of antimicrobial resistance.…
New imaging and measurement approaches are revealing previously hidden aspects of microbial life, challenging long-held assumptions and creating opportunities to answer questions that were once out of reach. Marvin Whiteley, Heran Darwin and Jeffrey Moffitt talk about how technological innovation is transforming microbiology. Guests: Heran Darwin, Ph.D. - NYU Grossman School of Medicine Jeffrey…
It starts out with a couple of stomach twinges, maybe a little nausea, maybe some sharp pains, and then… before you know it, you are running to the closest toilet with which you become very, very familiar. Cyclospora causes frequent watery diarrhea with sometime "explosive" bowel movements, but is typically a relatively rare cause of infectious diarrhea. However, the U.S. is in the midst of one of…
So, you think you want a career in clinical microbiology? This field demands more than technical skill—it's driven by curiosity, growth, and the confidence to lead. From mastering diagnostics to pushing innovation and mentoring the next generation, success comes to those who keep evolving. In this episode, we explore the many paths into the field—and spotlight the Laboratory Director role through…
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the world in many ways. One of the most exciting applications of artificial intelligence is in the area of drug discovery. Particularly the discovery of antimicrobial molecules that are in the environment or even hidden within our own body. Today, we discuss some of the uses of artificial intelligence in the discovery of antimicrobials with an outstanding…
Accurate AST results are the backbone of diagnostic stewardship, yet routine quality control (QC) might be missing subtle shifts that skew your hospital's annual antibiogram. By examining a real-world "silent failure" in daptomycin testing, we explore how lab-driven data is essential to the AMR crisis response and why the human eye—and traditional QC bugs—aren't always enough to catch technical…
In this episode, a fascinating new bacteriophage, JS1. While most contractile phages (which inject DNA like a spring-loaded syringe) are rigid and straight, JS1 sports a curved, flexible tail that may help it navigate the complex "canyons and valleys" of the bacterial cell wall. Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/eDGta8xc4_0 Guests: Sabrina Suhani, Ph.D., Graduate Student, Monash University,…
Is the future of cervical cancer screening non-invasive? Sharmila Manjeshwar, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Klausner M.D. MPH, discuss a breakthrough in HPV diagnostics: urine-based testing. While vaccination and clinical screening have reduced cervical cancer rates, participation has stalled due to barriers like healthcare access and the invasive nature of traditional clinician-collected samples. This…
Most microbiome research focuses on soil, oceans, or hosts. But the atmosphere itself harbors diverse communities of bacteria and fungi that move between ecosystems. This episode explores a recent mBio study comparing airborne microbial communities above a subalpine forest and a grassland in Colorado. The conversation unpacks what the "aerobiome" is, how scientists actually sample microbes from…
Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (or MALDI) has revolutionized the clinical microbiology laboratory, enabling rapid, accurate and cheap identification of bacteria, yeast, moulds and mycobacteria. In most labs, it has become a verb (I maldi'ed it). But – can it replace our antimicrobial susceptibility tests? Let's find out! Guests: Dr. Frieder Schaumburg…