Who is microbiology? Meet the Microbiologist (MTM) introduces you to the people who discover, innovate and advance the field of microbiology. Go behind-the-scenes of the microbial sciences with experts in virology, bacteriology, mycology, parasitology and more! Share in their passion for microbes and hear about research successes and even a few setbacks in their field. MTM covers everything from genomics, antibiotic resistance, synthetic biology, emerging infectious diseases, microbial ecology,…
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Stanley Malloy and Jack Gilbert unpack how AI tools are reshaping the microbial sciences—from genomics and microbial communities to manuscripts, peer review and publishing ethics—highlighting AI's power, potential and pitfalls for public trust in science. Episode Links: JMBE Collection: Practical and Positive Uses of AI in STEM Education MtM Survey: asm.org/mtmsurvey
Glen McGugan, Ph.D., Director of ASM's Mechanism Discovery Unit, discusses how curiosity‑driven research—from parasite virulence to CRISPR and complex microbial systems—drives tomorrow's breakthroughs. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways Mechanism discovery,encompasses all of the foundational basic research across the microbial sciences and is essential for all advances in microbial science. Many…
Andrea Prinzi, Ph.D., MPH, SM(ASCP) , and Rodney Rohde, Ph.D.,SM(ASCP)CM, SVCM , trace how passion‑driven, nonlinear paths in clinical microbiology led them from hospital benches and public health labs to academia and industry leadership. Their stories converge on a shared mission: to use diagnostics, outcomes research and lived experience to make microbiology relevant, contextual and approachable…
Moon Nahm, M.D., professor emeritus at UAB Department of Medicine and Director of the World Health Organization's Pneumococcal Serology Reference Laboratory at UAB, discusses his career in pneumococcal immunology. From uncovering the WU2 reference strain and other hidden serotypes to pioneering Multiplexed Opsono-Phagocytosis Assay (MOPA) to measure the functional activity of anti-pneumococcal…
From leading R&D at a biotech startup company to conducting environmental monitoring for NASA, Veronica Garcia, Ph.D. , Scientific Director of the ASM Applied and Environmental Microbiology unit shares how experiences throughout her career have informed her appreciation for microbes and their real-world applications. She also discusses how the ASM AEM unit will support scientists around the globe…
Marlene Belfort, Ph.D., a distinguished professor at the University at Albany and author of Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors? , discusses her journey in science, balancing personal and professional life, the importance of fundamental research and the discovery of introns in bacteriophage. Links for This Episode Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors?: A Message to Young Scientists and Other Humans .
Episode Summary Sue Ishaq, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Microbiomes at the University of Maine, discusses how gut microbes transform seemingly inert plant compounds—like glucosinolates found in broccoli—into powerful anti-inflammatory agents such as sulforaphane. Her research dives into the fascinating interplay between diet, cooking methods and the diversity of the gut microbiota, revealing how…
Karl Matthews, Ph.D., Professor of Microbial Food Safety at Rutgers University, discusses ways to eliminate pathogens like Salmonella , E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria from fresh fruits and vegetables. He highlights the importance of preventative measures from farm to table, including the use of water antimicrobials, like chlorine, and photosensitizers, like curcumin. Watch this episode:…
Michael Lynch, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Mechanisms of Evolution at Arizona State University and Vaughn Cooper, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, examine the origins and trajectory of early microbial life (EML) and discuss the collaborative report between the American Academy of Microbiology and the Gordon and Betty…
Sally Bornbusch, Ph.D., is an NSF postdoctoral fellow in biology conducting microbial ecology research in animal care and conservation at the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. She discusses how FMTs are being used to mitigate health concerns in wild animals in captivity, shares key findings about the milk microbiome from the Smithsonian milk repository, the largest…
Dev Mittar, Ph.D ., Scientific Director of the ASM Health Scientific Unit discusses the use of metagenomic next generation sequencing to develop agnostic diagnostic technology, giving scientists and clinicians alike, a tool to diagnose any infectious disease with one single test. He also discusses how the ASM Health Unit is empowering scientists and leveraging microbial science innovations to…
Episode Summary Afreenish Amir, Ph.D. , Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Project Director at the National Institute of Health in Pakistan, highlights significant increases in extensively drug-resistant typhoid and cholera cases in Pakistan and discusses local factors driving AMR in Asia. She describes the development and implementation of a National Action Plan to combat AMR in a developing country,…
Manuel Martinez Garcia, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology in the Physiology, Genetics and Microbiology Department at the University of Alicante in Spain, paints a picture of what microbial life looked like thousands of years ago by analyzing microbial genomic signatures within ice cores collected from the Antarctic ice shelves in the 1990s. Links for the Episode New avenues for potentially…
Episode Summary Mother-Son duo, Brenda Wilson, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and the Associate Director of Undergraduate Education in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Brian Ho, Ph.D., researcher and lecturer at the Institute of structural and molecular biology, a joint institute between the Department of structural and molecular…
Joseph James, biologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discusses his career trajectory and the creation of Binning Singletons, a unique mentorship program built on peer-to-peer networking at scientific meetings and conferences and was first implemented in 2019 at ASM Microbe. Links for the Episode Binning Singletons and Peer-to-Peer Networking Learn more about Binning Singletons .…
Saeed Khan, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Molecular Pathology at Dow diagnostic research and reference laboratory and President of the Pakistan Biological Safety Association discusses the importance and challenges of biosafety/biosecurity practices on both a local and global scale. He highlights key steps for biorisk assessment and management and stresses the importance of training, timing and…
Nicole Dubilier, Ph.D., Director and head of the Symbiosis Department at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, has led numerous reserach cruises and expeditions around the world studying the symbiotic relationships of bacteria and marine invertebrates. She discusses how the use of various methods, including deep-sea in situ tools, molecular, 'omic' and imaging analyses, have…
From Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Neil Mabbott, Ph.D., has worked for nearly 2 decades on understanding the mechanisms by which prion proteins become infectious and cause neurological disease in humans and animals. He discusses the remarkable properties of prions and addresses complexities surrounding symptoms, transmission and diagnosis of prion…
Episode Summary Timothy Donohue, Ph.D. —ASM Past President, University of Wisconsin Foundation Fetzer Professor of Bacteriologyand Director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) calls genomics a game-changer when it comes the potential of microbes to create renewable resources and products that can sustain the environment, economy and supply chain around the world. He also shares…
Rodney Rohde, Ph.D. , Regents' Professor and Chair of the Medical Laboratory Science Program at Texas State University discusses the many variants, mammalian hosts and diverse neurological symptoms of rabies virus. Take the MTM listener survey! Ashley's Biggest Takeaways: Prior to his academic career, Rohde spent a decade as a public health microbiologist and molecular epidemiologist with the…
ASM's Young Ambassador, Aureliana Chambal, discusses the high incidence of tuberculosis in Mozambique and how improved surveillance can help block disease transmission in low resource settings. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways: Mozambique is severely impacted by the TB epidemic, with one of the highest incidences in Africa (368 cases/ 100,000 people in the population). Human-adapted members of the…
The scientific process has the power to deliver a better world and may be the most monumental human achievement. But when it is unethically performed or miscommunicated, it can cause confusion and division. Drs. Fang and Casadevall discuss what is good science, what is bad science and how to make it better. Get the book! Thinking about Science: Good Science, Bad Science, and How to Make It Better
Dr. James Morton discusses how the gut microbiome modulates brain development and function with specific emphasis on how the gut-brain axis points to functional architecture of autism. Watch James' talk from ASM Microbe 2023: Using AI to Glean Insights From Microbiome Data https://youtu.be/hUQls359Spo
Dr. Michael ginger, Dean of the School of Applied Sciences in the Department of Biological and geographical Science at the University of Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, England discusses the atypical metabolism and evolutionary cell biology of parasitic and free-living protists, including Leishmania, Naegleria and even euglinids.
Dr. Maria Eugenia Inda-Webb , Pew Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Synthetic Biology Center at MIT builds biosensors to diagnose and treat inflammatory disorders in the gut, like inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease. She discusses how "wearables," like diagnostic diapers and nursing pads could help monitor microbiome development to treat the diseases of tomorrow. Subscribe (free) on…
Dr. Gary Procop, CEO of the American Board of pathology and professor of pathology at the Cleveland Clinic, Lerner School of Medicine discusses the importance of early detection and diagnosis in order to prevent fungal invasion leading to poor outcomes, particularly in immunocompromised patients. He emphasizes the importance of thinking fungus early, shares his passion for mentoring and talks…
From antifungal resistance to disaster microbiology and tales of visible mold growing across the skin of patients following a tornado in Joplin, Missouri, Dr. Shawn Lockhart, Senior Clinical Laboratory Advisor in the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the CDC talks all things fungi—complete with references to pop TV shows and the recently released 7th Edition of Larone's Medically Important Fungi. Links…
Dr. Kate Howell , Associate Professor of Food Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, Australia discusses how microbes impact the flavor and aroma of food and beverages and shares how microbial interactions can be used to enhance nutritional properties of food and beverage sources. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways Saccharomyces means sugar-loving fungus. Humans have similar olfactory structures and…
Dr. Steve Diggle, ASM Distinguished Lecturer and Microbiology Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and Dr. Freya Harrison, Associate Microbiology Professor at the University of Warwick in Coventry, U.K., discuss the science behind medieval medical treatments and the benefits of interdisciplinary research. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways Diggle and Harrison met in Oxford,…
Dr. Jessica Lee, scientist for the Space Biosciences Research Branch at NASA's AIMS Research Center in Silicon Valley uses both wet-lab experimentation and computational modeling to understand what microbes really experience when they come to space with humans. She discusses space microbiology, food safety and microbial food production in space and the impacts of microgravity and extreme radiation…
Dr. Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health and director of the Rutgers-based New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, and Dr. Martin Blaser, Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers (NJ) discuss the importance of preserving microbial diversity in the…
Dr. Robert Gaynes, distinguished physician and professor of infectious diseases at Emory University, joins Meet the Microbiologist for the 3rd , and final, episode in a unique 3-part segment, in which we share stories about the life and work of medial pioneers in infectious diseases. Here we discuss the career of Dr. Barry Marshall, the Australian physician who is best known for demonstrating in a…
Dr. Robert Gaynes, distinguished physician and professor of infectious diseases at Emory University, joins Meet the Microbiologist for the 2nd episode in a unique 3-part series, in which we share the impact of scientists at the heart of various paradigm shifts throughout scientific history. Here we discuss the life and career of Tony Fauci, the scientist who has been recognized as America's Top…
Dr. Robert Gaynes, distinguished physician and professor of infectious diseases at Emory University, joins Meet the Microbiologist for a unique episode, in which we share the story of Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, the French, female scientist who discovered HIV and found herself at the heart of one of the most bitter scientific disputes in recent history. Subscribe (free) on Apple Podcasts , Spotify ,…
Episode Summary Dr. Devin Drown, associate professor of biology and faculty director of the Institute of Arctic Biology Genomics Core at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, discusses how soil disturbance gradients in the permafrost layer impact microbial communities. He also explains the larger impacts of his research on local plant, animal and human populations, and shares his experience…
Dr. Marie Landry, Professor of Laboratory medicine and Infectious Diseases at Yale University School of Medicine and Dr. John Booss, former National Director of Neurology for the Department of Veteran's Affairs discuss the past, present and future of diagnostic virology. These proclaimed coauthors walk us through the impact of some of the most significant pathogens of our time in preparation for…
Dr. Wun-Ju Shieh, worked as a pathologist and infectious diseases expert with the CDC from 1995-2020. He recounts his experiences conducting high risk autopsies on the frontlines of outbreaks including Ebola, H1N1 influenza, monkeypox and SARS-CoV-1 and 2. He also addresses key questions about factors contributing to the (re)emergence and spread of pathogens and discusses whether outbreaks are…
Dr. Linden Hu, Vice Dean for Research at Tufts University in Boston Massachusetts and Paul and Elaine Chervinsky Professor in Immunology, discusses new and ongoing research pertaining to the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of human Lyme disease. He also discusses some of the key unanswered questions about Lyme, such as how B. burgdorferi adapts to different hosts and environments and why some…
Dr. Mark O. Martin, Associate professor of biology at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington is a distinguished educator with a well-known social media presence. He discusses how he became interested in microbiology and what drives his varied research foci, including #Microbialcentricity, bacterial predation, bioluminescence, tardigrades, microbial midwives and more. In the process,…
Dr. Elizabeth Dinsdale, Matthew Flinders Fellow in Marine Biology in the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, uses genomic techniques to investigate the biodiversity of microbial communities in distinct ecological niches, including coral reefs, kelp forest and shark epidermis. She discusses how shotgun metagenomics is being used to characterize the…
Dr. Mallory Choudoir, microbial ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst shares how she leverages microbial culture collections to infer ecological and evolutionary responses to warming soil temperatures. She discusses complexities of the soil microbiome and microbial dispersal dynamics, and introduces fundamental concepts about the intersection between…
Peter Hotez talks about the global impact and historical context of neglected tropical diseases. He also highlights important developments in mass drug administration and vaccine research and shares why he chose to publish the third edition of Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are chronic and…
Rita Colwell has made major advances in basic and applied microbiology, largely focused on Vibrio cholerae . She describes several lines of evidence for the environmental niche of the bacterium, as well as her work to predict and prepare for cholera outbreaks. Colwell closes with her thoughts on why it's a great time to be a microbiologist.
Denise Akob discusses her studies of microbial communities of contaminated and pristine environments using life science and earth science techniques. She discusses how to figure out "who's there," how to optimize select natural microbial activities, and her career path into government research. Julie's Biggest Takeaways: Biogeomicrobiology straddles the life science and earth science fields. This…
How does tick biology influence their ability to transmit disease? Marshall Bloom explains the role of the tick salivary glands in Powassan virus transmission and the experiments that led to this discovery. He also provides a historical background for the Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana, and talks about the 3 elements to consider when working with potentially harmful biological agents.…
What kinds of microorganisms can degrade oil? How do scientists prioritize ecosystems for bioremediation after an oil spill? Joel Kostka discusses his research and the lessons from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that will help scientists be better prepared for oil spills of the future. Links for this Episode: Joel Kostka Lab Website Kostka J. et al . Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria and the…
How do arboviruses evolve as they pass between different hosts? Greg Ebel discusses his research on West Nile virus evolution and what it means for viral diversity. He also talks about using mosquitos' most recent blood meal to survey human health in a process called xenosurveillance. Julie's Biggest Takeaways: Mosquitoes and other arthropods have limited means of immune defense against infection.…
How can the intricate relationship between soil microbiota and plants be managed for improved plant health? Linda Kinkel discusses new insights into the plant rhizosphere and the ways that some Streptomyces isolates can protect agricultural crops against bacterial, fungal, oomycete, and nematode infections. Julie's Biggest Takeaways : The soil microbiome is extremely dynamic, with boom-and-bust…
Pathogenic E. coli are different than lab-grown or commensal E. coli found in the gut microbiome. Alfredo Torres describes the difference between these, the method his lab is using the develop vaccines against pathogenic E. coli , and how this same method can be used to develop vaccines against Burkholderia infections. Julie's Biggest Takeaways: coli plays many roles inside and outside the…
Does the fetus have a microbiome? How does the placenta prevent infection? Carolyn Coyne talks about placental structure and biology, and why studying the maternal-fetal interface remains a critical area of research. Julie's Biggest Takeaways: The placenta forms within 3-5 days post conception as a single layer of cells surrounding the fertilized embryo. These cells differentiate and develop into…
