CRISPR is a genome-editing tool, but what is its role in microbial biology and evolution? Joe Bondy-Denomy discusses his discovery of the first anti-CRISPR protein and the many unanswered questions surrounding CRISPR biology. Julie’s Biggest Takeaways CRISPR is a bacterial immune system that identifies and destroys specific nucleotide sequences. These sequences are most commonly associated with foreign DNA from bacteriophage or plasmids. Bacterial acquisition of new CRISPR spacer sequences is fa...
May 02, 2019•48 min•Ep. 107
Julie’s Biggest Takeaways: Parasites are incredibly varied in many characteristics, including their size! Some are microscopic, while others are macroscopic and can be seen with the naked eye. Not just small macroscopic, although some worms at 35 cm can be considered quite large. Some tapeworms can reach 50 feet! Bobbi Pritt’s blog started as an exercise to share the cases she observed while a student at the London School of Tropical Medicine. She wanted to share these cases with students back a...
Apr 18, 2019•36 min•Ep. 106
How did discoveries made with bovine papillomavirus help scientists develop the human papillomavirus vaccine? Doug Lowy discusses his journey that began with basic research and led to the production of the HPV vaccine. Julie’s Biggest Takeaways In the early 1950s, the U.S. was a high-incidence country for cervical cancer. Through application of screens using the Pap smear, doctors have been able to catch and excise suspicious tissue, leading to a significant drop in incidence. Cervical cancer re...
Apr 05, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 105
Burkholderia pseudomallei is an endemic soil-dwelling bacterium in southeast Asia, where it causes melioidosis. Direk Limmathurotsakul discusses his work to improve the official reporting numbers and how Julie’s Biggest Takeaways: Melioidosis can present in a number of ways, such as sepsis, pneumonia, or abscesses. Because the symptoms are not specific, diagnosis requires isolation of the Burkholderia pseudomallei bacterium. Risk factors for disease include diabetes and exposure to the soil and ...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 104
When will the next disease outbreak occur? Why are some pests better at spreading disease than others? Disease Ecologist Barbara Han talks about her research that addresses these questions with computer modeling, as well as how modeling predictions can inform field and bench research. Take the listener survey: asm.org/mtmpoll Visit asm.org/mtm for all links and notes.
Mar 08, 2019•47 min•Ep. 103
Why have scientists struggled to generate a protective HIV vaccine? Dan Barouch lays out the unique challenges and discusses the ongoing clinical trial with an adenovirus-based vaccine developed in his lab. Julie’s Biggest Takeaways HIV poses unique and unprecedented challenges for vaccine development including: Viral diversity: extremely wide range of viral diversity. No natural precedent: No human has cleared HIV based on their immune responses. Unknown correlates of protection: scientists are...
Feb 21, 2019•38 min•Ep. 102
Erica Ollmann Saphire discusses her research on Ebola virus glycoprotein and the changing nature of structural biology. The Ebola virus glycoprotein sequence can vary up to 50% between Ebola virus species, presenting a challenge to develop pan-Ebola therapeutics or vaccines. Erica Ollmann Saphire discusses her work on antibodies that neutralize all Ebola virus species and the changing nature of the structural biology toolkit used to study them. Check out all our great podcasts at asm.org/podcast...
Feb 07, 2019•47 min•Ep. 101
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 research. Inviting guests may involve bringing in a mix of experienced and early-career researchers, but bot...
Jan 25, 2019•32 min•Ep. 100
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 listener survey at asm.org/mtmpoll Full shownotes at asm.org/mtm Links for this Episode: Wayne Curtis Lab s...
Jan 11, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 99
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 survey at asm.org/mtmpoll Links for this Episode: Bordenstein Lab at Vanderbilt University mSystems:...
Dec 30, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 98
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 have to adapt to a number of extreme environments: low water, low nutrients, extreme cold, and 6 mon...
Dec 13, 2018•41 min•Ep. 97
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 effective HIV vaccine. Links for This Episode: Mark Connors labsite at NIAID Immunity article: Iden...
Nov 30, 2018•48 min•Ep. 96
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 by email . Also available on the ASM Podcast Network app . Julie’s Biggest Takeaways: Every chicken o...
Nov 15, 2018•56 min•Ep. 95
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 virus outbreaks appear to be seasonal, with an increase in cases coinciding with the spring, when the...
Nov 01, 2018•39 min•Ep. 94
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 growing in liquid culture may be more susceptible to a drug than those bacteria growing on a biofilm. ...
Oct 18, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 93
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 carry antibodies from their mothers, which may protect them through passive immunity; additionally, babies ...
Oct 05, 2018•53 min•Ep. 92
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, with up to 40 kB of sequence, but why their genomes is so big is unclear - their genomes don’t seem to c...
Sep 20, 2018•58 min•Ep. 91
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 used to ferment foods, but they do more than just add ethanol or carbon dioxide: their metabolic bypr...
Sep 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 90
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. This allows zebrafish to be used to in studies of spatial architecture or longitudinal studies (imaging...
Aug 23, 2018•38 min•Ep. 89
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, is the lab representative of the genus Geobacter that dump electrons onto rust. These specialized mic...
Aug 10, 2018•51 min
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 water systems of the built environment. Colonization of cooling systems, like those used in air conditi...
Jul 25, 2018•50 min•Ep. 87
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. Why cats? No one knows, in part because there isn’t a good in vitro system to study cat epithelial ce...
Jul 12, 2018•36 min•Ep. 86
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 technologies to identify relatedness between microbial isolates. The genome sequences help to identif...
Jun 21, 2018•44 min•Ep. 85
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 their genomes. Julie's biggest takeaways: Determining the exact nature of the glycans that play thes...
Jun 07, 2018•44 min•Ep. 84
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 few cigar smokers don’t affect the air quality, but as more smokers enter the room, it becomes bene...
May 24, 2018•49 min•Ep. 83
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
May 11, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 82
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 your mobile device with the ASM Podcast app . Julie's biggest takeaways: Antibiograms are vital to under...
Apr 26, 2018•43 min
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 and animal health in the same office allows easier communication between these different health sector...
Apr 12, 2018•37 min•Ep. 80
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 Podcast app . Julie's biggest takeaways: Genome sequencing speed has significantly increased: The first...
Mar 29, 2018•53 min•Ep. 79
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 takeaways: The challenges of working with an easily aerosolized bacterium are aided by complementary studies...
Mar 15, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 78
