Episodios

  • 195: Diabetic Wound Cultures: From Chaos to Clarity in the Micro Lab
    Jul 10 2025

    This week, Luis is joined by Dr. Christopher Doern from VCU Health to explore the complex world of diabetic wound cultures. How does diabetes impair wound healing—and what makes these infections so difficult to diagnose and treat? Dr. Doern dives into the microbiology behind diabetic foot wounds, highlighting the impact of bacterial diversity, specimen quality, and the limitations of traditional culture methods. He also shares best practices for workup strategies and antibiotic selection in these often polymicrobial infections.

    Link to studies mentioned in the episode:

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28669650/

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-481X.2011.00937.x

    https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/10/10/ofad495/7292955

    Want to be added to Dr. Doern’s email list? Reach out to christopher.doern@vcuhealth.org

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    51 m
  • 194: Live from ASM Microbe 2025: Poster Highlights, Trends & Takeaways
    Jul 3 2025

    Recorded live at ASM Microbe 2025, this episode captures the energy of the American Society for Microbiology’s annual event. Luis shares his top takeaways from the conference floor—including standout poster presentations, emerging technologies, and trending topics in microbiology. One clear theme dominated this year: rapid diagnostics for identification and susceptibility testing. Tune in for a front-row seat to the latest in clinical microbiology innovation.

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    25 m
  • 193: ASM 2025: Fast Science. Big Cases
    Jun 26 2025

    In this episode of Let’s Talk Micro, we dive into the fast-paced world of rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). Recorded live from ASM Microbe 2025, Luis is joined by Dr. Carey-Ann Burnham, CEO of Pattern Bioscience and Editor-in-Chief of the ASM Case Reports journal. Together, they explore how innovative technologies—like single-cell microbiology—are transforming clinical microbiology and accelerating diagnostic results. What is single-cell microbiology, and how does it improve rapid diagnostics? They also discuss case reports from ASM that highlight the real-world impact of timely diagnostic tools on patient care. It’s where speed meets science—and the stories behind the data truly matter.



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    49 m
  • 192: Stronger Together: Partnerships in Diagnostics
    Jun 12 2025

    How familiar are you with partnerships and collaborations between the laboratory and the diagnostics industry? In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Andrea Prinzi and Dr. Kristen Smith to explore how partnerships between clinical labs, public health institutions, and the diagnostics industry drive innovation in in-vitro diagnostics (IVDs). What is the IVD pipeline? From discovery to product launch and beyond, these collaborations improve patient care, accelerate access to new technologies, and enhance public health outcomes. Why breaking silos and fostering inclusive partnerships is essential for the future of diagnostics? Tune in to find out.



    Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2025.04.001

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    45 m
  • 191: TBT- Talking HIV with Dr. Hsu
    Jun 5 2025

    TBT- This week Let's Talk Micro is talking about virology, specifically about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This episode features an interview with Dr. Hsu, a stem cell specialist from the Weill Medical College at Cornell University in New York. She discusses an article about a patient that has been possibly cured from HIV after a stem cell transplant with cord blood cells. What is the CCR5 gene? What is its relationship to HIV? Tune in to find out about this interesting article.

    This episode was originally published on April 14th , 2022.

    Link to article:

    https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2022/02/patient-possibly-cured-of-hiv-infection-by-special-stem-cell-transplant



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    21 m
  • 190: Aztreonam-avibactam
    May 29 2025

    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

    Questions? Feedback? Send those to letstalkmicro@outlook.com

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    35 m
  • 189: Outbreak Detection System
    May 22 2025

    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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    35 m
  • 188: Haemophilus: ALA, susceptibilities, and more
    May 15 2025

    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

    Questions? Feedback? Send those to letstalkmicro@outlook.com

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    25 m