Have you ever heard of congenital CMV? Probably not, but you should!

Back with another episode, we dive into congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common congenital infection that nobody talks about. This episode is Part II of a two-part series. Your guest host, Dr. Kaisha Gonzalez, is joined by Dr. Megan Pesch, a clinician, researcher, advocate, and mom on a mission who’s here to break down why CMV matters, how it affects newborns, and what we can do to prevent it.

From screening to advocacy to her journey learning American Sign Language, Dr. Pesch shares insights, research, and practical tips for parents and healthcare providers alike. Don’t miss this eye-opening conversation!

Check out Dr. Pesch's Bio:

https://experts.umich.edu/5911-megan-pesch

Website for Congenital and Perinatal Infections Consortium:

https://cpic.rarediseasesnetwork.org/

Website for the 2025 Congenital Cytomegalovirus Public Health & Policy Conference:

https://cmv.usu.edu/

Have you ever heard of congenital CMV? Probably not, but you should!

In this episode of PASCV: Gone Viral, we dive into congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common congenital infection that nobody talks about. This episode will be Part I of a two-part series. Your guest host, Dr. Kaisha Gonzalez, is joined by Dr. Megan Pesch, a clinician, researcher, advocate, and mom on a mission who’s here to break down why CMV matters, how it affects newborns, and what we can do to prevent it.

From screening to advocacy to her journey learning American Sign Language, Dr. Pesch shares insights, research, and practical tips for parents and healthcare providers alike. Don’t miss this eye-opening conversation!

Check out Dr. Pesch's Bio:

https://experts.umich.edu/5911-megan-pesch

Website for Congenital and Perinatal Infections Consortium:

https://cpic.rarediseasesnetwork.org/

Website for the 2025 Congenital Cytomegalovirus Public Health & Policy Conference:

https://cmv.usu.edu/

"Patience you must have, my young padawan".

In today's episode of PASCV: Gone Viral, we feature Dr. Duane Newton, PhD, D(ABMM), FIDSA. Where we discuss mentorship, whether it be in the clinical laboratory, medical profession, academic promotion, industry, or even personally; what to look for in a mentor, advice on where to start, and how to have an authentic mentor-mentee relationship.

Apologies for the poor sound quality, I apparently recorded the episode through a potato as opposed to my podcasting microphone...

Check out the Dr. Newton's resources and mentorship availability using the link below:

https://dwnconsult.com/

Did you know that there will be a "speed dating" networking event at this year's PASCV Annual Meeting? Additional information below:

https://www.pascv.org/page/pascv

Register up until the date of the meeting (May 8, 2025). Hotel registration is available until April 15, 2025.

We are back with another episode of PASCV: Gone Viral, featuring Dr. Mondraya Howard, talking all about human papillomavirus (HPV). We discuss the clinical significance of HPV, diagnostic landscape, guidelines for cervical cancer screening, and other shenanigans.

PASCV 2025 Annual Meeting Registration:

https://www.pascv.org/page/pascv

ASCCP Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines:

https://journals.lww.com/jlgtd/Fulltext/2021/07000/The_ASCCP_Cervical_Cancer_Screening_Task_Force.1.aspx

HPV Studies:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6112594/

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00251-7/fulltext

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335524001207

Happy New Year!

We are back with another episode of PASCV: Gone Viral, featuring Drs. Courtney Dial and Christopher Kendra, talking all about the CPEP Clinical Fellowship program through the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). We discuss what the fellowship is, challenges of fellowship, advice for applying into programs, and personal experiences.

Apply for a CPEP Clinical Fellowship:

https://asm.org/fellowships/cpep

PASCV Clinical Microbiology Board Review Course:

https://www.pascv.org/page/clinmicro

Dr. Courtney Dial: https://www.med.unc.edu/pathology/directory/courtney-n-dial-ms-phd/

Dr. Christopher Kendra: https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty/64693/kendra-chris

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

December's episode of PASCV: Gone Viral features Dr. Diego Hijano, a pediatric infectious disease physician, where we discuss the Mature Minor Doctrine, the clarification act, and it's impacts on pediatric immunization and medical practice in minors.

Check out the paper published by Dr. Hijano in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (Feb 2024):

https://academic.oup.com/jpids/article/13/2/155/7597167

Additional Information:

Dr. Hijano's Biography and contact information: https://www.stjude.org/directory/h/diego-raul-hijano.html

Information for PASCV Annual Meeting: https://www.pascv.org/page/pascv

Information for PASCV Career Achievement Awards: https://www.pascv.org/page/Awards

Birds & Cows & Pigs, oh my!

Two hosts!? Two Bens!? In episode 3 of PASCV: Gone Viral, Dr. Erin Graf and Dr. Nina Gao speak with Drs. Benjamin Pinsky & Benjamin Bradley on the topic of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1).

Check out the paper published by Dr. Pinsky & Dr. Bradley in the Journal of Clinical Virology (Oct 2024):

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386653224000854

Additional Information:

CDC Avian Influenza Homepage: https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/index.html

H5N1 Detected in Swine: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/federal-state-veterinary-agencies-share-update-hpai-detections-oregon

Another Podcast episode! Sorry.

In episode 2, featuring Dr. Agatha Jassem, Head of Virology at the BCCDC Laboratory, and Clinical Associate Professor, UBC - two Canadians discuss Enterovirus D68. What is enterovirus D68? Who apologizes first? How do you pronounce "poutine"? Tune in and find out!

Check out the paper by Dr. Jassem's group, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases earlier this year:

https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae411/7746462?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Additional Information:

British Columbia Centre for Disease Control: http://www.bccdc.ca/

Canadian Association for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases: https://www.cacmid.ca/

PASCV EVD68 Webinar: https://www.pascv.org/event/D68