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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
Robert Quinn, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses his research, detailing information on rare bacterial lung infections, anaerobic bacteria infection, and especially cystic fibrosis.
Podcast Points of Discussion:
Quinn's education includes: a PhD in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, LA, an MSc in Microbiology from the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and a BSc in Microbiology, also from the University of Guelph in Canada.
Quinn discusses cystic fibrosis, which he states is a classic genetic disease, and those who are afflicted with it have various mutations in a particular gene. As he explains cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that affects the lungs and digestive system.
The body produces thick and sticky mucus that can clog the lungs and obstruct the pancreas. He goes on to discuss some of the commonalities that exist between sick people with cystic fibrosis and the healthy. He discusses the issues in detail, discussing the oral cavity and upper airways.
Quinn continues his discussion by recounting some experiments he was involved with during his time at San Diego State University. In the experiments, patients would not only breathe oxygen, but they would actually sit in a hyperbaric chamber full of oxygen.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen while inside a pressurized room or tube. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a commonly used treatment for decompression sickness, which is a hazard of scuba diving. While there were potential risks due to the pressurization, the idea was that this environment could possibly kill some unwanted bacteria, such as anaerobic organisms, or anaerobes, which are organisms that do not require oxygen for growth, and thus they may respond negatively or perhaps even die if free oxygen is presented.
Quinn goes on to discuss cross-contamination concerns between cystic fibrosis patients due to the fact that they have highly resistant bacteria. He explains broad-spectrum antibiotic use and talks about the pros and cons of various treatments.
Most of us have heard about intestinal microbiomes, but researchers found that eyes have their own bacteria presence as well. Dr. St. Leger discusses his findings, such as:
Anthony St. Leger is an assistant professor of Ophthalmology and Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. About three years ago, he and his lab found the presence of bacteria in a mouse's diseased eye that seemed to serve the same function as the bacteria we have in our intestinal tract. In other words, these bacteria appeared to modulate the susceptibility to infectious disease and immunity. This prompted a more intensive study to understand more fully the purpose for its stable coexistence with the eye.
Dr. St. Leger explains that the bacteria is only present under the eyelid. The rest of the eye, especially the center, is bacteria free, but the area under the lid seems to support this niche ecology of beneficial bacteria. After he and his lab were given permission to use isolates from numerous past patients at the university clinic, they found that the mouse and human eye had enough similarity in a bacterium that researchers could apply what they learned from the mouse eye to the human eye.
Therefore, these researchers hope to use their studies to see if these bacteria can be beneficial drug carriers and offer other solutions regarding eye microbiome and disease, including pro-biotic-like therapies.
For more information and links to Dr. St. Leger's papers, see his lab's web page at http://ophthalmology.pitt.edu/people/anthony-st-leger-phd
In this podcast, Dr Claudia Gray, PhD, Paediatrician and Allergologist, Kids Allergy Paediatric & Allergy Centre—South Africa, talks in detail about allergy issues and research, discussing many common child allergies, child skin allergy treatment, and what's coming in the future for allergy testing and treatment.
Podcast Points of Discussion:
Dr Gray has an extensive history and background in her field, as a paediatrician with a subspecialist accreditation in allergology, and as a noted researcher. She received her medical degree from the University of Cape Town, then continued studies in London, specializing in paediatrics, paediatric clinical pharmacology, and paediatric allergy. Additionally, she holds a PhD related to the specific study of eczema and food allergy.
Dr Gray talks about her background, why she decided to specialize in paediatrics and allergies, and some of the current research in the field. Allergologists have a wide range of studies that includes eczema, asthma, environmental allergies, drug allergies, food allergies, gut allergies, and insect venom allergies. Dr Gray provides detailed information on why some allergies improve over time, but others worsen.
The research doctor and professor explains how allergy shots work, and why they are successful with some patients. She discusses the various mechanisms through which allergies can improve over time, discussing the artificial processes (such as allergy shots) that are designed to trick the body into producing protective antibodies. She explains how they work with their patients, discussing medicines, and specific allergies—such as peanut allergies, detailing how early oral exposure can help to build up a tolerance. She describes how desensitization for bee allergies, and other allergies, can sometimes work and explains why exposure is only becoming accepted as a method of treatment lately, in some circles.
Dr Gray discusses eczema management, and the importance of discussing issues and information with your doctor, as opposed to trusting what you might find on the internet.
As a respected speaker and noted authority, Dr Gray has contributed to more than 70 publications in her fields of expertise and she is a regular speaker at many international and local conferences.
This podcast explores essential principals in childhood emotional development as researched by journalist Katherine Lewis. She discusses her book on this subject by explaining:
Katherine Lewis had been a journalist for 20 years covering business and policy issues when she became concerned by her own children's challenging behavior. She began intensive researching that led to a popular article and eventually a book: The Good News about Bad Behavior discusses parent's misguided attempts to correct behavior rather than offer behavioral skills.
She found that the current generation of young people has fewer self-regulation skills than past generations. This means younger people have difficulty managing their behavior, thoughts, and emotions in a way that is unmanageable. We see high rates of anxiety, addiction, and suicide by teens as a result.
Katherine Lewis explains that there are ways parents can address this to ease the gap between children's behavior then and now, from that meltdown moment and beyond, that will make space for these self-regulating skills to grow. She covers impediments to this from technology to social strata extremes and how connection, communication, and emotional capability building are key principals toward stronger emotional development.
For more information, see her web site at https://www.katherinerlewis.com/
Marine biogeochemistry is the study of how microscopic organisms like bacteria and phytoplankton modify the chemistry of the ocean, and at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Joseph Vallino's work as Senior Scientist revolves around it.
Tune in to learn:
In a single liter of ocean water, there are billions of bacteria, which makes it difficult to identify all the players at any one time. In turn, this makes it difficult to understand the overall chemistry of the ocean, since each microbial process contributes to it.
In an attempt to overcome this challenge, Joseph Vallino is developing different approaches based on ideas derived from thermodynamics. His aim is to develop a better understanding of ocean chemistry and the ways in which biological systems organize.
He explains his unique approach to this problem and discusses a number of fascinating topics, including areas of active research in the field such as energy utilization science and microbial energy research.
For more, visit https://www.mbl.edu/ecosystems/vallino/.
While working at his post doc at Oxford University, Dr. Akbar focuses on the signals the immune system uses and resulting actions through extracellular vesicles research.
He discusses:
Dr. Naveed Akbar focuses on extracellular vesicles research and how the vesicles relate to metabolic disease. Atherosclerosis, which causes heart attacks and strokes, tends to be much thicker in a diabetic patient. He believes this junction of immunological and metabolic disease is an important crossroads.
He explains that while atherosclerosis builds up over decades due to many other lifestyle causes, we don't understand is why diabetic patients are more apt to get fattier plaques that are more aggressive and more prone to rupture, which ends in the heart attack and stroke events.
Therefore, he has studied how immune systems responds to damage within the blood vessel and why immune cells accumulate within the wall of an artery to drive these attacks. They've discovered that as the monocytes try and engulf the fat in an artery, this action attracts more immune cells, causing more inflammation. Trying to understand what signals turn on and off the message to cause inflammation may lead to better healing.
Finally, he describes a current project: extracellular vesicles research into what happens after a heart attack and splint placement. Immune cells go to the heart and create more inflammation, which is harmful—a healing that has a defective element. Understand what's controlling their switch is important therapeutically.
For more information, see his page on the Oxford University site: https://www.rdm.ox.ac.uk/people/naveed-akbar
In order to create anti-parasitic medications like filariasis treatment, researchers like Dr. Geary study how parasites hide from their hosts. When you listen in to this discussion, you'll learn:
Dr. Timothy Geary serves as Chair in Parasite Biotechnology at McGill University and also has an appointment at Queen's University in Belfast. His background is in pharmacology, but he has developed a specialty in anti-parasitic medication discovery. This includes genomic work on the host-parasitic interface, especially for filariasis treatment and gastrointestinal nematode infections.
In this podcast, he explains several aspects of how parasites function and how vertebrates and arthropod vectors maintain the parasite's sometimes-complex lifecycle. Adaptive pressures affect parasites to the same extent as most animal life and Dr. Geary describes some interesting results of this such as the lower instance of immunological bowel diseases in regions where parasites are more common.
He also helps differentiate parasitic nomenclature in a way that explains how and why many parasites can continue their life cycle so successfully. He catalogs the difference between single-celled protozoan parasites like the originators of toxoplasmosis and multi-celled nematode creatures.
Finally, he explains his work to understand how parasites go into "stealth mode" and why this may lead to better anti-parasitic medication and treatment.
Learn more about contacting Dr. Geary and find a list of his publications at https://www.mcgill.ca/parasitology/faculty/geary
Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Cancer Biology University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses exosomes cancer, cancer stages, and his life's work in research and medicine.
Podcast Points of Discussion:
In addition to being a professor and chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Kalluri is also Adjunct Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University.
Dr. Kalluri earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Kansas Medical Center, earned an MD degree from Brown University Medical School, and was a Post-doc fellow, and research associate as well, at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.
Dr. Kalluri has devoted much of his career to the study of immunology and mechanisms associated with tissue injury and repair utilizing advanced organ fibrosis. Dr. Kalluri talks about his current work as a professor and researcher, and his study of exosomes as it relates to cancer. He provides his thoughts on the research question: why do cells generate extracellular vesicles, commonly referred to in the medical research world as simply, EVs.
Interestingly, these EVs seem to have the capacity to alter cells around them, which makes this area of study particularly important. Dr. Kalluri states that they could play a role in cancer progression.
Dr. Kalluri discusses the differences in exosomes in varied individuals that might serve as biomarkers. He discusses the possible exosome content differences in regard to not only disease but also pregnancy. And as he states, much more research needs to be done in order to better understand what is happening in and around these cells and how it all affects tumors, and more. Dr. Kalluri discusses the areas they hope to understand, from the basic biology, to how release happens, how exosomes protect themselves, and more.
Continuing, the research PhD talks about accelerated growth and the various experiments that are happening with exosomes. He explains why they think metastasis may happen, and some of the questions they hope to answer. Why do cells generate exosomes in such large numbers, he asks, and this is one of the primary issues they study.
Furthering his discussion, Dr. Kalluri talks about translational research, and the tremendous potential to utilize exosomes for drug delivery systems if they can figure out exactly how they function, and how to exploit them.
Dr. Abby Johnson, Postdoctoral Associate, Knights Lab at the University of Minnesota, discusses her work in research, including detailed information on nutrition and a healthy gut diet.
Podcast Points of Discussion:
Dr. Johnson studies the relationship between diet and the microbiome. She holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of Minnesota and devotes much of her time to research. Since 2010, Dr. Johnson has been heavily interested in gut issues and the microbiome. While studying in Chicago, she learned a great deal about fats in the gut, bowel disorders, and more, and her interest was triggered. She states that what we eat can literally change the bacteria in our guts. She talks about the foods we eat and the many microbes that are within. Her research begs the questions: can we change the stability of the microbiome? How do antibiotics have an effect? Dr. Johnson discusses diet in terms of macro and micronutrients, and what exactly is in the food we eat. What is it composed of? She goes into detail about phytochemicals and fiber compositions in foods, and how the gut handles it all.
Continuing, she explains some of their studies and the data they derived from the diet and nutritional intake of study participants. She explains how nutritional status is maintained in hospital patients and the effect of the microbiome. Dr. Johnson goes on to discuss their findings in other studies. She states that the same food in different participants had various effects and that responses to foods were different in individuals. Interestingly, our personal microbiome may respond quite differently to foods.
Wrapping up, Dr. Johnson discusses shifts in eating patterns, and how they may impact your gut microbiome. Additionally, Dr. Johnson talks about the areas she hopes to explore in future studies.
Epigenetics is a mechanism for regulating gene expression, and Professor Upasna Sharma at the University of California, Santa Cruz defines epigenetic inheritance as the inheritance of phenotypic changes in the absence of changes in the underlying DNA.
She explains her research by exploring the following:
Dr. Sharma is studying the role of small non-coding RNAs in epigenetic inheritance by examining RNA in sperm. How is the environment being signaled to these small RNAs? When do tRNA fragments become abundant in sperm?
Through the research she and her team have already done, they've found that testicular sperm or germ cells do not have tRNA fragments, but as sperm enters the epididymis, it acquires a high abundance of tRNA fragments. Based on the data they've gathered, Dr. Sharma is confident in saying that tRNA fragments are created in the epididymis and then shipped to sperm. Why is this the case?
Dr. Sharma explores possible answers to this question. She also discusses how the female reproductive tract secretes extracellular vesicles and how sperm might be further altered by the female reproductive tract. The overarching aim of her research is to determine how sperm small RNA are generated, how the environment can influence their levels, and what the functional consequence is of the abundant small RNA payload of sperm, as this might help elucidate how epigenetic information is intergenerationally transferred by small RNAs.
Press play for the full conversation.
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