Let's Talk Micro - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

142: UAA MLS : Microbiology and Research May 23, 2024

Show notes

In this episode Luis talks to Grace Leu-Burke, Program Director and professor at the University of Alaska in Anchorage (UAA) Medical Laboratory Sciences Program. She joins the podcast to talk about her career and talks about the MLS program at UAA. She goes over the Microbiology curriculum, the importance of biochemical testing, and more. She also talks about the research that her students are conducting involving moose and stool samples.

Link to UAA MLS program:

https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-health/departments/school-of-allied-health/medical-laboratory-science/index.cshtml

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

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141: AR Isolate Bank May 16, 2024

Show notes

As a microbiologist, you might have worked on a project or validation that involved organisms from the AR Isolate Bank. You might have asked where they came from and you were told that they were obtained from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What is the Antimicrobial Resistance Isolate Bank (AR Bank)? What organisms are part of this bank? What are they used for? In this episode Luis is joined by two guests from the CDC to answer these questions and more.

Links to the AR Isolate Bank website and more:

AR Isolate Bank - https://wwwn.cdc.gov/arisolatebank/

CDC's site on AR Isolate Bank - https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/resistance-bank/index.html

AR Isolate Bank's email: ARBank@cdc.gov

The National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria - https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/us-activities/national-action-plan.html

2023 Breakpoint Implementation Toolkit (2023 BIT) - https://clsi.org/meetings/ast/breakpoints-in-use-toolkit/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2-rJ3vqKhAMVXVxHAR1nkACvEAAYASAAEgIi3PD_BwE

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

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140: Talking AMR: Tetracyclines May 09, 2024

Show notes

The next episode of the AMR series is here! Luis and Andrea are joined by Dr. Brandon Hill to talk about the Tetracyclines. What is the mechanism of action of this antimicrobial group? What drugs are part of it? Is there any intrinsic resistance? Tune in for another great episode where we "break down" antimicrobials.

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro

Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

139: Bacillus: morphology and media May 02, 2024

Show notes

Originally released as episode 76, in this episode Luis continues going over Bacillus. Now that we know its groups and what diseases they are implicated on, it's time to talk about media and morphology. What do the colonies look like? What is MYP agar? PEMBA? Tune in to find out.

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

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138: Bacillus species Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Originally released as episode 75, in this episode Luis talks about Bacillus and related genera. What are the species that are part of this genus? Which species cause food poisoning? What about endophthalmitis? What are spores? Tune in to find out.

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

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137: Corynebacterium diphtheriae: media and more Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

In this episode Luis continues going over Corynebacterium. In the last episode he mentioned some media that is used to isolate Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Have you heard of cystine tellurite agar? How about Tinsdale agar? What type of testing is there for the diphtheria toxin?What test systems can identify C. diphtheriae? Tune in to learn more about this organism and how this media works.

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

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136: Corynebacterium Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

Back to the gram-positive rods! This week Luis goes back to gram-positive rods: Corynebacterium this time. The episode starts with an overview: gram stain, biochemicals, morphology, and species. What do you know about Corynebacterium diphtheriae? Does it always cause diphtheria? What is a pseudomembrane? Tune in and download this episode to learn about this genus that has some species commonly seen in the laboratory.

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro

Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

135: Talking ID Stewardship, learning antibiotics, and more Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

What is antimicrobial stewardship ? What is a hospital antibiogram? In this episode Dr. Timothy Gauthier joins the podcast and talks to Luis about antimicrobial stewardship. Dr. Gauthier is a pharmacist and creator of the IDstewardship.com and Learnantibiotics.com websites. He is also the author of a book titled Learn Antibiotics. Luis asks him about what antibiotics are used to treat certain organisms. Don't miss this great episode.

Timothy Gauthier's information:

X: @IDstwerdship

Websites:

IDstewardship.com

Learnantibiotics.com

Book available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/9ikuZ10

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro

Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

134: Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

What is the Doctor in Public Health (DrPH) degree? What kind of work does it prepare you to do? What concentrations does this degree has? In this episode Luis talks to Dr. Jill Roberts, an associate professor at the University of South Florida (USF). Dr. Roberts is the director of the DrPH with a concentration in Public Health and Clinical Laboratory Science and Practice degree program at USF. What are the prerequisites for this degree? What are the career options? Are you able to pursue this degree if you have a background in Clinical Laboratory ? Tune in to find out.

Link to USF's DrPH in Public Health and Clinical Laboratory Science and practice:

https://health.usf.edu/publichealth/apply/doctoral/drph-phclsp

Dr. Robert's contact info: jcrobert@usf.edu

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

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro

Buy me a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

133: Teaching Microbiology in High School Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

Microbiology in high school ? Must people take biology in high school, but microbiology is not typically an option. Those of you that are microbiology lovers, would you have taken it had there been an option? Well, check out this episode where Meredith Townsend, a high school teacher joins the podcast to talk to Luis about teaching microbiology to her students. She talks about the curriculum, grading, how does it help the students, and more.

Want to reach out to Meredith Townsend? See below:

mertownsend34@gmail.com --- contact me and we can get you in the Google Group!

https://mertownsend34.wixsite.com/mrstownsendteaches --- here is my teaching blog!

https://a.co/d/4Q3X3VK --- ABC's of Microbiology: A coloring book for future science nerds

@Mer_Townsend - X username

mrs_townsend_teaches --- Instagram

Want to support the podcast? Here's how:

Buy me a Ko-fi : https://ko-fi.com/letstalkmicro

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/letstalkmicro