Meet the Microbiologist

Agnostic Diagnostics and the Future of ASM Health With Dev Mittar


Listen Later

Dev Mittar, Ph.D., Scientific Director of the ASM Health Scientific Unit discusses the use of metagenomic next generation sequencing to develop agnostic diagnostic technology, giving scientists and clinicians alike, a tool to diagnose any infectious disease with one single test. He also discusses how the ASM Health Unit is empowering scientists and leveraging microbial science innovations to address critical global health challenges and improve lives worldwide.

Ashley's Biggest Takeaways
  • The Division of Research, Innovation and Ventures is a small entrepreneurial arm of BARDA that takes on early-stage projects with high potential of turning into medical countermeasures.
  • Prior to his role as Scientific Director for ASM Health, Mittar worked as a health scientist and program officer at DRIVe, where he focused on advancing high-impact science.
  • He is particularly passionate about his work to develop agnostic diagnostics—a single test that uses metagenomic next generation sequencing to identify any pathogen from 1 clinical sample.
  • Mittar discusses applications for this technology in surveillance (pandemic preparedness), variant detection, AMR and clinical settings (diagnosing complicated infections where etiology is not clearly defined).
  • He also shares how a recent bout with illness emphasized the value and potential of this technology to save money, time, pain and suffering of the patient.
  • Agnostic diagnostics can also help prevent the overuse/misuse of antibiotics, which are key factors in the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
  • Furthermore, when this technology is coupled with the use of metatranscriptomics, it can provide information about the patient’s immune profile that can be helpful in developing personalized treatment strategies, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach.
  • ASM is organizing around 3 scientific units, ASM Health, ASM Mechanism Discovery and ASM Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
  • These units will empower researchers and scientists to use science make a difference in the world and provide a forum for them to come together to shape the future of the field.
Links for This Episode
  • Learn More About ASM’s Scientific Units.
  • Join the Conversation on ASM Connect, our online community platform.
  • Browse Volunteer Opportunities.
  • Become an ASM Member.
  • Register for ASM Microbe 2025.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Meet the MicrobiologistBy Ashley Hagen, M.S.

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

35 ratings


More shows like Meet the Microbiologist

View all
Nature Podcast by Springer Nature Limited

Nature Podcast

765 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

807 Listeners

MicrobeWorld Video by American Society for Microbiology

MicrobeWorld Video

29 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,691 Listeners

This Week in Virology by Vincent Racaniello

This Week in Virology

2,046 Listeners

Microbios by Max Brito

Microbios

12 Listeners

StarTalk Radio by Neil deGrasse Tyson

StarTalk Radio

14,077 Listeners

This Week in Parasitism by Vincent Racaniello

This Week in Parasitism

454 Listeners

BacterioFiles by Jesse Noar

BacterioFiles

20 Listeners

MicrobeWorld Video HD by American Society for Microbiology

MicrobeWorld Video HD

4 Listeners

MicrobeWorld Video (audio only) by American Society for Microbiology

MicrobeWorld Video (audio only)

4 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,158 Listeners

This Week in Microbiology by Vincent Racaniello

This Week in Microbiology

510 Listeners

Editors in Conversation by American Society for Microbiology

Editors in Conversation

25 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

11,991 Listeners

This Week in Virology by Vincent Racaniello

This Week in Virology

226 Listeners

Immune by Vincent Racaniello

Immune

271 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,153 Listeners

Febrile by Sara Dong

Febrile

169 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,346 Listeners

Infectious Disease Puscast by Vincent Racaniello

Infectious Disease Puscast

78 Listeners