I almost can't believe that we are wrapping up yet another year on the podcast this month, which has been going strong for 6 years now! And it has been another exciting year in the world of Clin Micro as well with improvements and new assays available for some of our bread and butter tests, but the year also brought about significant developments in the application of AI and digital imaging, use of NGS methods, and probably some cool AST stuff in there too among other things, with many of these advancements published in JCM. And so, as has become customary for the last 6 years, for this episode, we will be sharing some of our favorite papers or more intriguing manuscripts published in the Journal this year. And I have to say, this is probably one of the hardest episodes to prep for because picking just on paper to talk about is an incredible difficult task! But, we are up to the challenge and we'll share those with you over the next half hour or so, all the while wearing ridiculous holiday sweaters and/or holiday headgear, as is now tradition. So, if you are not watching, you may want to switch and find a video option for your viewing pleasure.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/taqcjqeQQBE

Paper Links: Interlaboratory assays from the fungal PCR Initiative and the Modimucor Study Group to improve qPCR detection of Mucorales DNA in serum: one more step toward standardization | Journal of Clinical Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01525-24

Detection of protozoan and helminth parasites in concentrated wet mounts of stool using a deep convolutional neural network | Journal of Clinical Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01062-25

Prediction of antimicrobial susceptibility of pneumococci based on whole-genome sequencing data: a direct comparison of two genomic tools to conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing | Journal of Clinical Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01079-24 a. Bonus: Rapid detection of gram-negative antimicrobial resistance determinants directly from positive blood culture broths using a multiplex PCR system | Journal of Clinical Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00384-25

A novel single-tier serologic test to diagnose all stages of Lyme disease | Journal of Clinical Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00483-25

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM) and Elitza (Elli) Theel, Ph.D., D(ABMM).

Editors in conversation is supported by the American Society for Microbiology, which publishes JCM. Become an ASM member to receive up to 50% off publishing fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals.

Sign up at https://asm.org/joinasm.

Visit https://journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript.

Get the audio only podcast at https://asm.org/eic.

Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) remain among the most devastating complications in orthopedic surgery, with increasing incidence paralleling the growth in arthroplasty procedures worldwide. While treatment protocols are well-established, evidence supporting current approaches is lacking, and outcomes remain suboptimal, highlighting the need for improved therapeutic strategies. AAC recently published a minireview of randomized controlled trials and emerging evidence for the management for these difficult to treat infection. Today, we discuss with one of the authors of the manuscript and an ID doctor specialized in PJI infections the findings of such paper.

• Challenges of treating prosthetic joint infections.
• Major clinical trial data supporting different approaches for treatment and prevention of PJI
• Guidance for the approach to these complicated infections.

• David Paterson MBBS, Ph.D., Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (Joint) Yong Loo Lin School of Public Health (Joint), Director, ADVANCE-ID, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
• Ana Victoria Salas-Vargas, M.D. Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College.

Links:

Advancing the management of prosthetic joint infections: a review of randomized controlled trials and emerging evidence https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.00338-25

This episode is brought to you by the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Journal.

Visit asm.org/aac to browse issues and/or submit a manuscript. If you plan to publish in AAC, ASM Members get up to 50% off publishing fees. Visit asm.org/joinasm to sign up.

It's that time of year, folks! No, not leaf-peeping season, or pumpkin spice season or even apple picking season – I'm talking respiratory virus season! The symphony of sniffles and coughs is just around the corner! It's the time of year that clinical laboratories are stocking up on supplies, developing testing algorithms and putting out communications to try to convince people that every kid with the sniffles does not, in fact, warrant a highly-multiplexed respiratory virus panel test.

The diagnostic landscape for respiratory viruses has evolved dramatically in the last five years, with widespread institution of molecular tests both in laboratories of all sizes, but also at the point of care – and even consumer direct testing. What's next for respiratory virus testing?

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/_tXqLyV3-QE

Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, has been around for what seems like forever, causing major outbreaks throughout the millennia and continuing to spread at high rates, globally, into today. When it comes to diagnostic testing, some tests like RPR and VDRL have stood the test of time, having been implemented in the late 1930s and 1940s, and are now used in combination with contemporary methods like EIAs and chemiluminescent assays as the reference standard method to diagnosis syphilis cases. New approaches to screening and diagnosis are needed, however, to increase test access and ultimately case identification and treatment.

• Dr. Kevin Clark
• Dr. Jody Berry

• Clinical development and performance of the First to Know Syphilis Self-Test for over-the-counter usage: a de novo rapid test for treponemal antibody

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM). Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript. Become an ASM member to receive up to 50% off publishing fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.

The launch of ChatGPT three years ago brought the concept of artificial intelligence into the daily conversation. Today, it seems all industries, including lab medicine, are integrating AI with the promise of making our lives easier. How do we best navigate implementing this technology into clinical microbiology? How will it be regulated? … and, what is AI anyway?

Watch this epsiode: https://youtu.be/2B_JJEFJv7I

• Dr. Susan Sharp
• Dr. Kendall Bryant

• Proceedings of the Clinical Microbiology Open 2024: artificial intelligence applications in clinical microbiology
• Diagnosis of Plasmodium infections using artificial intelligence techniques versus standard microscopy in a reference laboratory
• Development and evaluation of an artificial intelligence for bacterial growth monitoring in clinical bacteriology

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM). Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript. Become an ASM member to receive up to 50% off publishing fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.

The Journal of Clinical Microbiology has a great tradition of publishing mini-reviews on topics that are important to the clinical microbiology community. Minireviews provide "up to the minute" updates on topics pertinent to clinical microbiologists and serve as fabulous training tools for medical professionals, trainees, and researchers across all disciplines. Dr. Humphries and Dr. Ledeboer discuss what makes a great mini-review, and their favorite mini-reviews published in JCM.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/sXOrfTkoDGM

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM).

Editors in conversation is supported by the American Society for Microbiology, which publishes JCM. Become an ASM member to receive up to 50% off publishing fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. Sign up at https://asm.org/joinasm.

Visit https://journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript.

Subscribe to the podcast at https://asm.org/eic

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the largest threats to global public health, compromising all other advances in modern medicine. At the forefront of detecting AMR is the clinical laboratory. However, walk into any clinical microbiology laboratory today and you will find this important task being accomplished using techniques that barely evolved from the methods proposed by Alexander Fleming, nearly 100 years ago. Bacteria are exposed to antimicrobials, in an in vitro culture system, and growth inhibition is measured after overnight incubation. In the time of laboratory automation, molecular testing and artificial intelligence – are we ready for an antimicrobial susceptibility testing revolution? What are the technologies that might get us there?

• Dr. Daniel Rhodes
• Dr. Jacob Rattin

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00674-25

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM) and Elitza (Elli) Theel, Ph.D., D(ABMM). JCM is available at jcm.asm.org. Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript. Become an ASM member to receive up to 50% off publishing fees when you publish in JCM or any of the ASM journals. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.

Measles is becoming an important public health problem and it is important to recognize and understand the origins of this problem and how it can affect the population of our country. At the same time, it is critical to have updated and scientifically accurate information on the clinical presentations, risk factors and countermeasures. Today, we will discuss this topic with experts in field.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/oQDaa8J9v5w

Topics:

• Define measles as an important public health threat • Explain the origin of the epidemic • Accurate information on countermeasures and strategies to tackle this outbreak.

Guests:

- Hana Mohammed El Sahly, M.D. Professor, Kyle and Josephine Morrow Chair, Department of Medicine, Molecular Virology and Microbiology; Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX US.

- Natasha B. Halasa M.D., M.P.H. Craig Weaver Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville Tennessee

This episode is brought to you by the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy journal available at https://asm.org/aac.

If you plan to publish in AAC, ASM Members get up to 50% off publishing fees. Visit https://asm.org/joinasm to sign up.

Visit https://asm.org/aac to browse issues and/or submit a manuscript.

Follow Cesar on twitter at https://twitter.com/SuperBugDoc for AAC updates.

Subscribe to the podcast at https://asm.org/eic

With Alex's departure to new pastures, which include things like being the incoming President of ASM, we now have a new JCM Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Romney Humphries! Dr. Humphries is currently Director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Director of the Microbiology Laboratory at Vanderbilt University, as well as a Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. She is an absolute powerhouse in the AST world as we all know, and as of this month, is the new Editor in Chief of JCM. In this episode, we find out Dr. Humphries's vision and new ideas for the Journal and where she'd like to see JCM go over the next few years.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/xkyUb6zE9X4

• Romney Humphries, Ph.D., D(ABMM), M(ASCP)

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and hosted by JCM Editor in Chief, Alex McAdam and Dr. Elli Theel. JCM is available at https://jcm.asm.org and on https://twitter.com/JClinMicro. Visit journals.asm.org/journal/jcm to read articles and/or submit a manuscript.

Follow JCM on Twitter/𝕏 via @JClinMicro

A common description of antibiotic action aims to classify them between "bactericidal" or "bacteriostatic". Although these phenomena have robust in vitro foundations, the clinical translation of these concepts is sometimes difficult to ascertain. This controversial topic has important conceptual ramifications to treat severe infections. Today, we will discuss this topic with an expert in field.

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/3z4BItBrzbk

• The definitions of "cidal" vs "static" antibiotics
• The clinical applicability of the above terms in terms of antibiotic choice and syndromatic approaches
• antibiotic choices and the controversy between bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics.

• Brad Spellberg, MD. Chief Medical Officer at the Los Angeles General Medical Center

• ASM and IDSA launch the Interdisciplinary Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation (IMARI) in 2026
• Watch this session on YouTube

This episode is brought to you by the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Journal.

Visit asm.org/aac to browse issues and/or submit a manuscript. If you plan to publish in AAC, ASM Members get up to 50% off publishing fees. Visit asm.org/joinasm to sign up.