Editors in Conversation

Is the future of cervical cancer screening non-invasive? Sharmila Manjeshwar, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Klausner M.D. MPH, discuss a breakthrough in HPV diagnostics: urine-based testing. While vaccination and clinical screening have reduced cervical cancer rates, participation has stalled due to barriers like healthcare access and the invasive nature of traditional clinician-collected samples. This conversation explores how novel high-volume urine concentration technology is changing the landscape, making screening more accessible, private, and efficient.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/am7NvL1Y0g4

• Sharmila Manjeshwar, Ph.D.
• Jeffrey Klausner M.D. MPH

• Performance of a novel, urine-based test for the detection of cervical human papillomavirus infection

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). 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.

Most microbiome research focuses on soil, oceans, or hosts. But the atmosphere itself harbors diverse communities of bacteria and fungi that move between ecosystems. This episode explores a recent mBio study comparing airborne microbial communities above a subalpine forest and a grassland in Colorado. The conversation unpacks what the "aerobiome" is, how scientists actually sample microbes from the air, and why height, time of day, and season matter. The study reveals striking differences between fungi and bacteria, with fungi showing strong site-specific structure and environmental sensitivity, while bacteria appear more ubiquitous. They also discuss "vertical filtering," long-distance dispersal, and what these findings mean for pathogen spread, ecosystem connectivity, and climate change. The atmosphere is not empty space, it is an active conduit connecting microbial life across landscapes.

• Carolyn R. Cornell, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural BiologyColorado State University
• Jane E. Stewart, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural BiologyColorado State University

• Spatiotemporal patterns of airborne microbial communities in forest and grassland ecosystems.

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by mBio® and hosted by mBio Editor in Chief, Marvin Whiteley, Ph.D.

This episode is brought to you by the mBio journal available at https://asm.org/mBio.

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

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

Follow mBio on twitter at https://x.com/mbiojournal.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (or MALDI) has revolutionized the clinical microbiology laboratory, enabling rapid, accurate and cheap identification of bacteria, yeast, moulds and mycobacteria. In most labs, it has become a verb (I maldi'ed it). But – can it replace our antimicrobial susceptibility tests? Let's find out!

• Dr. Frieder Schaumburg
• Niklas Wiesmann

In the inaugural episode of Editors in Conversation mBio edition, Marvin Whiteley speaks with Arturo Casadevall, infectious-disease physician-scientist, founding Editor in Chief of mBio, and a leading voice in fungal pathogenesis and scientific rigor. They explore how climate change may be reshaping the fungal kingdom, potentially eroding the thermal barrier that has historically protected humans from most fungal pathogens. Using Candida auris (C auris) as a case study, they discuss heat adaptation, antifungal resistance, and what climate change could mean for future outbreaks. The conversation also examines fungal pandemics in pop culture, the challenges of antifungal drug development, and the promise of vaccines and biotechnology. Fungi are both threat and ally in a changing world, and understanding them has never been more urgent.

• Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D. - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Infectious-disease physician-scientist, Founding Editor in Chief of mBio®

• On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds
• Reflections on my 15 years as mBio editor in chief

This episode of Editors in Conversation is brought to you by mBio® and hosted by mBio Editor in Chief, Marvin Whiteley, Ph.D. Visit journals.asm.org/journal/mbio to read articles and/or submit a manuscript. Receive up to 50% off fees when you publish in mBio® or any of the ASM journals by becoming an ASM member. Sign up at asm.org/joinasm.

The Interdisciplinary Meeting of Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation has launched! The first version of IMARI brought together researchers, clinicians, industry leaders and policymakers to address one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine: antimicrobial resistance" Check the highlights at IMARI.org and prepare for IMARI 2017 from January 27-29, 2027!

The inaugural amazing conference took place in Las Vegas. This is the forst time that ASM and IDSA collaborate together in a scientific meeting. One of the sessions involved an unprecedent collaboration between two journals AAC and JID published by each society. To celebrate this achievement we had a session of the best AMR papers of 2025 for AAC and JID. This session will be presented here as apart of our series.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/XRYl7863z34

Objectives:

- Review the best papers and topics of AMR in 2025 form AAC and JID. - Discuss the context of each finding and contributions to the AMR community - Elaborate on the implications for AMR, novelties and how the field is advancing.

Guests: - Ayesha Khan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Associate Director, Division of Clinical Microbiology Biomedical & Translational Research Track. Principal Investigator, UC3P UCI Prime Pre-Health Pathways Program.

- Madison Stellfox, M.D. Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA.

Links:

AAC

• A microbiological and structural analysis of the interplay between sulbactam/durlobactam and imipenem against penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) of Acinetobacter spp. https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.01627-24

JID

• Ampicillin/Sulbactam in Combination with Ceftazidime/Avibactam Against Metallo-β-Lactamase-Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: A Genomics-Informed Mechanism-based model https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf567

AAC

• Advancements in the fight against globally distributed OXA-48 carbapenemase: evaluating the new generation of carbapenemase inhibitors https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.01614-24

JID

• Daptomycin-Loaded Nanocarriers Facilitate Synergistic Killing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus via Lipid-Mediated Interactions and Targeting https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf492

AAC

• Amoxicillin-non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae causing invasive pneumonia: serotypes, clones, and clinical impact https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.00237-25

JID

• Blood Cultures Contain Populations of Genetically Diverse Candida albicans Strains that May Differ in Echinocandin Tolerance and Fitness https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf495

AAC

• Antibiofilm activity of manogepix, ibrexafungerp, amphotericin B, rezafungin, and caspofungin against Candida spp. biofilms of reference and clinical strains https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.00137-25

JID

• Engineered Mycobacteriophage TM4::GeNL Rapidly Determines Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, Rifampicin, and Clofazimine Sensitivity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical Isolates https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae438

AAC

• Emergence of antibiotic-specific Mycobacterium tuberculosis phenotypes during prolonged treatment of mice https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.01310-24

JID

• The Changing Paradigm in Infectious Diseases—Host-Directed Medicine: Implications for the Next Generation of ID Physicians https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf497

JID

• Triggering Toll-Like Receptor 5 Signaling During Pneumococcal Superinfection Prevents the Selection of Antibiotic Resistance https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae239

• IMARI Conference

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.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity – and is not a future problem. Changes to the Earth's climate driven by emission of greenhouse gases have led to glaciers shrinking, plant and animal geographic ranges shifting and historical droughts, wildfires and rainfall. What does all of this have to do with the clinical laboratory? Subscribe to Editors in Conversation on Apple Podcasts, Android, Spotify, or Email and never miss an episode.

• Dr. Joesph Wiencek, Director of Clinical Chemistry and Associate Professor at VUMC
• Andrea Prinzi, Ph.D., MPH, SM(ASCP), bioMérieux

Links:

• The foundation for the microbiology laboratory's essential role in diagnostic stewardship: an ASM Laboratory Practices Subcommittee report
• Approaches to developing and implementing a molecular diagnostics stewardship program for infectious diseases: an ASM Laboratory Practices Subcommittee report
• Guiding antimicrobial stewardship through thoughtful antimicrobial susceptibility testing and reporting strategies: an updated approach in 2023

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.

This is a special live recording of Editors in Conversation at the 2025 ASM Global Research Symposium in Bengaluru, India. We explore the evolving landscape of drug-resistant pathogens—from the intracellular survival strategies of Salmonella to the global rise of multidrug-resistant fungi like Candida auris. This conversation highlights the urgent need for integrated, One Health solutions to combat AMR across human, animal, and environmental domains.

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/G1KtS6MSjHs

• The implications of the OneHealth approach for microbiology and public health.
• The connection between planetary science, human activity and the rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens.
• Illustrate with specific examples the major challenges to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens in a country like India.

• Anuradha Chowdhary, M.D., Ph.D. Professor, University of Delhi India, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute. Head of National Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance in Fungal Pathogens. New Delhi, India.
• Dipshikha Chakravortty, Ph.D. Astra Chair Professor, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology India Institute of Science, Head of Molecular Pathogenesis Laboratory, Bengaluru, India.

• ASM Global Research Symposium on the One Health Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

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.

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