With new USDA rules on Salmonella in frozen and raw poultry taking effect, the fight to address microbial infection actually is also being waged on the hatchery level using research that ultimately could protect humans from some biological invasions. Our guest is Dr. Margie Lee, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. She also developed groundbreaking research on how the chicken microbiome allows chicks to fight off Salmonella after they hatch in a concept called competitive exclusion. Dr. Lee offers insights into how researchers are using these findings and how a seminar on earthworms led to concepts that could have implications in protecting other species by paying attention to microbiome conditions.