Infectious Diseases

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Jian Han, MD

Diagnostic tests can sometimes get to patients too late but technology is changing to treat patients early, particularly for respiratory problems and infectious diseases. Dr. Gian Han, director of Diatherex Laboratories, tells host Bruce Japsen about the diagnostic industry's progress in testing for respiratory diseases and superbugs via the latest in research and technology in molecular generics.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Jian Han, MD

The 'superbug' methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a top concern for hospitals and doctors nationwide. So what are we doing to combat this? Dr. Gian Han, director of Diatherix Laboratories, tells host Bruce Japsen about molecular diagnostic technologies being developed for doctors to detect MRSA and prevent infection in patients.

Host: Lisa Mazzullo, MD

Guest: David Soper, MD

The number of women being treated for sexually transmitted infections in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, especially among women between the ages of 19 and 24. One of the biggest obstacles in treating these infections is persuading primary physicians to screen at-risk patients. Dr. David Soper, director of the division of gynecology and general obstetrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, discusses with host Dr. Lisa Mazzullo the treatment options for women and their partners, screening strategies and new trends in treating this ever-growing problem for young women.

Host: Mark DeLegge, MD

Guest: Timothy Rubin, MD

The micro-organism Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, can cause serious infection and is often resistant to antibiotic therapy. A less traditional approach to treatment — the stool transplant — has emerged as a very successful therapy for patients suffering from C. diff. What does the procedure involve, and which patients might be candidates? Host Dr. Mark DeLegge explores this unconventional therapy with Dr. Timothy Rubin, gastroenterologist at Saint Mary's Duluth Clinic Health System in Minnesota.

Host: Martin Samuels, MD

Guest: Paul Farmer, MD, PhD

Aside from pure altruism, is there any reason that an American doctor should care about healthcare elsewhere, particularly in parts of the world remote as Russian jails? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels is Dr. Paul Farmer, medical anthropologist and founding director of Partners in Health, an international health and social justice organization, to discuss this and other important topics.

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD

Guest: Mark Denison, MD

Understanding the mechanisms through which animal viruses mutate and emerge as human pathogens helps us to predict and restrict the impact of natural pandemics and intentionally spawned virulent diseases. Toward this end, the cultivation of complex synthetic viruses is a promising area of research. Looking into the future, will these efforts allow us to subdue viruses in animals before they emerge in humans? In the context of the work of his research team to synthesize a bat coronavirus to better understand the origins of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, Dr. Mark Denison, professor of pediatrics and associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, explores this question with host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill.

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD

Guest: Mark Denison, MD

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) made significant headlines in 2003, testing the mettle of our global public health infrastructure. Since then, we have seen robust evidence to suggest that bats were the original animal host for the virus, with the latest data coming from a synthetic SARS-like bat coronavirus. These most recent efforts were led by the research team of Dr. Mark Denison, professor of pediatrics and associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Denison details this work with host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill. From a global perspective, how does our ability to synthesize complex viruses like this one enhance our capacity to deal with threatening pathogens?

Host: Mary Leuchars, MD

Guest: Tim Davis, MD, PhD

Malaria control is challenging in regions of the world where there is intense year-round transmission of multiple species. What do the results from a recent clinical trial in one such area — Papua New Guinea — tell us about treating this disease? Principle investigator Dr. Tim Davis, a professor of medicine at the University of Western Australia, shares the results of his NEJM-published study on combination antimalarial therapies in children from Papua New Guinea. Hosted by Dr. Mary Leuchars.

Host: Mary Leuchars, MD

Guest: William Collins, PhD

Each year, over one million people die of malaria and its complications. Can malaria ever be eliminated, and is a malaria vaccine the answer? Speaking with host Dr. Mary Leuchars on this important subject is Dr. William Collins, senior biomedical research scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Collins has been a leading expert on malaria and antimalarial vaccine developments for the past 50 years. In this interview he describes a hopeful beginning for malaria vaccines, predicated on research from the past 20 years, toward eliminating the disease burden globally.

Host: Mary Leuchars, MD

Guest: William Collins, PhD

Malaria is the most deadly vector-borne disease in the world, and physicians need to be current on its biology, global disease burden, and advancing treatments. Dr. William Collins, senior biomedical research scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been a leading expert on malaria and antimalarial vaccine developments for the past 50 years. He joins host Dr. Mary Leuchars to update listeners on the cycle of disease transmission, scope of burden across the world, and the path toward prevention and vaccine development.