With all the information about viruses that we see coming out, what better than an episode about emerging viruses. Dr. Benjamin Pinsky and Dr. Ryan Relich, two experienced virologists, join the podcast to talk about viruses. Tune in to learn about the different type of viruses, mode of entry, diseases, and more. This is part one of a two-part series. Link to the Clinical Virology Symposium: https://asm.org/Events/Clinical-Virology-Symposium/Home

In this episode Dr. Ryan Relich and Dr. Kenneth Gavina join the podcast to talk about an article where Francisella tularensis spp. novicida was recovered from a blood culture. Are you familiar with this organism? What are the subspecies of Francisella tularensis? What are the biochemicals tested on it and their results? While most of us might never see this organism in our careers, being aware and prepared to recognize it is essential. We have to be prepared and have a plan in place. Tune in to learn more about this organism. Link to article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/jcm.00787-22

Season 3 kicks off with the second episode of the AMR sub-series with Dr. Andrea Prinzi. In this episode we go over beta-lactam antibiotics. Dr. Brian Raux, a Pharmacist and Medical liaison joins us. What are the beta-lactams? What is their mechanism of action? Which drugs are part of this group? Intrinsic resistance? Tune in to learn about this class of antibiotics and what the CLSI has about them.

This episode is the first episode in what is going to be an Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) sub-series. Dr. Andrea Prinzi joins me in this series. Together we breakdown this complex topic. In this episode we start with an overview of the state of AMR, Dr. Prinzi provides some history, and we explain what the series is going to be about. Learning this information can be challenging for professionals, but we are going to break it down as simple as we can. Knowing and understanding this information is a crucial part of our job as Medical Laboratory Scientists. We will go over classes of antibiotics, mechanisms of action, resistance mechanisms and more. Hope you tune in.

This episode was recorded while at the American Society for Microbiology's (ASM) Microbe 2023 at Houston. I go over my favorite posters, sessions and more. It was great connecting with fellow microbiologists. Great posters such as Shewanella and oysters, frogs and potential compounds, and more. Of course, as a podcaster I had to sit through an episode of Editors in conversation.