In the laboratory we routinely use molecular testing to identify organisms in blood cultures. We also incubate body fluids in blood culture bottles. What if we could use those same tests to identify organisms from body fluids? In this episode Christina Cox and Joel Mortensen join the podcast to talk about this. They performed a study where they used the cobas® eplex system (GenMark) to identify organisms recovered from sterile body fluid cultures. Tune in to hear about the results and the applications of this in the clinical laboratory.

Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.01611-23

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Throwback Thurdsday! This week shows an episode originally released in 2022 where Luis talks to Andrea Prinzi about respiratory cultures. What are the types of respiratory cultures? What are the pathogens? What is the significance of yeast in respiratory cultures? Sputum rejection? Tune in to this episode to learn more about these cultures.

Link to article about sputum rejection that Dr. Prinzi mentions in the episode: https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/jcm.16.4.627-631.1982

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In this episode Luis is joined by Dr. Crystal Icenhour to talk about the microbiome, more specifically, the human microbiome. What organisms typically make up the microbiome? Do they change between areas of the body? What are some applications for the microbiome? Tune in for another great episode.

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ASM Microbe 2024 took place in Atlanta Georgia from June 13-17. Check out this bonus episode where Luis discusses his two events, favorite posters, and more.

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Research in MLS? In this episode Grace Leu-Burke, director of the Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) program at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, returns to the podcast. She talks to Luis about the research program the MLS students are involved in. They culture scat from moose, bears, and geese, perform identification and susceptibility testing, and more. What kind of antimicrobial resistance is found in this sample population? Tune in to learn more about this research.

Link to JAM meeting registration: https://www.labjam.org/event/cc75ef76-49db-4175-8440-d194382bcf05/websitePage:d132f4da-b01b-4c7c-9ea8-5866e2b0f8ca

Title of Grace's Talk: “Emerging Antimicrobial Resistance, A One Health Model”

Thursday July 11th at 9:30am

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In this episode Luis talks to Dr. Madeline Barron about urinary tract infections (UTIs). Clinical Microbiologists work closely with urine cultures and recover many organisms and perform susceptibility testing. However some questions come to mind. What causes a UTI ? What organisms are typically seen in UTIs? Any treatment options other than antimicrobials? Tune in to find out.

Madeline Barron's article: https://asm.org/articles/2024/may/why-urinary-tract-infections-uti-recur

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Luis and Andrea are back to talk AMR! This time they are joined by Dr. Alyssa Walker to go over polymyxins . As usual they go over important questions such as mechanism of action, intrinsic resistance, applying the interpretation of one drug to another, and more. What media used in the laboratory has colistin in it? Don't miss another great episode.

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Regresa la serie en Español. Luis y Maridaliz discuten la tinción de gram. Cómo se prepara la laminilla? Cúales son los reactivos y el proceso? Qué diferencia hay entre bacterias gran-positiva y gram-negativa? Sintonizen a este episodio para aprender sobre una de las pruebas mas importantes en Microbiología Clínica.

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Have you been in a job or career that you feel is not a good fit for you? Perhaps you want to try something different but do not know how to get there? Sometimes you might be dreading going to work or just feel unhappy. In this episode Luis talks to Dr. Duane Newton. Duane is a microbiologist with extensive training and at one point in his career he describes feeling "miserable". What did he do to change that? Tune in to this episode to listen to how Duane navigated his path to find himself in a happy place. He shares his story and also gives advice on how you can navigate your own path.

Dr. Newton's website: https://dwnconsult.com

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In this episode Luis talks to Grace Leu-Burke, Program Director and professor at the University of Alaska in Anchorage (UAA) Medical Laboratory Sciences Program. She joins the podcast to talk about her career and talks about the MLS program at UAA. She goes over the Microbiology curriculum, the importance of biochemical testing, and more. She also talks about the research that her students are conducting involving moose and stool samples.

Link to UAA MLS program:

https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-health/departments/school-of-allied-health/medical-laboratory-science/index.cshtml

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