Matters Microbial #118: Biofilms Everywhere! December 15, 2025

Today Dr. Matthew Fields, Director of the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss ubiquitous microbial biofilms. These biofilms touch so many aspects of life on Earth, ranging from human health to engineering issues!

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Matthew Fields

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Links for this episode

• The website for the American Society for Microbiology's Conference for Undergraduate Educators. Highly recommended!
• The must-read story of Angelina Hesse, and the first use of agar to solidify microbiological media. Here is a Kickstarter project involving promoting this important piece of microbiological history. And here is a video made by former podcast guest Dave Westenberg on the Hesse agar story.
• An engaging video for budding #Micronauts explaining the general concept of quorum sensing in bacteria.
• A video overview of biofilms on Earth. Perhaps we should call Earth "Planet Biofilm"!
• Here is an older review of biofilms that is very easy to read and fun to think about.
• Here is a newer review of the impact that biofilms can have in health, agriculture, industry, and ecology.
• A video interview with the late "father" of biofilm research, William J. Costerton.
• The concept that stromatolites are fossilized biofilms.
• A video describing the biofilm "life cycle."
• Recent developments in the details of how biofilms form.
• An article on biofilms and evolution of multicellularity.
• Previous podcast guest Dr. Vaughn Cooper's "Evolving STEM" outreach project that places biofilms front and center.
• The challenge of antibiotic resistance and biofilms.
• The website of the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University. There is so much to see here, at every level. It is a grand resource for anyone interested in biofilms.
• The Center for Biofilm Engineers "fact page" on biofilms.
• Dr. Fields' research page, where you can find information about the kinds of projects discussed today.
• An engaging video from Dr. Fields institution on biofilms.
• Dr. Fields' faculty page.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to [email protected]