#20 Not All Bugs are Bad

What comes to mind when you hear the word, “microbes”? If your first thought is bacteria, you may also correlate that with sickness. Surprisingly, that is not always the case. Join us and our guests, Dr. Salah Qutaishat and Dr. Timothy Wiemken, for a discussion on the importance of a well-balanced microbiome through the lens of two of their great loves: yogurt and beer. This episode exposes the microbial parallel between a brewery and a hospital, and the necessity of microbes in our day-to-day health. Hosted by: Silvia Quevedo, CAE About our Guests: Salah S. Qutaishat, PhD, CIC, FSHEA, FAPIC Salah Qutaishat, PhD, is currently a consultant in infection prevention and healthcare epidemiology. Most recently, he held the position of system director of Infection Prevention at Munson Healthcare. He is dedicated to helping healthcare organizations prevent healthcare-associated infection and antimicrobial resistance through automation and process simplification. Dr. Qutaishat received his PhD in microbiology from the SUNY at Buffalo, an MS in medical biology from Long Island University, and a BS in Biology from the University of Jordan. For the past two decades he held several positions in infection prevention and healthcare epidemiology. He is an expert in infection prevention, prevention of microbial resistance and healthcare informatics. Dr. Qutaishat is also certified in infection control (CIC) and is a fellow of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (FSHEA). He was on the clinical faculty at SUNY at Buffalo and University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. He is a member of several professional societies including the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Dr. Qutaishat has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals, he is also a reviewer for both APIC and SHEA journals. He also presented clinical findings at national and local meetings. Timothy L. Wiemken, PhD, MPH, FAPIC, FSHEA, CIC Dr. Timothy Wiemken is an Associate Professor in the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy, and Immunology. He is the Director of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology for SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, the Director of Data Science and Epidemiology in the Institute for Vaccine Science and Policy, and the Director of the Systems Infection Prevention Center at Saint Louis University. Dr. Wiemken has a doctorate in Public Health from the University of Louisville, a master’s degree in Epidemiology from Saint Louis University, and has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and molecular biology from Southern Illinois University. He was previously an infection preventionist at the University of Louisville Hospital and the Hospital Epidemiologist for the Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Louisville, KY. He has been certified in infection prevention and control since 2008 and is a fellow of both the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). He is active with APIC and the SHEA, serving on many national committees. He has authored and co-authored numerous guidelines and book chapters on infectious diseases and infection prevention, and nearly 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and national/international guidelines related to infectious disease epidemiology. His research currently focuses on pneumonia, influenza, emerging respiratory pathogens, data science in healthcare, and healthcare-associated infections.