Think Fungus Early: Preventing Angioinvasion Via Early Detection With Gary Procop
Release Date: 09/01/2023
Early Microbial Life with Michael Lynch and Vaughn Cooper
Meet The Microbiologist
Michael Lynch, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Mechanisms of Evolution at Arizona State University and Vaughn Cooper, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, examine the origins and trajectory of early microbial life (EML) and discuss the collaborative report between the American Academy of Microbiology and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which explores the journey of life on Earth, from non-living chemical compounds to early unicellular life, to the vast diversity of organisms we see today. This...
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How FMTs, Coprophagia and the Milk Microbiome Inform Wildlife Conservation With Sally Bornbusch
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Sally Bornbusch, Ph.D., is an NSF postdoctoral fellow in biology conducting microbial ecology research in animal care and conservation at the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. She discusses how FMTs are being used to mitigate health concerns in wild animals in captivity, shares key findings about the milk microbiome from the Smithsonian milk repository, the largest collection of exotic animal milks in the world, and explains the science behind eating poo (Coprophagia). Links for This Episode . Take the
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Agnostic Diagnostics and the Future of ASM Health With Dev Mittar
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., Scientific Director of the discusses the use of metagenomic next generation sequencing to develop agnostic diagnostic technology, giving scientists and clinicians alike, a tool to diagnose any infectious disease with one single test. He also discusses how the ASM Health Unit is empowering scientists and leveraging microbial science innovations to address critical global health challenges and improve lives worldwide. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways The Division of Research, Innovation and Ventures is a small entrepreneurial arm of BARDA that takes on early-stage projects...
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Implementing a National Action Plan to Combat AMR in Pakistan With Afreenish Amir
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Episode Summary , Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Project Director at the National Institute of Health in Pakistan, highlights significant increases in extensively drug-resistant typhoid and cholera cases in Pakistan and discusses local factors driving AMR in Asia. She describes the development and implementation of a National Action Plan to combat AMR in a developing country, emphasizing the importance of rational antimicrobial use, surveillance and infection control practice. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways AMR is a global and One Health issue. Pakistan has a huge disease burden of AMR....
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Discovering Fossilized Microbes in Antarctic Ice Cores With Manuel Martinez Garcia
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Manuel Martinez Garcia, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology in the Physiology, Genetics and Microbiology Department at the University of Alicante in Spain, paints a picture of what microbial life looked like thousands of years ago by analyzing microbial genomic signatures within ice cores collected from the Antarctic ice shelves in the 1990s. Links for the Episode – mSphere paper. – Nature communications article. – Press Release from Alfred Wegener Institute. Take the Watch this episode: Ashley’s Biggest Takeaways There is a unique...
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Revenge of the Microbes With Brenda Wilson and Brian Ho
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Episode Summary Mother-Son duo, Brenda Wilson, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and the Associate Director of Undergraduate Education in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Brian Ho, Ph.D., researcher and lecturer at the Institute of structural and molecular biology, a joint institute between the Department of structural and molecular biology at the University College of London and the Department of Biological Sciences at Birkbeck University of London discuss the inspiration and motivation for their recent book, Revenge of the...
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Binning Singletons With Joseph James
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Joseph James, biologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discusses his career trajectory and the creation of Binning Singletons, a unique mentorship program built on peer-to-peer networking at scientific meetings and conferences and was first implemented in 2019 at ASM Microbe. Links for the Episode Binning Singletons and Peer-to-Peer Networking Learn more about . Contact Joe James: [email protected] Follow Binning Singletons: —mSphere article. Binning Singletons: —Guest post on Addgene Blog. —asm.org article that James says has really helped him explain Binning...
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Biorisk Assessment and Management With Saeed Khan
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Saeed Khan, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Molecular Pathology at Dow diagnostic research and reference laboratory and President of the Pakistan Biological Safety Association discusses the importance and challenges of biosafety/biosecurity practices on both a local and global scale. He highlights key steps for biorisk assessment and management and stresses the importance of training, timing and technology. Ashley's Biggest Takeaways Adequate biosafety and biosecurity protocols depend on a thorough understanding of modern challenges, and scientists must be willing and able to respond to new...
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From Hydrothermal Vents to Cold Seeps: How Bacteria Sustain Ocean Life With Nicole Dubilier
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Nicole Dubilier, Ph.D., Director and head of the Symbiosis Department at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, has led numerous reserach cruises and expeditions around the world studying the symbiotic relationships of bacteria and marine invertebrates. She discusses how the use of various methods, including deep-sea in situ tools, molecular, 'omic' and imaging analyses, have illuminated remarkable geographic, species and habitat diversity amongst symbionts and emphasizes the importance of discovery-driven research over hypothesis-driven methods. Watch this episode: Ashley's...
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When Proteins Become Infectious: Understanding Prion Disease With Neil Mabbott
Meet The Microbiologist
From Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Neil Mabbott, Ph.D., has worked for nearly 2 decades on understanding the mechanisms by which prion proteins become infectious and cause neurological disease in humans and animals. He discusses the remarkable properties of prions and addresses complexities surrounding symptoms, transmission and diagnosis of prion disease.
info_outlineDr. Gary Procop, CEO of the American Board of pathology and professor of pathology at the Cleveland Clinic, Lerner School of Medicine discusses the importance of early detection and diagnosis in order to prevent fungal invasion leading to poor outcomes, particularly in immunocompromised patients. He emphasizes the importance of thinking fungus early, shares his passion for mentoring and talks about key updates in the recently released 7th Edition of Larone’s Medically Important Fungi.
Ashley's Biggest Takeaways
- Many invasive fungal infections are angiotrophic, meaning they actually grow toward, and into, blood vessels.
- Once the fungus has penetrated the blood vessel, the blood essentially clots, causing tissue downstream from the blood clot to die (infarction).
- When tissues that have been excised are viewed under the microscope, hyphal elements can be seen streaming toward or invading through the wall of the blood vessels. Once the clot forms, those hyphal elements can be seen in the center of the blood vessel where only blood should be.
- Antifungals cannot be delivered to areas where the blood supply has stopped. Therefore, treatment requires a combined surgical and medical approach, and the process is very invasive.
- Early detection can prevent these bad outcomes by allowing antifungal treatment to be administered before angioinvasion occurs.
Links for the Episode:
- Expand your clinical mycology knowledge with the recently released 7th edition of Larone's Medically Important Fungi: A Guide to Identification. Written by a new team of authors, Lars F. Westblade, Eileen M. Burd, Shawn R. Lockhart and Gary W. Procop, this updated edition continues the legacy of excellence established by founding author, Davise H. Larone.
Since its first edition, this seminal text has been treasured by clinicians and medical laboratory scientists worldwide. The 7th edition carries forward the longstanding tradition of providing high-quality content to educate and support the identification of more than 150 of the most encountered fungi in clinical mycology laboratories.
Get your copy today with $1 flat rate shipping within the U.S. or order the e-book! ASM members enjoy 20% off at checkout using the member promo code.
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