microTalk
Episodes
How Microbiology Is Evolving: Insights from ASM Leadership and Researchers
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
microTalk, recorded live at ASM Microbe 2025, examines the current trajectory and future direction of microbiology. Karl and guests address scientific...
Weed My Lips: Cannabis Viroids with Dr. Zamir Punja
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Viroids are some of the most unusual biological infectious agents because they consist of only very small circular RNA molecules. They are too small...
Archaea for Me-a With Dr. Alexandre Bisson
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Archaea are one of the three domains of life on earth, but these organisms are much more mysterious and less understood than either Bacteria or Eukary...
Eradication of the Guinea Worm with Adam Weiss
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Guinea worm infections have been plaguing mankind throughout recorded history. The Carter Center took the lead in the guinea worm eradication effort i...
CHARMing the Superbugs with Dr. Victor Nizet
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are threatening modern society by making antibiotics obsolete. Dr. Nizet is a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department...
300 Days in Space with Astronaut Dr. Kate Rubins
09 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Houston, we definitely do NOT have a problem…with interviewing Dr. Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut. Dr. Rubins is a virologist who has spent over 300 ...
Gut on a Chip: Human Gastrointestinal Organoids with Dr. Hyun Jung Kim
13 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Hyun Jung Kim, an Assistant Professor at Cleveland Clinic specializes in coaxing human cultured cells to differentiate and form tissues resembling...
Plague, Anthrax, and ASM, Oh My! With ASM president Virginia Miller and president-elect Theresa Koehler
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Plague and anthrax are feared diseases due to high mortality rates following pulmonary exposure, and both are considered potential bioweapons. Dr. ...
Microbes to the Rescue! Bioremediation with Dr. John Coates
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. John Coates, a professor at the University of California Berkeley specializes in environmental microbiology and how microbes can be utilized to re...
The Evolution Revolution with Dr. Vaughn Cooper
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The study of evolution has experienced a tremendous revolution with the advances in current sequencing technologies enabling e.g. rapid whole genome s...
Adversary o' Malaria with Dr. Debopam Chakrabarti
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Malaria continues to have a significant impact on humans. The Plasmodium parasites are transmitted through mosquito bites, and the disease has a treme...
"Ex" Marks the Spot: Exosomes with Ramin Hakami
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Exosomes are small vesicles that that facilitate communication between eukaryotic cells. They resemble mini-cells, and act like carrier pigeons, traff...
Coxiella burnettii with Stacey Gilk
03 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Coxiella burnettii causes Q Fever, a zoonotic disease that is rarely acquired by humans. But Q Fever has a history of being developed as a bioweapon b...
Chytridiomycosis: Amphibians and Fungal Disease with Anat Belasen
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There have been dramatic declines in amphibian populations around the world, and one of the culprits is the disease Chytridiomycosis. This is a skin...
The Largest Bacterium, Thiomargarita Magnifica, with Jean-Marie Volland
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Microbiology textbooks teach that bacteria are so small that they cannot be seen without a microscope, and that they do not contain organelles or a nu...
Vibrio vulnificus (and other Vibrios) with Salvador Almagro-Moreno
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vibrios are marine bacteria that live in aquatic environments with a lot of other microbes, and occasionally a particular strain will arise that can c...
Get a Whiff of Cdiff: A Discussion About C. difficile with Vincent Young
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the consequences of the "Antibiotic Era" has been the increased occurrence of infections caused by Clostridioides difficile, also known as "Cdi...
A Career in the Time of Cholera: A Discussion with ASM Lifetime Achievement Award Winner John Mekalanos
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. John Mekalanos (Harvard Medical School) has devoted his career to the study of bacterial pathogens, with a special emphasis to understanding Vibri...
"Crypto" currency: Cryptosporidium with Boris Striepen
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Watch out for this kind of "Crypto" Currency: Cryptosporidium is a parasite that causes diarrheal disease in humans. Cryptosporidiosis is a common c...
067: The Chicken Runs: Campylobacter Diarrhea with David Hendrixson
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of diarrheal disease in humans. However, C. jejuni is also naturally found in chickens and doesn't cause them an...
066: The Eyes Have It: Corneal Infections with Eric Pearlman
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our eyes are one of the most sensitive areas on our bodies, and they are constantly bathed in microbes, and yet we rarely get eye infections. However,...
065: Cheese Please! The Cheese Microbiome with Rachel Dutton
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cheese is delicious, and also the product of a complex mixture of microbes. Different communities of microbes produce the wide variety of cheeses mad...
064: Fun(gus) in the Sun(gus): Fungal Infections with Neil Clancy
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Candida albicans is the most common cause of fungal disease in the United States. C. albicans can cause serious and often fatal systemic infections, e...
063: Tick Schtick: Lyme Disease with Tim Sellati
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Lyme Disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted to humans through the b...
062: The Rules of Attraction: Bacterial Magnetosomes with Arash Komeili
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Some bacteria have the amazing ability to orient themselves using the earth's magnetic field, due to the presence of an intracellular organelle called...
061: TB or not TB? That is the Question… for Bill Jacobs
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world, with approximately 10 million people becoming sick and 1.5 milli...
060: Geezer Germs: Geriatric Bacteria with Steve Finkel
19 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a bacterium gets old? Continuous culture of bacteria without any added nutrients can reveal the dynamics of "old" bacteria. Dr. Stev...
059: All Hail Females: Women in Science with Joan Bennett
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Despite comprising half of the population, women are underrepresented as scientific professionals. The reasons for underrepresentation are multi-facto...
058: Biotechnology Ideology: Genomics Technologies with Joe DeRisi
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Genomics-based technologies have revolutionized science. From microarrays to next-generation sequencing, genomics technologies are having a tremendous...
057: Undone by Fungi Again: The Mycobiome with Mahmoud Ghannoum
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One reason is because the overwhelming bacterial members of the microbiome keep the fungi in check. Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum is a professor at Case Wester...
056: Lilliputian Evolution: Bacterial Evolution with Stanley Maloy
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The presence of bacterial toxins in a remote coral reef got Stanley Maloy thinking about the evolution of pathogens, and where "emerging diseases" com...
055: The Age of Phage: Phage Therapy with Graham Hatfull
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Bacteriophages ("phages"), or bacterial viruses, are the most abundant biological entity on the planet, and the microbial world is shaped by these pre...
054: Urine Trouble: Urinary Tract Infections with Harry Mobley
05 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Frequent urges to go "number one" can be the symptom of a urinary tract infection (UTI), one of the most common types of bacterial infections in human...
053: Vibri-Oh-No! - "Flesh Eating" Vibrios with Karla Satchell
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Summer brings warm beach weather, and with it come gruesome news reports of "flesh eating disease" that people catch from the ocean. Vibrio vulnificus...
052: Goodbye Guinea Worm: Guinea Worm Eradication with Adam Weiss
11 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One of the more gruesome parasitic infections is that of the guinea worm: these 3 feet long worms typically emerge from painful boils in the feet to r...
051: Microbes in Hot Water: Climate Change with Sanghoon Kang
17 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The earth is warming up, and many aspects of life on earth are changing with the changing climate. Increased global temperature has multifactorial imp...
050: Into the Matrix: Fungal Biofilms with David Andes
24 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Candida albicans is the most common fungal infection of humans. C. albicans can cause superficial infections like thrush or vaginitis when it overgrow...
049: Trivia About Chlamydia: Sexually Transmitted Disease with Mary Weber
28 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial disease in the U.S. Chlamydia infections in women can lead to pelvic inflammat...
048: Zebrafish in the Time of Cholera: Vibrio cholerae with Brian Hammer
07 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Vibrio cholerae causes a severe gastrointestinal illness that leads to massive fluid loss that can be fatal. These bacteria are normally found in the ...
047: Urinary Commentary: UTIs and Proteus mirabilis with Karine Gibbs
20 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Proteus mirabilis is a common cause of Urinary Tract Infections. These bacteria are found within the gastrointestinal tract, but they are sometimes ab...
046: The Scoop on Whoop: Bordetella with Jeff Miller
08 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Jeff Miller has been studying Bordetella pertussis, the bacterium that causes whooping cough in humans, for over three decades, and he keeps uncov...
045: Tiptoe Through the Crypto: Cryptococcus with Paul de Figueiredo
16 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The devastation of the immune system that occurs during AIDS renders patients highly susceptible to a number of infections that a functioning immune s...
044: Giant Viruses, Rickettsia, and Whipple, Oh My! A Discussion with Didier Raoult
03 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Didier Raoult considers himself a "microbe fisher", always "fishing" to discover new microbes. He says that in order to fish successfully, you nee...
043: Native Alaskan Perspectives in Microbiology with Kat Milligan-Myhre
18 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Kat Milligan-Myhre was raised in a remote Alaska Native community above the Arctic Circle, and was the first person from her village to obtain a P...
042: Undone by Fungi: Mucormycosis with Ashraf Ibrahim
03 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There are increasing numbers of people with immunocompromised conditions that make them more susceptible to a variety of diseases, including fungal di...
041: There's a Germ in my Worm: Bacterial-driven Metamorphosis with Nick Shikuma
05 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Many organisms metamorphose from a larvae into an adult, for example a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly, but some animals require bacteria ...
040: Public Health in the Time of Cholera: Enteric Disease Intervention with Christine Marie George
24 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae that can spread among human populations in large epidemics when water qu...
039: Let's Veto Mosquitoes: Malaria with Gunnar Mair
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The malaria parasite, Plasmodium, is transmitted to people through mosquito bites. The parasite needs to infect humans to undergo the morphologic tran...
038: Babbling Bacteria: A Discussion About Quorum Sensing with Marvin Whiteley
25 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bacteria talk to each other using molecules that allow them to coordinate group behaviors, which has been termed "quorum sensing". A number of bacte...
037: Coral Reefs in Crisis! A Discussion with Rebecca Vega-Thurber
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The magnificent coral reefs of the world are dying! These fantastic underwater living structures that support entire ecosystems are undergoing massive...
036: Viruses from Heaven and Hell: A Discussion with Ken Stedman
29 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Earth's most abundant biological entities are viruses, and they can be found everywhere where there are living organisms, including extreme (hellish) ...
035: Flip-flops and Surfboards made from Algae? Renewable algae-derived biomaterials with Steve Mayfield
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Steve Mayfield is a professor at the University of California San Diego and the Director of the California Center for Algae Biotechnology. Algae a...
034: Disease Expertise with the Big Cheese: CDC Deputy Director Anne Schuchat
31 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the front lines of the war against infectious diseases, and Anne Schuchat, M.D. has been the Depu...
033: Mr. CRISPR, Kevin Doxzen, Discusses the Revolutionary Gene Editing Technology
13 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Doxzen is a science communications specialist at the Innovative Genomics Institute in Berkeley, CA, associated with Dr. Jennifer Doudna. The Ins...
032: The Wrath of Maria: Puerto Rican Microbiologists Discuss Post-Hurricane Science
02 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Puerto Rico suffered a direct hit from the devastating hurricane Maria in September 2017, which destroyed the power grid and caused mass destruction a...
031: Content in Cement: Julie Maresca Discusses the Concrete Microbiome
19 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Julie Maresca is an associate professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware. Concrete is the most commonly used build...
030: Mycology Loquacity: Carol Kumamoto Gets Candid about Candida
30 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Carol Kumamoto is a professor of microbiology at Tufts University. She studies Candida albicans, the most common fungal pathogen of humans. C. albi...
029: Prevent What's Preventable: Vaccine Preventable Diseases with Cherise Rohr-Allegrini
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cherise Rohr-Allegrini is the program director at the Immunization Partnership, whose goal is to improve vaccination rates in San Antonio and across T...
028: You Gotta Be Squidding Me! A Discussion with Ned Ruby
08 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ned Ruby is a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who pioneered the study of a fascinating bacterial-squid symbiosis. The bacterium Vibrio ...
027: Do the Bugs in your Gut Cause Parkinson's Disease? A Discussion with Sarkis Mazmanian
23 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sarkis Mazmanian is a professor at California Institute of Technology who studies how the gut microbiome influences the development and function of th...
026: Bugs in Space! High School Students Send a Microbiology Experiment on the ISS
09 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Students at Southside High School (San Antonio) sent a microbiology experiment up to the International Space Station (ISS). The experiment was designe...
025: It's a Fungal Jungle Out There! A Discussion with Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, where she studies the fungus Candida albicans and its interactions wi...
024: Time for Lyme: A Discussion with Dr. Steve Norris
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Steven Norris is a Professor at the University of Texas Health Houston, where he studies Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme dise...
023: There's Another Fungus Among Us! With Dr. Andrew Alspaugh
27 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Andrew Alspaugh is a physician and Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Alspaugh is a mycologist, which means he studi...
022: Allan Hall Distills Down the Art of Fermentation
13 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Allan Hall is the lead distiller at Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, a "brewstillery" located in San Antonio that makes handcrafted beer and whiskey...
021: Ticks and Sandflies Suck!
30 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
(Blood, That Is) and Transmit Diseases, Too! Dr. Mary Ann McDowell is an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Joao Pedra is an A...
020: The Promise of Stem Cells: Travis Block Communicates Science
16 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Travis Block Communicates Science: the Promise of Stem Cells Dr. Travis Block is senior scientist at StemBioSys, Inc., a biotech company working on st...
019: Inside the Hot Zone: A Discussion of Ebola Virus and BSL4 containment with Anthony Griffiths and Ricardo Carrion
02 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Anthony Griffiths and Dr. Ricardo Carrion are scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute who work on some of the most dangerous viruses...
018: Talking Bioscience with Hizzoner: A Discussion with Mayor Ron Nirenberg
21 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ron Nirenberg is the mayor of San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the U.S. San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities, and bioscience is a ...
017: David Blehert sends out the Bat Signal: White Nose Fungus is Among Us!
08 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. David Blehert is the Branch Chief of the Wildlife Disease Diagnostic Laboratories with the U.S. Geological Survey, and a world expert on White Nos...
016: Cdiff Infections and Fecal Transplants with Jimmy Ballard
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Jimmy Ballard is professor and chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Bal...
015: Beware of bloodsuckers! What's the buzz about mosquitoes?
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. George Dimopoulos is a Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Helen Lazear is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina C...
014: Parasites, Vampire Bats, and Science, Oh My! A Discussion with Dan Riskin
23 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Dan Riskin is the host of the Animal Planet show about parasitic infections, Monsters Inside Me, and he also hosts a nightly science show broadcas...
013: Science Not Silence: A Discussion with Jonathan Berman, March for Science Organizer
08 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Berman is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, and also one of the organizers for the March for Science. The ...
012: There's a Fungus Among Us! – Damian Krysan, M.D., Ph.D.
28 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Damian Krysan is a physician and an Associate Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Krysan studies fungi, which in addition...
011: Sick as a…plant? Yep, plants get viruses too – David Bisaro, Ph.D
24 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. David Bisaro is a Professor at the Ohio State University. Dr. Bisaro studies plant viruses, which are a major source of economic loss for farmers....
010: Extra! Extra! Hear All About It! Science Reporting in the Age of Fake News – Alex Berezow, Ph.D
13 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Alex Berezow is a science reporter, he works with the American Council on Science and Health to report on scientific discoveries and current issue...
009: Whoop Whoop! The Pertussis Vaccine – Rajendar Deora, Ph.D
03 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Whooping cough, caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, is an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal disease for infants. We rarely see this ...
008: Murderous Microbes: The Type Six Secretion System – Stefan Pukatzki, Ph.D.
24 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Stefan Pukatzki is a Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado in Denver. Dr. Pukatzki studies Vibrio cholerae, the b...
007: Gnarly! The Surfer Biome Project – Mr. Cliff Kapono
21 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mr. Cliff Kapono is a PhD student at the University of California San Diego. The human body is covered with trillions of microorganisms (bacteria, vir...
006: Blood-sucking Disease: Malaria and the Microbiome – Nathan Schmidt, Ph.D
21 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Nathan Schmidt is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Louisville. Dr. Schmidt studies the parasite that is ...
005: Selenium for the Millenium: A Whooping Trace Element – Girish Kirimanjeswara, Ph.D
15 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Girish Kirimanjeswara is an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kirimanjeswara studies...
004: California Cows in Crisis: Epizootic Bovine Abortion – Jeffrey Stott, Ph.D
14 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Jeffrey Stott is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Stott studies the cause of an unusual tick...
003: The Superbug Crisis: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria – Mike Gilmore, Ph.D
28 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Mike Gilmore is the Sir William Osler Professor of Ophthalmology, and Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gilmore is the...
002: Shining a Light on Diabetes: New Developments in Treating Diabetic Vision Loss – Timothy Kern, Ph.D
24 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Timothy Kern is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University and director of the Center for Diabetes Research....
001: Global Health Starts Locally – Jason Rosenfeld, MPH
20 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mr. Jason Rosenfeld, assistant director of global health at University of Texas Heath Science Center at San Antonio is the first speaker of Microtalk....