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 because of its ability to be spread by aerosols and cause debilitating but not lethal disease.
Dr. Stacey Gilk is an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who studies Coxiella. Dr. Gilk talks about what makes Q Fever a potential biothreat agent, how figuring out how to grow Coxiella outside of cells revolutionized the study of this bacterium that was thought to only grow intracellularly, how a large outbreak in the Netherlands led to the deaths of thousands of dairy goats, how cholesterol affects the ability of Coxiella to grow, how falling in love with Toxoplasma led her to pursue infectious disease research, and what a wonderful place Nebraska is to do science.
This episode was supported by Gordo Sheepsay’s My Dope Microscope, the kitchen appliance that may literally save your life.
042: Undone by Fungi: Mucormycosis with Ashraf Ibrahim
041: There’s a Germ in my Worm: Bacterial-driven Metamorphosis with Nick Shikuma
040: Public Health in the Time of Cholera: Enteric Disease Intervention with Christine Marie George
039: Let’s Veto Mosquitoes: Malaria with Gunnar Mair
038: Babbling Bacteria: A Discussion About Quorum Sensing with Marvin Whiteley
037: Coral Reefs in Crisis! A Discussion with Rebecca Vega-Thurber
036: Viruses from Heaven and Hell: A Discussion with Ken Stedman
035: Flip-flops and Surfboards made from Algae? Renewable algae-derived biomaterials with Steve Mayfield
034: Disease Expertise with the Big Cheese: CDC Deputy Director Anne Schuchat
033: Mr. CRISPR, Kevin Doxzen, Discusses the Revolutionary Gene Editing Technology
032: The Wrath of Maria: Puerto Rican Microbiologists Discuss Post-Hurricane Science
031: Content in Cement: Julie Maresca Discusses the Concrete Microbiome
030: Mycology Loquacity: Carol Kumamoto Gets Candid about Candida
029: Prevent What’s Preventable: Vaccine Preventable Diseases with Cherise Rohr-Allegrini
028: You Gotta Be Squidding Me! A Discussion with Ned Ruby
027: Do the Bugs in your Gut Cause Parkinson’s Disease? A Discussion with Sarkis Mazmanian
026: Bugs in Space! High School Students Send a Microbiology Experiment on the ISS
025: It’s a Fungal Jungle Out There! A Discussion with Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk
024: Time for Lyme: A Discussion with Dr. Steve Norris
023: There’s Another Fungus Among Us! With Dr. Andrew Alspaugh
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