Microbe Talk

Episode 182: Sepsis, superbugs, and antibiotic stewardship

"I often like to say that we're not the antibiotic police, but we're the antibiotic sommelier. So, you have a bug and we have the drug, and we try to find the best fit."In this month's Microbe Talk, Charlotte Holtum (Head of Engagement & Storytelling) welcomes guests Dr Alicia Demirjian (UK Health Security Agency and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Yoann Personne (bioMérieux), to explore an underdiscussed corner of the antimicrobial resistance conversation: its management with sepsis. They discuss what underpins the real-world relationship of AMR and sepsis, improving antibiotic stewardship in hospitals, and addressing these issues sooner rather than later.If you would like to read the ESPAUR report 2024 mentioned in this episode, please find it here.

Episode 181: Sexual health and the vaginal microbiome

What does a healthy vaginal microbiome look like? Are store-bought vaginal probiotics backed by science? How do these microbes interact with sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? 🦠Research is uncovering more and more about the relationship between the vaginal microbiome and sexual health. That's why this month, I spoke with Prof Wilhelmina Huston, a microbiologist specialising in STIs at the University of Melbourne, Australia, to discuss what science knows so far. 🎧Listen in wherever you get your podcasts🔗If you’d like to read the review in Microbial Genomics you can do so by following this link https://microb.io/46tUCxaA full, auto generated, transcript of the podcast is available on our website here https://microb.io/3M7M7B7

Episode 180: Society Staff Reflect on 2025

In this episode of Microbe Talk, we meet some members of staff at the Microbiology Society to reflect on 2025 and look at ways to get involved in 2026. 

Episode 179: Hidden Companions: how parasites are adapting to a changing world

The relationship between humans and parasites is changing along with the climate crisis, globalisation, and innovations in science. In this month's Microbe Talk, we chat to expert Kinga Kowalewska-Grochowska at the University of Alberta, Canada, about the evolutions in how we look at parasites, where they are found, and what the future holds for diagnosing and treating these illnesses. This follows Kowalewska-Grochowska's latest review of the same topic published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.If you’d like to read the paper, you can do so by following this link. Stay tuned to the Microbiology Society socials to be the first to hear about exciting new research in the world of microbiology.You can download a full, auto generated transcript of the podcast here.

Episode 178: The Kocurious case of Noodlococcus: From discovery to community

In 2019, a mysterious shape appeared on a petri dish in a Birmingham lab. Its surprising appearance, similar to noodles, intrigued researchers to find out more about it. They consulted other scientists online at the time, which sparked an idea to start an online club dedicated to sharing laboratory contaminants.Now, the team finally publish their research characterising this contaminant as a new species of bacteria, Kocuria rhizophila, in our journal Microbial Genomics. Researchers Rob Moran and Greg McCallum join Communications and Media Officer Lilly Tozer to talk about their journey from discovery to publish.If you’d like to read the paper, you can do so by following this link: microb.io/47L8aoYStay tuned to the Microbiology Society socials to be the first to hear about exciting new research in the world of microbiology.You can download a full, auto generated transcript of the podcast here: microb.io/3J6DUf3