Live from the Society for General Microbiology 2013 Spring Conference in Manchester, UK

MicrobeWorld is partnering with the Society for General Microbiology (UK) to live stream two events from their Spring Conference 2013 in Manchester, England, March 25-28. 
 

Peter Wildy Prize for Microbiology Education
Monday, March 25, 2013 17:20 GMT (1:20 PM EST | 10:20 AM PST)  

David Bhella, Ph.D., will be accepting the Peter Wildy Prize for Microbiology Education, awarded annually by the Society for General Microbiology for an outstanding contribution to microbiology education. Bhella's acceptance speech will be live streamed at 17:20 GMT (1:20 PM EST | 10:20 AM PST).
 

This Week in Microbiology
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 15:30 GMT (11:30 AM EST | 8:30 AM PST) 

Join Vincent Racaniello and co-host Laura Piddock, Ph.D., with guests Paul Williams, Ph.D., Kalin Vetsigian, Ph.D., and David Harper, Ph.D., for a live-streaming episode of This Week in Microbiology. The live stream starts at 15:30 PM GMT (11:30 AM EST | 8:30 AM PST) and you can watch it below. If you have any questions for Vincent or his guests during the broadcast you can tweet your question using the #sgmman hash tag or type it into the chat function of the video player.

If you live elsewhere in the world, please use www.everytimezone.com, to calculate when the live streams will start in your area.

 

(If you don't see the video and it is after the official start time please press the play button or refresh the page.)

 

ICAAC Live 2012 San Francisco

The Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) is the annual infectious diseases meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe magazine interview researchers on selected topics of interest from the meeting in San Francisco. This webpage will broadcast the daily webcasts being held September 9-11, 2012, at the Moscone Center (North and South) in Room 303. For more information about ICAAC please visit www.icaac.org. If you are a member of the press visit the ICAAC newsroom to register for the meeting.

In addition, Vincent Racaniello of This Week in Microbiology will be broadcasting special edition of ICAAC Live on Monday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m., PDT.

Meeting attendees are welcome to attend and watch the live broadcasts as well as submit questions to the researchers.

All interviews will be archived online at YouTube and here on MicrobeWorld.

(Press play to start. To ask a question please tweet @ASMNewsroom. You can also use the hash tag #ICAAC.)

Schedule

(Please note topics, guests and times are subject to change. This page may be updated frequently prior to ICAAC.)

Sunday, September 9

10:00 a.m. PDT - Seasonal Flu Vaccine and Pandemic Flu Severity

**Watch Video Here**

Seasonal flu vaccines are targeted for strains of the influenza virus that public health officials believe will be most prevalent in the upcoming season. While the vaccine primes the immune system to protect against those specific strains, what does it mean for other future strains of the virus. Researchers will present findings from a study showing ferrets who received the 2008-2009 seasonal vaccine experienced a more severe disease when exposed to the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus than ferrets who did not receive the vaccine.

• Danuta Skowronski, BC Center for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada

10:45 a.m., PDT - HIV Infection and Cardiovascular Health

**Watch Video Here**

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy in the mid-1990s, HIV infection has evolved from a near-certain death sentence to a manageable, chronic disease. Still, little is known about the long-term effects of HIV on human health. Two studies being presented today on cardiovascular health and HIV suggest that HIV-infected patients develop cardiovascular disease at a much earlier age than those without HIV and are more likely to die after hospital admission for a heart attack.

• Daniel Pearce, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States
• Charles Hicks, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States

12:00 noon, PDT - ICAAC Overview Briefing

**Watch Video Here**

Members of the ICAAC Program Committee will give an overview of the ICAAC meeting and discuss sessions of particular interest. Lunch will follow.

• M. Lindsay Grayson, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
• Craig E. Rubens, Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Seattle, WA
• Michael J. Pucci, Achillion Pharmaceuticals, New Haven, CT

1:00 p.m., PDT - Measles:  What's Next?

**Watch Video Here**

Although as recently as 1980 measles was estimated to cause 2.6 million deaths globally, due to highly effective and safe vaccines, measles elimination has been achieved in a number of countries globally as well as in the region of the Americas. Expansion of measles control strategies and activities has resulted in substantial gains in measles vaccine coverage globally with accompanying declines in measles disease burden and mortality. Despite these successes, recent setbacks have occurred due to under-vaccination, including large measles outbreaks in Africa and Europe. This resurgence of measles has resulted in increases in measles virus importations in countries that have achieved measles elimination; 1,380 measles cases were provisionally reported in the Americas during 2011, the highest number of measles cases reported since 2002. Participants will discuss what needs to be done to reverse these trends, and achieve milestones set for 2015 toward the goal of measles eradication as well as recent research that suggests children who receive their first measles vaccination at 12 months are more likely to contract the disease as adolescents than those who receive at 15-16 months.

• Jane Seward, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States
• Gaston De Serres, Institute National de Santé Publique du Quebec, Quebec, Canada

Monday, September 10

10:30 a.m., PDT - Universal Influenza Vaccine Update

Current influenza vaccines are limited because they can only stimulate immunity to specific strains of the virus, which is constantly evolving. This means a new vaccine must be developed every year to target the strains public health officials believe will be most prevalent that season. If an unforeseen strain emerges the vaccine would provide little or no protection. For that reason the “holy grail” of public health is the development of a universal influenza vaccine, one that can provide protection against any potential strain of the virus. Researchers will discuss current efforts underway and the most recent developments on the road to a universal flu vaccine.

**Watch Video Here**

• Donna Ambrosino, Visterra, Cambridge, MA
• Zachary Shriver, Visterra, Inc., Cambridge, MA, United States

1:00 p.m., PDT - Do Cranberries Prevent UTIs?

There is a long history of anecdotal evidence to suggest that cranberries and other alternative therapies to long-term antibiotics can prevent recurrent urinary tract infections but are they really as effective as antibiotics or even a viable alternative for people who do not want to take antibiotics for prevention. Researchers will present the results of two interlinked trials involving nearly 500 women in the Non-antibiotic versus Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (NAPRUTI) Study.

**Watch Video Here**

• Suzanne Geerlings, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands

2:00 p.m., PDT - ICAAC Live: This Week in Microbiology with Vincent Racaniello

The hosts for the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent Racaniello and Michael Schmidt, will be joined by William Bishai, John Brownstein, and Victor Nizet to discuss the regulation of virulence factors in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis, the emerging role of social media in public health, and outside-the-box approaches to antibacterial therapy, such as targeting virulence factors or boosting innate immune function, with Streptococci and Staphylococci as the primary models.

• Vincent Racaniello, Columbia University Medical Center, NY, United States
• Michael Schmidt, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, UNited States
• John Brownstein, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, United States
• William Bishai, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, MD, United States
• Victor Nizet, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, CA, United States

Tuesday, September 11

9:30 a.m., PDT - Antibody Therapies for C. difficile

**Watch Video Here**

Clostridium difficile infection is an important cause of intestinal disease, primarily affecting hospitalized patients exposed to antibiotics. Infection has been associated with prolonged hospital stays and excess healthcare expenditures. In recent years, C. difficile infections have become more frequent, more severe and more difficult to treat. Participants discuss one promising new treatment option, the development of human monoclonal antibodies that target either the bacterium itself or the toxin it produces.

• Sylvia Wong, Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• David Humphreys, UCB Pharma, Slough, United Kingdom

10:30 a.m., PDT - Emergence of Animal-Origin H3N2 Influenza

**Watch Video Here**

Public health officials will provide the latest update on the H3N2, the new strain of influenza that appears to have jumped from swine to humans and has already infected nearly 300 people in the United States.

• Lyn Finelli, CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States

11:30 a.m., PDT - The Emerging Role of Social Media in Public Health

**Watch Video Here**

Over the past fifteen years, Internet technology has significantly changed the landscape of public health surveillance and epidemic intelligence gathering. Disease and outbreak data is disseminated not only through formal online announcements by government agencies, but also through informal channels such as social networking sites, blogs, chat rooms, Web searches, local news media and crowdsourcing platforms. Dr. Brownstein will discuss the current capabilities and future directions in the use of the non-traditional data sources for the purposes of public health surveillance and rapid detection of emerging infectious diseases.

• John Brownstein, Children's Hospital Boston & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

ASM Live San Francisco 2012

Be part of the studio audience for the 2012 General Meeting's live internet talk show, ASM Live. Host Stanley Maloy, Chair of the Communications Committee for the American Society for Microbiology will discuss hot topics at the meeting with presenters and will take questions from audience and the internet.

Tapings will take place in room 121 in the Moscone Center and registrants are encouraged to attend. You can watch ASM Live below and topics will be archived immediately on YouTube and MicrobeWorld for future viewing.

(To ask a question please post it in the chat or tweet @ASMNewsroom. You can also use the hash tag #asm2012. ASM Live is now mobile friendly.)

Schedule

Please note: The following schedule is preliminary and subject to change. Participants and more detail for each conference will be posted soon. All participants are invited, not confirmed. All times are listed as Pacific Daylight Time. All events take place in room 121 at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Sunday, June 17

(click on the title to see video)

Watch Now! 10:00 a.m. PDT – ASM Live– Microbial Colonization and the Host: Do the Colonists Reshape the Landscape?

Traditionally, colonization of a host has been described in terms of a microbial community that does not affect the host, but recent research (such as the Human Microbiome Project) suggests that colonizing microbes are having an effect not only on the host, but on each other.  Participants will discuss how small molecule interactions between the major constituents of the nasal microbiome are key drivers of the community composition in the nose, and how one intestinal bacterium’s ability to produce a neurotransmitter has the potential to prevent or treat inflammatory bowel diseases.

• Katherine Lemon, The Forsyth Institute and Boston Children's Hospital
• Karina Pokusaeva, Baylor College of Medicine

Watch Now! 11:00 a.m. PDT – ASM Live – Microbial Analysis of Environmental Surfaces in Hotel Rooms

A survey of surfaces in hotel rooms finds television remotes to be among the most heavily contaminated with bacteria and items on housekeeping carts carry the potential to cross-contaminate rooms.  Participants will discuss the results of this survey, the first step in to objectively assess sanitation by applying NASA’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system to the hygiene of hotel rooms.

• Katie Kirsch, University of Houston

Watch Now! 12:00 p.m. PDT – When Good Bugs Go Bad: Microbiome Dynamics and Disease

The human microbiome consists of thousands of viral and microbial species which inhabit the human body and have co-evolved with us to protect against pathogens, regulate organ function and supply nutrients and other factors essential for health.  When these members fall out of balance, it can lead to disease.  Participants will discuss the various roles that the microbiome and its specific members play in the initiation and persistence of diseases.

• Lita Proctor, National Human Genome Research Inst/NIH
• Forest Rohwer, San Diego State University
• Karen Guillemin, University of Oregon

Monday, June 18

Watch Now! 11:00 a.m., PDT – ASM Live – The Role of Non-Food Animals in the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance

On the issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and animals, the first thing that comes to mind is livestock and other farm-based animals that are regularly fed antibiotics as growth promoters, but they are not the only source of resistance.  Participants will discuss studies showing that non-farm animals including pets, zoo animals and even houseflies serve as vectors for antibiotic resistance.

• This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University
• This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , The Ohio State University

Watch Now! 12:00 p.m. PDT – ASM Live – One Health: Humans, Animals and the Environment

The health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably interconnected. Disruption of the environment often creates new niches for the evolution of infectious diseases, and provides opportunities for the transmission of pathogens to animals or humans. The majority of infectious diseases that affect humans are acquired from animals. The ease and speed of travel makes it possible for a new human disease acquired from the environment or animals in one part of the world to rapidly spread to the rest of the world. Animals also often acquire infectious diseases from humans. Thus, human health depends upon health of animals and the environment. However, the fields of human and veterinary medicine and environmental sciences often fail to recognize this linkage. Participants will discuss the impact of this One Health concept on the future of human and veterinary medicine and environmental policy.

• Ian Lipkin, Columbia University Medical Center
• Ronald Atlas, Univ. of Louisville
• Nikos Gurfield, County of San Diego

Tuesday, June 19

Watch Now! 11:30 a.m. PDT – ASM Live – The Latest News from the Human Microbiome Project

The NIH Human Microbiome Project has been a 5-year endeavor to produce community resources to support the field of human microbiome research.  Although the HMP has already produced hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, in the past week 2 major HMP Consortium papers as well as 20+ companion papers were published in prestigious journals highlighting a broad analysis of the microbiomes of over 200 healthy adult men and women, the largest such study to date.  Participants will highlight and discuss some of the findings from this landmark study.

• Lita Proctor, National Human Genome Research Inst/NIH
• Rob Knight, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Rick Bushman, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Janet Jansson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley

Watch Now! 12:30 p.m. PDT - ASM Live – Antibiotic Exposure, The Microbiome and Obesity

A number of variables can cause signficant changes in the human microbiome early in life including birth method and antibiotic exposure.  Understanding these shifts is important because new research suggests that shifts in the microbiome of infants could make them more prone to gain weight as adults.  Participants will discuss variables involved in the development of the infant microbiome and how it  affects adult metabolism and body composition in mouse models.

• Laura Cox, NYU Langone Medical Center
• Elizabeth Costello, Stanford University School of Medicine

You and Your Ten Thousand Trillion Microbes - Live, April 17, 2012 at 6:30 p.m., ET

For every human cell in your body, there are hundreds or thousands of bacterial cells. So who is hosting whom? Even though our on-board microbial hordes—known also as our microbiome—sometimes threaten and deprive us of our health and our lives, they are central to our survival and our daily well being.

Join a live-streaming discussion brought to you by the DC Science Writers Association and the USA Science and Engineering Festival on Tuesday, April 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., ET, from Busboys and Poets on 5th and K Sts., NW, Washington, D.C., that might convince you to love your microbial partners in life, albeit with a healthy respect for the ways they can become dangerous. Leading the discussion will be microbiologist Liliana Losada of the J. Craig Venter Institute, an independent research laboratory in Rockville, Md., that has been greatly expanding our fundamental knowledge of the microbes in our world; and Alison O’Brien, former president of the American Society of Microbiology, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and an expert in the gut bacterium known as E. coli, a major player in human health, basic science and biotechnology.

If you have any questions for Alison O'Brien or Liliana Losada during the broadcast you can tweet your question using the #dcswa hash tag.

If you live elsewhere in the world, please use www.everytimezone.com, to calculate when the live stream will start in your area.

(If you don't see the video and it is after 6:15 p.m., ET, please press the play button or refresh the page.)

ASM Live at ICAAC 2011 Chicago

The Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) is the annual infectious diseases meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe magazine and host of ASM Live, interview researchers on selected topics of interest from the meeting in Chicago. This webpage will broadcast the daily webcasts being held September 17-20, 2011, at McCormick Place in room W-470B. For more information about ICAAC please visit www.icaac.org. If you are a member of the press visit the ICAAC newsroom to register for the meeting.

In addition, Vincent Racaniello of This Week in Virology and This Week in Microbiology will be broadcasting special editions of both programs live on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 2 p.m., CDT, and Monday, Sept. 19, at 11:45 a.m., CDT, respectively.

Meeting attendees are welcome to attend and watch the live tapings as well as submit questions to the researchers. Tapings will take place in the ASM Press Conference Room of McCormick Center.

All interviews will be broadcast live and archived online at YouTube and here on MicrobeWorld.

[ustream asm-live 630 381] [uschat asm-live 630 381]
(To ask a question please post it in the chat or tweet @microbeworld. You can also use the hash tag #ICAAC)

Schedule

Please note: The following schedule is preliminary and subject to change. Participants and more detail for each conference will be posted soon. All participants are invited, not confirmed. All times are listed as Central Daylight Time. All events take place in room W-470B at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Saturday, September 17

10:00 a.m. CDT – ASM Live– Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Linked to Seagulls in Miami Beach

Extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL's) are enzymes that enable bacteria to resist multiple antibiotics. In the past few years ESBL-producing enteric bacteria (such as E. coli) have become an increasingly common cause of community acquired infections worldwide. The source of these organisms in the community still remains unclear; however, recent reports link wild animals and water reservoirs to their spread. Researchers will present research showing 8 percent of the enteric bacteria isolated from Miami Beach seagulls were positive for ESBL productionsuggesting these birds play a role in disseminating these bacteria in the environment.

• Patrice Nordmann, MD, Hosp. de Bicetre, Le Kremlin Bicetre, France

 

11:00 a.m. CDT – ASM Live– New Antibiotics in the Pipeline

ICAAC is traditionally a venue for presenting data on new drugs and new drug combinations.Program Committee member Karen Bush will overview of new drugs and clinical trial data being presented this years highlighting the more promising compounds and will discuss the overall state of the antibiotic pipeline.

• Karen Bush, University of Indiana, Bloomington
• David Shlaes, MD, PhD, Anti-Infectives Consulting, Stonington, CT

12:00 Noon, CDT – Press Conference– Opening Briefing

Members of the ICAAC Program Committee will give an overview of the ICAAC meeting and discuss sessions of particular interest. Lunch will follow.

• M. Lindsay Grayson, MD, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia
• Craig Rubens, MD, PhD, Seattle Children’s’ Hospital Research Institute, Seattle, WA
• Laurent Kaiser, M.D., Head of the Laboratory of Virology, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

2:00 p.m., CDT - This Week in Virology Live at ICAAC

Participate in a live streaming video episode of This Week in Virology (TWiV), a podcast about viruses. Started in September 2008 by Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier, two science Professors at Columbia University Medical Center, the goal of the show is to have an accessible discussion about viruses that anyone can understand and enjoy. At ICAAC in Chicago, Racaniello, co-host Rich Condit and guests will be highlighting and commenting on some of the most exciting virology at the conference. Audience participation is encouraged so please feel free to ask any questions or offer your comments up to discussion.

Guests

• Trine Tsouderos, Health/Medical Writer, Chicago Tribune
  
• Mark Pallansch, Ph.D., Chief of the Enterovirus Section in the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Sunday, September 18

10:00 a.m., CDT –ASM Live– Clostridium difficile: Emerging Issues and Treatments

Clostridium difficile infection is an important cause of intestinal disease, primarily affecting hospitalized patients exposed to antibiotics. Infection has been associated with prolonged hospital stays and excess healthcare expenditures.Recent changes in epidemiology of this disease show a rise in community-acquired cases in people outside the hospital settings without traditional risk factors.Participants will discuss this disturbing trend as well as the potential role of animals and the food supply and the status of current vaccine development efforts.

• Erik Dubberke, MD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
• Glenn Songer, PhD, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
• Clifford McDonald, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

11:00 a.m., CDT –ASM Live– New Vaccine Technologies

Needle-based vaccine injections require highly trained health workers and an optimally performing system for effective mass vaccination campaigns. The universal fear of needle sticks is an indicator of the need of convenient and viable alternative modes of delivery. New technologies are making needle-free cutaneous (applied to the skin) vaccines against a variety of diseases a foreseeable reality. Bruce Weniger, Associate Editor of the journal Vaccine will discuss the latest research on cutaneous vaccination.

• Bruce Weniger, MD, MPH, Associate Editor, Vaccine

12:00 noon, CDT –ASM Live– The Rise and Control of Gram-Negative Resistance

The launch of new antibiotics in the 1980s led many in the scientific field to believe that fight against bacteria had been won. Since then, at least one group of bacteria known as Gram-negatives (which includes pathogens responsible for hospital-acquired pneumonia and bloodstream infections as well as E. coli and Salmonella have developed a variety of mechanisms that make them multi-drug resistant.The result is that it is now commonplace to encounter gram-negative infections susceptible only to one drug: colistin, an antibiotic all but abandoned in the 1970s and 1980s due to toxic side-effects.Participants will discuss how antibiotic-resistant gram-negatives are on the rise in newly industrialized countries, the threat they pose to the antibiotic revolution of the 20th century and one country's nationwide intervention to control an antibiotic-resistant outbreak in healthcare facilities.

• David Livermore, PhD, HPA Microbiol. Services Colindale, London, United Kingdom
• Mitchell Schwaber, MD, Israel Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, Israel
  

Monday, September 19

10:00 a.m., CDT –ASM Live– Hot Topics in Pediatric Infectious Disease: The Return of Whooping Cough

Despite high infant immunization rates, pertussis infection rates are increasing in many countries and pertussis outbreaks have occurred. Recent control strategies for pertussis have focused on immunizing adolescents and adults with pertussis booster vaccines in an effort to provide herd immunity. Participants will discuss these strategies as well as latebreaking data from the 2010 California outbreak that suggests the booster may be ineffective after 3 years.

• David Witt, MD, Kaiser Permanente Med. Ctr., San Rafael, CA

11:15 a.m., CDT – ICAAC Live with Vincent Racaniello of This Week in Microbiology

Join a live streaming scientific session at ICAAC hosted by Vincent Racaniello and co-host Michael Schmidt.Audience participation is encouraged so please feel free to ask any questions or offer your comments up to discussion.

Guests

• Stuart B. Levy, MD,Professor, Tufts Univ. School of Medicine/CSO, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Tufts Univ. Sch. of Med., Boston, MA.
• Arturo Casadevall, MD, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Albert Einstein Coll. of Med. of Yeshiva Univ., Bronx, NY.
• David Livermore, Ph.D., HPA Centre for Infections, London, United Kingdom

1:30 p.m., CDT –ASM Live– Emerging Issues in Infectious Disease

Participants will discuss various emerging issues in the field of infectious disease including drug-resistant malaria; epidemiology and management of cholera in Haiti and whether or not steroids are an effective mechanism for managing bacterial meningitis.

• W. Michael Scheld, MD, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
• Arjen Dondorp, MD, PhD, Mahidol-Oxford, Res. Unit, Bangkok, Thailand
• Scott Dowell, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

ASM Live 2011

Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe magazine, interview researchers on selected topics of interest from the 111th ASM General Meeting in New Orleans for our webcast, ASM Live.

In addition, Vincent Racaniello of This Week in Microbiology and This Week in Virology will be broadcasting both programs live on Sunday, May 22 and Monday, May 23, at 2 p.m., CDT, respectively.

Meeting attendees are welcome to attend and watch the live tapings as well as submit questions to the researchers. Tapings will take place in Room 232 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

All interviews will be broadcast live and archived online at UStream.tv and MicrobeWorld.

The General Meeting covers fundamental microbial cell biology, genetics and physiology, environmental and applied microbiology, microbial ecology, pathogenesis, clinical microbiology, and infectious diseases. The goal is to provide a program with breadth and depth that showcases state of the art science and updates experts in their own field. In doing so, ASM aims to facilitate the interdisciplinary approaches that are increasingly defining the best of microbiology.

[ustream asm-live 595 360]
[uschat asm-live 595 360]
(To ask a question of the panel post it in the chat or tweet @microbeworld. You can also use the hash tag #asmgm)

Schedule

Sunday, May 22

10:00 a.m., CDT - Bacteria May Contribute to Development of Parkinson’s Disease

A new mouse model suggests that the bacterium responsible for stomach ulcers could also play a role in the development of Parkinson's disease.

• Traci Testerman, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Ctr., Shreveport

Watch here.

11:00 a.m., CDT - Using Whole Genome Sequencing and Social Network Analysis to Track Disease

Using a novel methodology combining whole genome DNA sequencing and social network analysis, public health officials are able to solve a tuberculosis outbreak that was an absolute mystery by traditional epidemiologic methods.

• Jennifer Gardy, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Watch here.

12:00 noon CDT - Deepwater Horizon and Beyond

Over a year after the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are still investigating the role microorganisms play in cleaning up the mess, both on land and at sea.  Participants will discuss the latest research, what we have learned and what we still do not know.

• David Valentine, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, United States

Watch here.

2:00 p.m., CDT - This Week in Microbiology with Vincent Racaniello
Join a live streaming video episode of the newest ASM podcast This Week in Microbiology (TWiM) hosted by Vincent Racaniello and friends. Following in the path of his successful shows 'This Week in Virology' (TWiV) and 'This Week in Parasitism' (TWiP), Racaniello and guests produce an informal yet informative conversation about microbes which is accessible to everyone, no matter what their science background. In this episode, Racaniello and others will be highlighting and commenting on some of the most interesting science presented at the General Meeting. Audience participation is encouraged so please feel free to ask any questions or offer your comments up to discussion.

Guests

• Stanley Maloy, Ph.D., Professor Dean, College of Sciences Associate Director, Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University
• Michael Schmidt, Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chairman of Microbiology and Immunology, Director, Office of Special Programs, Medical University of South Carolina
• Nicole Dubilier, Ph.D., Leader of the Symbiosis Group, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
• Andreas J. Bäumler, Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chair of Research, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, Davis
• David Aronoff, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Michigan
• Paul Rainey, Ph.D. Professor of Evolutionary Genetics, New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Massey University Auckland, Principle Investigator, Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, and Visiting Professor, Hopkins Microbial Diversity Program, Stanford
  

Monday, May 23

10:00 a.m., CDT - Impact of Globalization on the U.S. Food Supply

As the United States continues to import increasingly more of its food from developing nations, we are putting ourselves at greater risk of foodborne disease as many of these countries do not have the same sanitary standards for production, especially in the case of seafood and fresh produce.  Additionally, prudent use of antibiotics is not practiced in many countries supplying foods, such as seafood and produce, to the United States.

• Michael Doyle, Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States

Watch here.

11:00 a.m., CDT - Hot Topics in Diagnostic Microbiology:  Chlamydia and Asthma

While the pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae has been linked to asthma in the past, new research finds over two-thirds of people with severe asthma test positive for Chlamydia-specific antibodies, suggesting this antigen could be a good biomarker for detecting those at risk for asthma.  Additional research finds that, in some cases, antibiotic therapy could improve asthma symptoms.

• Eduard Drizik, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Watch here.

12:00 noon CDT - How Microbes Can Feed the World

In the early 1960s developments in agricultural production, sponsored by international funding agencies, led to what came to be called the Green Revolution. Unfortunately, this great leap forward in food production relies highly on the use of pesticides and artificial chemical fertilizers.  The next step forward in the Green Revolution, though, may feature fungi instead.  Participants will present research on genetically engineered fungi that could replace chemical fertilizers and naturally occurring fungi that produce compounds that could replace pesticides for protecting crops in the field and produce in transit.

• Ian Sanders, Univ. of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Gary Strobel, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT

Watch here.

2:00 p.m., CDT - This Week in Virology with Vincent Racaniello
Participate in a live streaming video episode of This Week in Virology (TWiV), a podcast about viruses. Started in September 2008 by Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier, two science Professors at Columbia University Medical Center, the goal of the show is to have an accessible discussion about viruses that anyone can understand and enjoy. At the General Meeting in New Orleans, Racaniello and guests will be highlighting and commenting on some of the most exciting virology at the conference. Audience participation is encouraged so please feel free to ask any questions or offer your comments up to discussion.

Guests

• Roger Hendrix, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
  
• Harmit Malik, M.D., Associate Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Affiliate Assistant Professor, Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine
• Rachel Katzenellenbogen, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatrics-Section of Adolescent Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine

Tuesday, May 24

10:00 a.m., CDT - Microbes Controlling the Climate?

Large concentrations bacteria identified in the nuclei of hailstones suggest that airborne microorganisms may be responsibility for the formation of these weather events.  Participants will discuss these findings as well as the implications they may have for understanding of the role microbes play in controlling the weather.

• Alexander Michaud, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
• Brent Christner, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States

Watch here.

11:15 a.m., CDT - Putting Microbes to Work

The ability of bacteria to be genetically manipulated in a directed way has permitted the application of bacterial metabolism and gene expression to the creation of products useful in a wide variety of domains, including alternative energy generation, novel and manipulatable pathways for antibiotic synthesis, and synthesis of industrial intermediates. Participants will discuss engineering of bacteria to produce hydrogen gas, ethanol, anti-microbials and other useful products.

• Timothy Donohue, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
• Caroline Harwood, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States

Watch here.

12:15 p.m.CDT - Rich Bug, Poor Bug

Modernization in developing countries may be accompanied by a transition from epidemic infectious diseases to chronic and degenerative illnesses as predominant causes of morbidity and mortality. The hygiene hypothesis posits that reduced exposure to infectious agents in childhood as a result of modern advances in public health can alter the development of the immune system to increase the risk of allergic, autoimmune and other illnesses. Participants will discuss the differences in disease patterns between industrialized and developing countries and consider the scientific evidence for the hygiene hypothesis and its implications for human health.

• Graham Rook, University College, London, United Kingdom
• Stephen McGarvey, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States

Watch here.

ICAAC 2010 Live

The Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) is the annual infectious diseases meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.  This webpage will broadcast the daily press conferences for the 50th ICAAC being held September 12-15, 2010 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. For more information about ICAAC please visit www.icaac.org. If you are a member of the press visit the ICAAC newsroom.

[ustream asm-live] [uschat asm-live 416 340]
(To ask a question please post it in the chat or tweet @microbeworld. You can also use the hash tag #ICAAC)

Schedule

Please note:  The following schedule is preliminary and subject to change.  Participants and more detail for each conference will be posted soon. All participants are invited, not confirmed.

Sunday, September 12

WATCH 12:00 noon EDT – Opening Briefing
Members of the ICAAC Program Committee will give an overview of the ICAAC meeting and discuss sessions of particular interest.  Lunch will follow.

• M. Lindsay Grayson, Austin Hospital/Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia
• Craig Rubens, Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA
• Karen Bush, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
• Laurent Kaiser, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

WATCH 1:00 p.m., EDT – What Big Pharma Wants and What Small Biotech Can Offer
As larger pharmaceutical companies have reduced focus on discovery and early development of antibacterials, smaller biotech companies have taken on a larger role in these earliest stages of antibacterial development, later licensing or selling the compound to the pharmaceutical company to complete development.  Although this model has helped to partially resuscitate a diminishing antibacterial pipeline, is it the most effective model for the development of new drugs?  Participants will outline the advantages and pitfalls associated with this model as well as other proposed models for drug development and will also discuss what new drugs are currently in this pipeline.

• Gary Noel, Johnson and Johnson, North Caldwell, NJ, United States
• Ursula Theuretzbacher, Center for Anti-Infective Agents, Vienna, Austria

WATCH 2:00 p.m., EDT –  Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogens:  An Emerging Pediatric Threat
Antibiotic resistance has become an increasing cause for concern around the globe, but it poses a unique set of problems for infections in children.  Researchers will present the latest information on antibiotic-resistant infections of concern to pediatricians including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), other extended-spectrum beta lactamase-producing (ESBL) bacteria (so-called superbugs) and drug-resistant infections in children with cystic fibrosis.

• Anne Blaschke, Univeristy of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
• S. Elliott, Steele Children's Research Center, Tucson, AZ, United States

Monday, September 13

WATCH 10:00 a.m., EDT – NDM-1:  The New Superbugs
New Dehli metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.  According the the United Kingdom’s health protection agency, most bacteria carrying the gene for NDM-1 are resistant to all standard intravenous antibiotic treatments for severe infections.  First identified in a patient in New Dehli in December 2009, the NDM-1 gene has since been found in infections in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.  Participants will discuss the growing global threat of NDM-1 as well as late-breaker abstracts describing cases in the U.S. and Canada.

• Patrice Nordmann, Hosp. Bicetre, La Kremlin-Bicetre, France
• Timothy Walsh, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
• Johann Pitout, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

WATCH 11:15 a.m. EDT – Handwashing Survey Results
Mom's advice about cleaning your hands may finally be starting to get through. In the August 2010 observational study sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute® (formerly The Soap and Detergent Association), 85% of adults washed their hands in public restrooms, compared with 77% in 2007. The 85% total was actually the highest observed since these studies began in 1996.

• Barbara Hyde, Director of Communications, American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C.
• Didier Pettit, Director, Infection Control Program, University of Geneva, Hospital, Switzerland
• Judy Daly, Professor of Pathology, University of Utah

WATCH 12:00 noon EDT – Emerging Issues in Infectious Disease
Participants in this session will discuss the latest issues appearing on the horizon for infectious disease researchers including the changing epidemiology of drug resistance in Salmonella, epidemiology and management of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis and the possibility that chronic fatigue syndrome could be associated with a retroviral infection.

• Myra McClure, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
• John Crump, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States

WATCH 1:15 p.m., EDT – A Role for Statins in Infectious Disease?
Statins are well-known as a class of drugs that are used to help lower cholesterol but recent evidence suggests they might be good for more than your heart.  They may play a role in preventing and treating certain bacterial infections including pneumonia and sepsis.  Presenters will discuss the latest research on the potential of these drugs.

• Reimar Thomsen, Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
• Matthew Falagas, Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Athens, Greece
• Nasia Safdar, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States

Tuesday, September 14

WATCH 10:00 a.m., EDT – Community-associated MRSA:  Why is it spreading so quickly?
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was discovered in 1960. Over the following 40 years, MRSA was a problem confined largely to the health-care setting. In the late 1990s, the first United States reports of community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections appeared. At present, several reports suggest that CA-MRSA may be replacing the hospital-associated MRSA strains with potentially catastrophic consequences.  Presenters will discuss the latest research on our understanding of CA-MRSA, why it is spreading across the globe so quickly and what, if anything, can be done about it.

• Henry Chambers, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States
• Matteo Bassetti, San Martino Hospital, Genova, Italy
• Michael Otto, NIH, NIAID, Bethesda, MD, United States

WATCH 11:00 a.m., EDT – Is the Era of Bacterial Culture Ending?
As technology continues to move forward, fast DNA-based tests can offer diagnosis in hours compared to the days it can take for a bacterial culture to grow, often with the same level of certainty.  Still, cultures remain the definitive gold-standard for confirming diagnosis.  Have we finally reached the point technologically where physicians no longer have to rely on cultures for diagnosing bacterial infections?

• Patricia Muñoz, Hospital Univ. Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
• Jacques Schrenzel, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
• Donna Wolk, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States

WATCH 1:00 p.m., EDT – Weird Bugs, Weird Places:  The Microbial Risks of Taking a Shower

• Mark Krockenberger, University of Syndey, New South Wales, Australia
• Daniel Frank, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
• Paul Johnson, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia

Persistence of pathogens in the food chain #ASMGM

It is widely recognized that certain foodborne pathogens may persist in at least some sources of the food chain, while others may persist in different sources along the entire food chain.  Watch Angelika Lehner, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, discuss on two specific pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes and Enterbacter sakazakii, and the unique mechanisms by which they continue to stubbornly persist in the food chain.

The role of gut microbes in obesity #ASMGM

Margaret Zupancic, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Amanda Payne, Institute of Food Health and Nutrition ETH, Zurich, Switzerland, discuss research presented at the American Society for Microbiology 110th General Meeting in San Diego that sheds new light on the role bacteria in the digestive tract may play in obesity.