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 days in space, performing experiments aboard the International Space Station, where she was the first person to sequence DNA in space.

We caught up with Dr. Rubins at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, where she discusses what it felt like the first time she saw the earth from space, some of the difficulties in performing research without gravity, how to study the microbiome of the ISS, how the international inhabitants of the ISS communicate with each other, and the spur-of-the-moment event that led to her becoming an astronaut.

This episode was supported by Cestodium, a new weight-loss program.*

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Kate Rubins, Ph.D. (NASA)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

*The recorded ads heard on microTalk are for parody purposes only, there are no actual products for sale.

Dr. Hyun Jung Kim, an Assistant Professor at Cleveland Clinic specializes in coaxing human cultured cells to differentiate and form tissues resembling the gastrointestinal tract, in order to study microbe-GI interactions. 

Dr. Kim discusses his surprising discovery of how common immortalized cultured cells can differentiate and form something that resembles a gut-on-a-chip, how these guts-on-a-chip can be used to study diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, how the addition of a microbiome to the gut-on-a-chip allows the bacteria to retain diversity unlike in a test tube, how the gut-on-a-chip could be valuable for personalized medicine, and the things he misses about Texas since moving from there.

This episode was supported by Eezy Breezy Poke, an elegant at-home vaccine service.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Hyun Jung Kim, Ph.D. (Cleveland Clinic)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)

Plague and anthrax are feared diseases due to high mortality rates following pulmonary exposure, and both are considered potential bioweapons. 

Dr. Virginia Miller, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and ASM President, studies plague, as well as other Gram negative bacteria. Dr. Theresa Koehler, emeritus professor at UTHealth Houston and ASM president-elect, is an expert in anthrax. 

microTalk caught up with Dr. Miller and Dr. Koehler at ASM Microbe 2023 in Houston to discuss these biothreat agents.

Dr. Miller discusses why she studies plague, the differences between bubonic and pneumonic plague, why Klebsiella pneumoniae poses a growing health threat, and what it was like being John Mekalanos’ first Ph.D. student.

Dr. Koehler discusses why anthrax is considered a potential bioweapon, why significant scientific progress was made following the anthrax attacks of 2001, why gardeners shouldn’t worry about catching anthrax, and her first failed experiment.  Both discuss their vision for ASM and the role it plays in microbiological research and society.

• Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Virginia Miller, Ph.D. (UNC Chapel Hill)
• Theresa Koehler, Ph.D. (UT Health Houston)
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)
• Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)