This episode, we switch gears a little bit to talk about sex! Tony sits down with Dr. Ken Ho, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Linda Nabha, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Pitt as well. So far in our pilot season, we've discussed the threat that antibiotic resistance poses in and outside of hospitals, but did you know that there are some sexually transmitted infections that are beginning to develop drug-resistance as well?  This week we discuss the importance of routine sexual health screenings, preventative measures and treatments for STIs. We also list the various options for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and reasons why it might be right for you. Lastly, we attempt to demystify the stigmas surrounding STI infections and encourage inclusive public health messaging.

Fungal-infected zombies have overrun the media lately with the success of the TV series, The Last of Us, but a fungi apocalypse isn't likely on the horizon for humanity. However, there is a fungus on clinical radar that does pose a threat to public health. Recently, the CDC has raised concern over a species of drug-resistant fungi that is plaguing hospitals across the country and the globe. Tony discusses emerging outbreaks with mycology expert, Dr. Neil Clancy, as well as Dr. Alexander Sundermann, who specializes in investigating healthcare-associated outbreaks of infectious diseases using genomic epidemiology. Join us as we talk about infectious fungi, where and how to find them, and the future of investigating and treating dangerous fungal infectious.

As antimicrobial resistance continues to grow and evolve, researchers and clinicians are looking towards a different approach to treating drug-resistant infections. Bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria but were widely dismissed in modern western medicine in favor of antibiotics- until now.  In this episode, Tony interviews Daria Van Tyne, PhD and Ghady Haidar, MD, who are both faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh interested in discovering breakthroughs in phage therapy to combat antimicrobial resistant infections. We discuss the history of bacteriophages, where to find them, and the future of bacteriophage engineering.

There seems to be a lot of buzz surrounding the notion of the “super bug” in today’s news. But what exactly is a super bug? The term is used to describe microorganisms that have developed resistance to antibiotics. The CDC has described antimicrobial resistance as a top 10 threat to global health. In this episode, Tony is joined by Dr. Alex Viehman, MD, and Ryan Shields, PharmD, MS, to kick off the podcast series with a general overview on the infamous super bugs. We discuss what these organisms are, where to find them, who is at risk, and what you can do to help prevent the spread of these elusive pathogens.