Microbiology / Infectious Disease

William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, joins "Answers From the Lab" for his weekly leadership update with host Bobbi Pritt, M.D. In this episode, Dr. Pritt and Dr. Morice discuss the latest monkeypox developments, potential scenarios for monkeypox moving forward, and where the VALID Act stands.

In this month's "Hot Topic," Robin Patel, M.D., discusses how the use of multiplex tests may reduce the turnaround time for identifying the cause of bloodstream infections, and how this might impact antibiotic stewardship and patient outcomes.

In this month's "Hot Topic," Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., discusses the use of multiplex panels for the diagnosis of respiratory infections and focuses on the clinical utility of these tests in the setting of upper respiratory tract infections.

William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for his weekly leadership update with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. In this episode, Dr. Morice and Dr. Pritt discuss the range of emerging viruses and their variants that are currently in the news.

Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic’s Clinical Virology Laboratory, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for a discussion with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. about recent outbreaks of viral infections. In this episode, Dr. Binnicker and Dr. Pritt look at the hepatitis cases in children possibly linked to adenovirus as well as the spread of Monkeypox.

Elitza Theel, Ph.D., director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Lab at Mayo Clinic, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for a discussion with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. about tick-borne disease testing. In this episode, Dr. Theel and Dr. Pritt look at emerging tick-borne illnesses, the tests available to detect these infections, and how to prevent them.

In this month's "Hot Topic," Elitza Theel, Ph.D., will be discussing laboratory utilization management, specifically for diagnostic testing for tick-borne diseases.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Nancy Wengenack, Ph.D., discusses susceptibility testing of yeast for those who are considering performing it in their laboratory, perhaps for the first time, or for those who choose to send their yeast isolates out to a reference laboratory for susceptibility testing but who want to understand how the reference laboratory generates the data that comes back on reports.

This week on the podcast, Brad Karon, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Mayo Clinic’s Division of Clinical Core Laboratory Services, joins "Answers From the Lab" with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D. This episode focuses on at-home testing for COVID-19, including the types of tests that are available, when they should be used, and how well they work.

With the omicron variant grabbing headlines around the world, media outlets have turned to experts like Dr. Binnicker to help clarify the effect this new variant could have and what it might mean for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Audrey Schuetz, M.D., discusses Mayo Clinic Laboratories' PCR assay that identifies two recently described staphylococcus species. The assay is unique in its ability to distinguish the new organisms from Staphylococcus aureus, providing clearer results that ultimately improve patient care.

With a spike in cases spurred by the delta virus, demand for COVID-19 testing is on the rise again, and several at-home tests that have been approved for emergency use authorization are becoming more popular. But should you rely on a test that you administer yourself to tell you whether you have COVID-19? Dr. Matthew Binnicker explains the pros and cons of at-home tests.

This "Pathways" program provides a Clinical Pathology case that includes a history, potential answers, rationale, and relevant references. This case sub-specialty is Clinical Microbiology.