American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturers and Topics

 The American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer (ASMDL) Program 2013-2014 Roster is now available!
Each Branch is allowed one ASM Distinguished Lecturer per program year (July 1-June 30).

Branches – After making arrangements directly with Lecturers to participate in Branch meetings, please complete and submit a Lecturer Confirmation Form to ASM Headquarters

• Francisco Diez-Gonzalez ('15)
  • Pre-harvest Ecology and Control of Escherichia coli O157:H7
  • Food Safety Microbiology of Organic Foods
  • Survival of Salmonella in Low Water Activity Foods

• Karen M. Frank, M.D., Ph.D., D(ABMM) ('15)
  • MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry for Microbial Identification, Including Mold Database Validation at NIH Followed by Incorporation into Routine Clinical Workflow
  • Investigations of Two Unexpected Fatal Infections: Disseminated Histoplasmosis in a Gene Therapy Trial and Yersinia pestis Septicemia in a Researcher
  • Quantitative Detection and Monitoring of Viremia in Transplant Patients
  • Molecular Testing for Respiratory Viruses:  Integration into Clinical Practice
  • The Pathogenesis of Staphylococcal Pneumonia

• Nancy E. Freitag, Ph.D. ('14)
  • The Listeria monocytogenes Transition from Environmental Bacterium to Human Pathogen
  • Listeria monocytogenes Cardiac Infections: Acquisition of Novel Bacterial Replication Niches
  • Listeria monocytogenes as a Model for Exploration of Gram-positive Virulence Factor Secretion
  • How Anesthetics Increase Host Susceptibility to Bacterial Infection
  • Chitinases as Bacterial Virulence Factors

• Lee E. Hughes ('15)
  • Course Redesign
  • Online/Blended Instruction
  • Early Research Experiences for Undergraduates
  • Classroom-based Research Experiences
  • Teaching with the ASM Curriculum Guidelines

• Joseph Adrian Krzycki ('15)
  • The Biosynthesis and Genetic Encoding of Pyrrolysine, an Amino Acid Essential for Methanogenesis from Methylamines
  • The Function and Family Relationships of Pyrrolysine, a “One Carbon” Amino Acid

• Petra Anne Levin ('14)
  • Spatial and Temporal Mechanisms Governing Bacterial Cell Division
  • Carbon Sensing and Cell Size
  • Cell Size and Cell Cycle Progression in Bacteria

• Maria L. Marco ('14)
  • You Are What You Eat: Diet, Prebiotics, Probiotics and Health
  • The Indigenous Plant Microbiota as Drivers of Fresh Produce Food Safety
  • Olives, Lactics, -omics and Approaches to Guide "Wild" Plant Fermentation  

• Christopher J. Marx ('15)
  • Optimality and Tradeoffs in Metabolism: Do Our Models and Intuitions Hold Up?
  • Evolution and Modeling of Cooperation in Synthetic, Spatially-structured, Multi-species Communities
  • Epistasis and Adaptation: Moving Toward Predicting Genetic Interactions During Evolution
  • Surprises at Two Scales Regarding the Raw Material of Adaptation: Selection on Codon Usage, and the Distribution of Fitness Effects of all Possible Beneficial Mutations
  • Transposable Elements and Evolution: From Adaptation in Lab to Inferences from the Tree of Life 

• D. Scott Merrell ('14)
  • Helicobacter pylori Colonization and Pathogenesis 
  • Transcriptional Regulation by the Ferric Uptake Regulator (Fur)
  • Novel Drug Targets to Treat Chronic Infections Caused by H. pylori
  • Molecular Epidemiology Related to Virulence Factor Polymorphisms and Disease Progression

• Dr. Abelardo Moncayo ('15)
  • Epidemiology of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in the U.S. 
  • Use of Flanders Virus as a Sentinel for the Emergence of Co-Circulating West Nile Virus
  • Chagas Disease in the U.S…  Really?  
  • Latin-American Style Transmission of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus in the U.S.
  • The Emergence of La Crosse Encephalitis in Appalachia

• Joseph Petrosino ('14)
  • The Human Microbiome: An Underappreciated Organ Important for Human Health
  • The Human Microbiome: Disease Associations Leading Toward Diagnostics and Therapeutics
  • Etiologic Agent Discovery Using Viral and Bacterial Metagenomics
  • Tadpole Diagnostics: A Platform for Sensitive Detection of Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease (Biod/EID) Pathogens
  • Comparative Genomics of Francisella tularensis (Ft): Toward Rationally Designed Live Attenuated Vaccines

• Regina Rabinovich (’15)
  • Whither Malaria?  From Control to Eradication 
  • How Does Basic Science Translate into Usable Interventions in Neglected Diseases?
  • Impact of Philanthropic and Not-for-Profit Organizations on Global Health Policy: Malaria as a Case Study  

• Susan M. Rosenberg ('14)
  • Evolving Responsively: Stress-induced Mutation
  • What Bacteria Are Teaching Us about Cancer
  • Mutation Storms
  • The Rebirth of Thymineless Death

• Michael A. Saubolle, Ph.D. ('14)
  • Instructive Infectious Diseases Cases
  • Aerobic Actinomycetes
  • The Laboratory in the Practice of Infectious Diseases
  • The Future of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

• Kellogg J. Schwab ('14)
  • Noroviruses: What Is in that Glass of Water or Ham Sandwich?
  • Sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Interventions in Low  Income Countries: Evidence-based Theory and Practice for Practical  Solutions
  • Water and Public Health on the Front Lines: Availability, Treatment and Emerging Threats

• Bert L. Semler (’15)
  • Out of the Nucleus and into Action: Host Cell Proteins in Picornavirus Translation and RNA Replication    
  • Picornavirus Genetic Economy: Complex Replication Events with Only a Few Viral Players 

• Mark S. Smeltzer ('14)
  • Staphylococcus aureus: Would the Real Pathogen Please Stand Up?
  • Bad to the Bone: Staphylococcus aureus as a Musculoskeletal Pathogen
  • Nanotechnology: A Tiny Solution to the Big Problem of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Associated Infections?
  • Extracellular Proteases: Forcing Staphylococcus aureus to Expose Itself

• John F. Stolz (’15)
  • Life in the Frack Pit: The Microbiology of Unconventional Shale Gas Extraction
  • Microbial Transformation of Arsenic: New Twists for an Old Poison
  • Microbes, Minerals and Metals: A Microbial View of the Periodic Table
  • Stromatolites: Over 3.5 Billion Years of "Geobiological" Interactions 

• John Anthony Vanchiere, M.D., Ph.D. ('15)
  • Emergence of Human Polyomavirus Disease among Immune Compromised Patients 
  • Building the Infrastructure for Translational Research in Infectious Diseases
  • Human Papillomaviruses: The Impact of Vaccination on Human Disease
  • The Challenge and Necessity of Collaborations between Clinicians and Scientists 

• Jeffrey Wilusz, Ph.D. ('14)
  • How Viruses Interface with the Cellular RNA Decay Machinery to Promote a Productive Infection
  • There’s More to mRNA Polyadenylation than Meets the Eye – A Novel Role for the Oncoprotein Nucleophosmin
  • Don’t Kill the Messenger: RNA Stability as a Key Regulator of Gene Expression from Bacteria to Mammals

• Floyd L. Wormley Jr. ('14)
  • Host Immune Responses Against Pulmonary Fungal Pathogens
  • Potential for the Development of Vaccines Against Mycoses in Immune Compromised Individuals
  • Induction of Protective Immunity Against Experimental Pulmonary Cryptococcosis in Immune Compromised Hosts