The Rapid Microbiology Podcast

The Rapidmicrobiology Podcast

Insights from industry experts on latest technologies and regulations for routine microbiological testing

  1. The Future of Pharma QC is Automation and Digitalization

    11/03/2023

    The Future of Pharma QC is Automation and Digitalization

    Anke Hossfeld (Merck) joins us in this podcast episode on Automation and Digitalization to share her experience on why pharma labs must adapt to the trend to meet Industry 4.0 demands and why choosing the right partner is key.   Timestamps: [2:00] Merck’s Automation and Digitalization Strategy [3:25] Skilled labor challenges in Pharma [4:05] Pharma needs automation (advantages and constraints) [7:25] Establishing a network of expertise is key to implementing automation [9:51] Merck’s solutions for Robust contamination control strategies [12:15] Pilot projects on robots performing QC sampling in cleanroom [13:37] Automation and digitalization are assisting microbiologists [15:49] Merck’s M-Trace software for data integrity [17:35] Pharma wants harmonization of supply [20:18]: Merck meets Industry 5.0 goals Biography:  Anke Hossfeld, Director Marketing – Automation & Digitalization, Science & Lab solutions - Biomonitoring, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany Anke Hossfeld is Director of Marketing for Automation and Digitalization at Merck in Darmstadt, Germany. She is responsible for the innovation strategy of new products for microbial QC testing in the pharmaceutical industry using automation, robotics, and digitization. Anke started her career in 2008 at Biotest AG as International Product Manager for alternative pyrogen and mycoplasma tests. In 2011, Anke joined Merck in Darmstadt as Global Product Manager and has since been responsible for the product portfolio, life cycle management, and new product developments in various QC applications such as bioburden, sterility, pyrogen, and rapid technologies.

    22 min
  2. Efficient Liquid Handling Critical in Responding to Surge Events

    04/04/2023

    Efficient Liquid Handling Critical in Responding to Surge Events

    Denise Bolton (New Hampshire PHL) and Carol Loring (INTEGRA Biosciences) bring their public health expertise to this podcast’s discussion on how we can be better prepared for the next pandemic by using what we’ve learned from the last one. Timestamps: [5:00] - Liquid handling of COVID-19 samples before and after rapid instruments were employed [6:45] - INTEGRA's rapid instruments built to avoid repetitive strain injury [11:49] - Challenges in handling Monkeypox virus samples at public health lab [12:40] - Responding to outbreaks with rapid testing and instrumentation [15:28] - Be prepared, as there's no time in an emergency situation to research new equipment Biographies: Carol Loring Known for her expertise in optimizing laboratory workflow and overcoming bottlenecks, Carol Loring is a Field Applications Specialist with INTEGRA Biosciences where she collaborates with internal and external partners to resolve lab automation challenges, build relationships, extend learning, and achieve success in accelerating science. Ms Loring's experience as a laboratory supervisor honed her skills in molecular diagnostics and disease surveillance, laboratory quality assurance, biosafety, and staff development. She previously served on the Influenza and Respiratory Viruses Subcommittee at the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and as a consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has performed Laboratory Assessments in Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka and Maldives. For two years Ms. Loring served as a quality assurance Mentor for the National Influenza Laboratory of Mozambique. In her free time, Ms Loring enjoys hiking the trails and summitting the peaks of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Denise Bolton Denise is a technical supervisor at the NH Public Health Laboratories, overseeing the Emergency Response Rapid methods testing (LRN) and Arbovirus surveillance. Denise graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1983 with a degree in Microbiology. She began her career in Public Health right out of college, working for the NH Department of Health & Human Services for the last 39 years, mostly in the lab.  While at the PHL, she has been involved in some very interesting work, including the onset of West Nile virus in the US in 2000; the Influenza H1N1 pandemic; an anthrax incident involving a drumming circle; a drug-diversion case that resulted in a Hepatitis C outbreak; preparation for the 2014 (Zaire) Ebola outbreak and the recent (Sudan) Ebola outbreak; the Zika virus outbreak; and of course, the COVID pandemic. Denise is married and has 4 grown children and 4 granddaughters.  She is planning to retire this spring and hopes to spend more time with all of them.  Her hobbies include hiking, photography, reading, and baking

    17 min
  3. Infectious Disease Research: Reproducible Results Require Proper Pipetting - Podcast

    05/16/2022

    Infectious Disease Research: Reproducible Results Require Proper Pipetting - Podcast

    In this podcast episode, our guests from Sartorius give advice on correct pipetting techniques that will avoid cell damage and reproducibility errors. Timestamps: [2:09] - Research papers without the pipette method leads to reproducibility errors [3:56] - Incorrect pipetting damages cells [4:38] - Reverse pipetting [6:46] - Optimizing pipetting steps for infectious disease research [8:43] - A pipette with smart features will help the researcher [12:05] - Sartorius Pipetting Academy Speakers:  Sandra Söderholm earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Helsinki in 2016. In her thesis work, she investigated innate immune responses to Influenza A virus. After completing her PhD, she worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Professor Dirk Bumann’s laboratory at Biozentrum (University of Basel, Switzerland), where she studied Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in clinical samples with mass spectrometry-based proteomics, to identify novel strategies to combat infectious disease and antibiotic resistance. She joined Sartorius as an Application Development Scientist in 2019. Jennifer Labisch studied molecular biotechnology in Bielefeld and Frankfurt. She was a Sartorius scholarship holder during her master studies, and after her master thesis at Sartorius in Göttingen, she continued to work at Sartorius as a PhD student. She is working on downstream processing of lentiviral vectors. Her research includes clarification and analytics with a focus on steric exclusion chromatography.

    14 min

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Insights from industry experts on latest technologies and regulations for routine microbiological testing