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PODCAST

Virulent Vortex

Jaap de Roode & Todd Swink

The Virulent Vortex is a podcast hosted by Emory University Biology Professor, Jaap de Roode, in which he discusses infectious disease research with researchers from Emory University: from molecules and pathogens to populations and pandemics, and everything in between. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

science life sciences

All Episodes

08:06

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Matthew Collins

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/11/06

In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Matthew Collins tells us about dengue, an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. Controlling the disease has been difficult, but Collins explains how scientists are infecting mosquitoes with bacteria to stop them from spreading the virus. He also discusses how he and his colleagues are studying the specific immune responses against viruses to create better vaccines. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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08:25

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/10/02

Our world is divided, says Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, but there is one thing we all agree on: we hate mosquitoes. Not only do these insects give us itchy bites, they also excel in transmitting life-threatening pathogens. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Vazquez-Prokopec explains how his team went back to basics, showing how understanding some very simple mosquito behavior can help us better control disease. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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11:24

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Dave Civitello

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/09/04

In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Dave Civitello discusses snails and schistosomes. Expecting that schistosomes from humans and cattle could hybridize and create super-parasites, Civitello found a much bigger problem. As he explains, cattle deposit huge amounts of feces into water bodies, where they fertilize algae, thereby providing food for snails and causing more transmission of parasites. While building fences around ponds may seem like an easy solution, ecology is telling a different

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27:36

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Jaap de Roode

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/04/23

In this episode Lance Waller talks to Jaap de Roode about his new book Doctors by Nature, discussing the many ways in which animals use medicine and what we can learn from them.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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10:51

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Maya Nadimpalli

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/04/03

What do pigs and chickens have to do with antibiotic resistance? In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Maya Nadimpalli explains how the overuse of antibiotics in the livestock and poultry industry selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can end up causing untreatable infections in humans in low-income settings. Reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics is key, but as Nadimpalli explains, improving water and sanitation infrastructure can also go a long way.Hosted by Ausha. See

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08:09

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Amber Coats

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/03/06

From two stripes to one: many of us have felt the relief when our at-home COVID-19 test finally turned negative. While COVID-19 infections generally last days to weeks, some people can be infected for years. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Amber Coats explains how those long-lasting infections contribute to the evolution of new variants of concern, thereby causing new epidemic waves that require updated vaccines.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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09:57

Season 2 - Episode - 6 - LM Bradley

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/02/06

Using fertilizer to increase plant growth and crop production is common practice. But fertilizing to make snails grow? Not so much. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, LM Bradley explains why she is fertilizing water bodies to increase algal production and therefore aquatic snail growth. Teaser alert: the snails transmit schistosome parasites, and by fertilizing them, Bradley aims to understand how cattle waste can increase disease outbreaks. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more

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09:55

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Anne Piantadosi

Virulent Vortex ·

2025/01/02

If your dream is to discover a new scary virus, then this episode of the Virulent Vortex is for you. Anne Piantadosi is passionate about ticks and employs a technique called metagenomics to identify and discover new viruses that are vectored by these eight-legged creatures. As a medical doctor, she is also especially tuned into the symptoms that could indicate that her patients have tick-borne infections. Oh, and she wears tick earrings. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more

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07:00

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Elizabeth Rogawski McQuade

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/12/05

Severe diarrheal disease can be caused by many different pathogens, but doctors will often prescribe bacteria-killing antibiotics, even when the disease is caused by viruses. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Liz Rogawski McQuade explains that this unnecessary use of antibiotics is risky business. The antibiotics can select for drug-resistance in pathogenic bacteria that are lurking in the guts of patients. These bacteria can cause hard-to-treat disease in these patients, or even spread to

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12:15

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Natalie Dean

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/11/05

What do Ebola and COVID-19 have in common? Both are caused by viruses, and both can be controlled using contact tracing and smart vaccination campaigns. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Natalie Dean explains how her studies of Ebola outbreaks in west Africa provided insights into ring vaccination and pandemic preparedness, with lessons for COVID-19 and future pandemics. She also discusses the difficulties of communicating science and the importance of acknowledging uncertainty.Hosted by

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09:14

Episode 2 - Ani Deshpande

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/10/03

Have you ever been scared of becoming a mushroom-spreading zombie? This scenario may sound familiar to viewers of the sci-fi show The Last of Us. While chances are low, fungal infections are in fact on the rise. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Ani Deshpande explains how global warming is increasing the risk of pathogens, including fungal pathogens that cause pneumonia and viruses that cause diarrhea. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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07:50

Episode 1 - Jaap de Roode

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/09/05

In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, host Jaap de Roode is interviewed by Lance Waller to discuss his research on malaria and butterfly disease. Crossing scales, de Roode’s work tries to understand how competition between malaria parasites within patients drives the spread of drug resistance at the population level. And viewing host-parasite interactions as part of larger ecosystems, he describes how monarch butterflies can use toxic plants as herbal medicine. Hosted by Ausha. See

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10:39

Episode 10 - Ashley Alexander

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/05/02

Patients with cystic fibrosis are especially vulnerable to infections with harmful bacteria, including staph and Pseudomonas. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Ashley Alexander explains that these bacteria often co-infect the same patient. She discusses her studies to find out how interactions between these bacteria can contribute to disease.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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08:06

Episode 9 - Stephen Mugel

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/03/28

While vaccines and drugs are key in the control of infectious diseases, healthy living conditions are crucial too. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Stephen Mugel explains how clean water, non-polluting cooking stoves and bed nets are key to controlling child health in rural and low-income areas. As he argues, giving children access to this infrastructure can go a long way in reducing diarrheal disease, malaria and lower respiratory infections.

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09:02

Episode 8 - Rachel Pearson

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/03/07

Patients are rarely infected with a single pathogen, and understanding how pathogens interact with each other is key for controlling infectious disease. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Rachel Pearson discusses how HIV can make tuberculosis infections worse by destroying crucial immune cells. But there is a silver lining: if HIV infection is caught early enough, drug therapy can save enough immune cells to prevent severe disease

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09:09

Episode 7 - Steph Bellman

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/02/16

While mosquitoes continue to take the spotlight as vectors of infectious disease, ticks are becoming increasingly important as transmitters of pathogens. In this episode, Steph Bellman talks about her studies of Heartland Virus in the state of Georgia. She describes why she called her thesis “the ticks, the virus, and the people” and explains what makes her tick on a daily basis.

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08:26

Episode 6 - Katia Koelle

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/02/16

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic, we sometimes forget that there have been, and will be, other pandemics. Many of these pandemics have involved flu. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Katia Koelle explains how pigs provide the ideal mixing vessels for bird flu viruses to create strains that are highly contagious. Vaccinating pigs or limiting contact between pigs and birds could help prevent the next pandemic.

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09:06

Episode 5 - Ben Lopman

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/02/16

Ben Lopman has long studied how to optimize vaccination against rotavirus, which causes severe diarrheal disease in children. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, he explains how his work on rotavirus set him up well to understand the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic and helped him create epidemiological models to optimize social distancing and vaccination. As he discusses, lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic should help us thwart future global outbreaks.

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07:20

Episode 3 - Sandra Mendiola

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/02/16

If you are interested in bugs, this episode of the Virulent Vortex is for you. Sandra Mendiola explains how beneficial bacterial bugs can stop insect bugs from spreading harmful bacterial bugs to squash plants. As a result, some bugs may help farmers and ensure we have enough pumpkins for Halloween.

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11:14

Episode 4 - Anice Lowen

Virulent Vortex ·

2024/02/16

If you have ever had flu, it may feel like the flu virus is a perfect pathogen. Think again. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Anice Lowen explains that single flu viruses are actually pretty bad at infecting host cells. In fact, they are so bad at keeping their genetic material together that they need each other to complement their genes and reproduce.

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22 results

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