IBMS President Elect Sarah Pitt launches microbiology podcast

IBMS President Elect Sarah Pitt’s podcast, 'Microorganisms are Everywhere' has reached its tenth episode, created not just to stimulate interest in her students, but inspire the general public as well.

Covering topics from polio and malaria to bird flu and antibiotic resistance, the podcast aims to make complex microbiology concepts accessible to everyone. With clear explanations and examples, Sarah bridges the gap between scientific research and everyday understanding.

We caught up with Sarah to talk about what inspired her to start the podcast, the audience she hopes to reach, and what’s next for Microorganisms are Everywhere.

What inspired you to start the podcast?

I love microbiology and although I have come to accept that not everyone finds it as fascinating as I do, I still wanted to share some of the facts and stories that really intrigue me. I learned a lot during the ABSW media fellowship about how to approach topics and I have experience of doing radio interviews. So, last year, when an opportunity arose at the university to try my hand at podcasting, I felt ready.

Who do you hope to reach with it?

I am aiming to reach two groups of people. Firstly, I am trying to engage students by telling them interesting facts and giving them a different perspective to the information I cover in lectures. But I also want to reach a general audience and to talk about infectious diseases that they might have heard about in the news. So, I have deliberately avoided specialist scientific terms and defined any technical terms or abbreviations I needed to use. I have also included links to professional sites and journal articles, to encourage the students to find out more about each topic.

How do you see it helping raise awareness of biomedical science?

Each episode includes information about how we observe the microorganism in the laboratory . Some episodes go into more detail about the methods we use and highlight the role of biomedical scientists in diagnosis explicitly. Other episodes emphasise the role of biomedical research scientists in improving our understanding of the organisms and developing vaccines.  So, I am hoping the podcast will make people appreciate the role of staff in clinical laboratories , but also the value of scientists in general.  

What sort of topics or guests can listeners look forward to next?

Topics so far include measles, Mpox, polio, norovirus, and antibiotic resistance  - with each episode exploring a different aspect of infection and immunity. Sarah says,

I have at least one more episode in preparation and I am also hoping to add in some interviews with experts as we go along.

Has anything surprised you or stood out from your experience producing it so far?

When you listen to podcasts, they often come across as people chatting without much preparation. However, I realised quite quickly that I would need a script to stop my brain from wandering off on tangents halfway through! I have surprised myself by learning how to script , record and edit podcasts having never used any of the equipment or software previously. Obviously I had a lot of help, but I am starting to feel confident now.
  

We would like to thank Sarah for taking the time to talk with us, and for her commitment to making microbiology engaging and accessible for all

Listen to Microorganisms are Everywhere here.