Clinical Microbiology Webinar Library

Learn more about the latest clinical microbiology issues and trends from those who know it best

Explore our Clinical Webinar Library to learn about the latest issues and trends within clinical microbiology, and discover advances in blood culture, susceptibility testing and other microbiology workflow solutions.

Watch webinars from experts working in the fields of Healthcare Associated Infections, sepsis, antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial resistance, many first presented at our live Clinical Discovery Days.

Critical Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Results for Critical Patients: A 2024 Perspective

Featured speaker:

James A. McKinnell, MD​, Associate Professor of Medicine​, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA​, Division of Infectious Disease, LA-Biomed at Harbor UCLA Medical Center

The role of the microbiology laboratory and the choice of AST method is crucial to determining the appropriate treatment for severe infections in critically ill patients.  In this presentation, we discuss how actions taken by the antimicrobial stewardship team to enforce the judicious use of antimicrobials are most effective when supported by timely diagnostic information from and collaboration with microbiology laboratory personnel.

Automated microbiology plate reading with artificial intelligence: Introducing the Clever Culture Systems APAS® Independence instrument

Featured speakers:

  • Dr. Steven Giglio, PhD, Scientific Director, LBT Innovations
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike Schumacher, Fachärztin für Mikrobiologie, Virologie und Infektionsepidemiologie  Ärztliche Leitung Mikrobiologie,  MVZ Labor Ravensburg Labor Dr. Gärtner, Germany

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly popular in clinical microbiology, where the use of AI in diagnostics to improve workflow and shorten time-to-result are driving innovation in the field. Learn more about how the use of AI can boost productivity in your laboratory by streaming this webinar.

View webinar

Automated microbiology plate reading with artificial intelligence


MDRO diagnostics: The challenges of today and tomorrow

Featured speakers:

  • Prof. Dr. med. Karsten Becker, Director and Chair, Friedrich Loeffler-Institute of Medical Microbiology of the University Medicine Greifswald
  • Univ. Prof. Dr. med. Axel Hamprecht, Director of University Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, Klinikum Oldenburg

Interested in performing best-in-class multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) testing, including small colony variants (SCVs), potential pitfalls in resistance automation reporting and recent changes to testing guidelines? View this webinar, and hear expert views on how different labs are testing, resistance mechanism detection, limitations on routine workflow, and therapeutic consequences.


2022 Technical Updates on EUCAST Guidelines

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Sören Gatermann, ESCMID Fellow, Clinical Microbiologist, Chairman of the German NAC, Member of the EUCAST Steering Committee, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

This webinar addresses changes to the EUCAST breakpoint tables, valid from January 2022 (v12.0) with a focus on:

  • Use handling of bracketed breakpoints
  • Disk testing of anaerobic bacteria
  • Dosing and breakpoints
  • How to deal with situations when there are no breakpoints


Sepsis: The Journey Through a Pandemic

Speaker: Dr. Ron Daniels, Executive Director and Founder, UK Sepsis Trust

This webinar highlights the burden of sepsis, explores whether or not progress on sepsis and antimicrobial resistance are mutually incompatible, and discusses the need to re-prioritize sepsis in the wake of the pandemic. It also details the role of the UK Sepsis Trust and other agencies in reducing harm from sepsis and COVID-19.

Topics include:

  • The link between sepsis and COVID-19 in terms of pathophysiology, disease risk, and recovery profiles
  • The urgent need to re-prioritize sepsis, along with other acute conditions, as we begin to gain control over the pandemic
  • How agencies such as the UK Sepsis Trust play a vital role in a systems response to mitigate against harms from infection, and how in vitro diagnostics form an integral part of such a response

Microbiology and Stewardship: Understanding AST Data as a Driver of Antimicrobial Stewardship

Speaker: Professor Romney Humphries, Medical Director of the Microbiology Laboratory, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Learn how antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) data may influence the optimal use of antibiotics and better guide and support your stewardship programs.

Topics include:

  • Identifying core elements of microbiology lab testing and reporting that promote stewardship

  • Understanding minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)-driven therapeutic decisions

  • Describing antimicrobial therapy challenges in critically ill patients


Multidrug-Resistant Organisms: Improving Time to Effective Treatment

Speaker: Dr. Jose Alexander, Director, Clinical Microbiologist at AdventHealth Orlando

Topics include:

  • The impact of beta-lactamase on the effectiveness of existing and new antibiotics?
  • What phenotypic tools can be used to predict evolving resistance?
  • The impact on patient outcomes and the true cost of therapy (length of stay (LOS), duration of therapy (DOT), antibiotic (ABX) days) when prescribing ineffective treatment?

Antimicrobial Stewardship – Exploring the Pharmacy/Microbiology Laboratory Partnership

Speaker: Dr. Jerod Nagel, PharmD, BCPS (AQID)

Topics include:

  • How Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs reduce the risk of inappropriate antimicrobial usage, which can help optimize patient outcomes, as well as reduce costs.
  • How the microbiology lab can team up with the pharmacy on AST results that promote antibiotic de-escalation and aid clinical decision-making.

Keeping Up with the Candidas: New Guidelines and Troublesome MICs

Speaker: Jon Faldasz, PharmD BCPS. Infectious Disease Specialist at UCSF Mission Bay

Topics include:

  • Changes to Candida testing guidelines and how they impact laboratory practice
  • Meaning and implications of S-DD
  • Utility of echinocandin susceptibility testing
  • Application of Candida antifungal MICs to
    clinical isolates

Challenging Bacterial Infections – The Clinical Impact of Critical Microbiology Results

Speaker: James A. McKinnell, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Division of Infectious Disease, LA-Biomed at Harbor UCLA Medical Center

Clinicians expect the microbiology laboratory to provide accurate antimicrobial susceptibility testing results to guide their treatment decisions. Reliable susceptibility results are never more important than when addressing today’s most serious bacterial infections including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter. Learn how to steer antibiotic treatment choices that are critical to patient care, including reliable detection of existing and emerging resistance to new drugs, as well as antimicrobials of last resort.


The Diagnostic Challenges of Mycobacterial Infections

Dr. Nathan A. Ledeboer, (Medical College of Wisconsin) speaks about recovery of Mycobacterium from a suspected infection, as well as current and evolving technologies available to microbiology laboratories in the identification and susceptibility testing of mycobacterial infections.


The Race Is On: Faster Turnaround Times in the Diagnosis of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Speaker: Max Salfinger, M.D., National Jewish Health

Learn about the changing epidemiology of drug-resistant TB in the United States and globally, as well as the various molecular laboratory assays used to diagnose TB.


Challenges Facing Infant and Pediatric Testing for Blood Infections

Our smallest patients can present challenges in obtaining sufficient samples for blood infection testing. Learn about the standard governing body guidelines available and variables to consider when sampling from this precious patient population.


AMR Through a One Health Approach: Surveillance and Monitoring of Drugs of Last Resort

Find out more ways to protect your most susceptible. Reducing the spread of AMR starts with tailoring antibiotic therapy to patients. Learn how the new Thermo Scientific™ Sensititre™ ARIS HiQ™ System* delivers the insight your team needs to successfully contain infections, expedite appropriate treatment and support antimicrobial surveillance efforts.


Culture maintenance best practices for QC organisms in a clinical laboratory

Is it three passages or five? Is it -70°C or -20°C storage? Come to find answers for best practices and stay compliant to the industry-standard culture maintenance practices. Explore how Thermo Scientific™ Culti-Loops™ enable quick and safe preparation of ATCC®** and NCTC cultures for EUCAST and CLSI routine QC testing.


Addressing the limitations of frontline ID for clinically challenging scenarios

What do you do if your mass spec solution does not give you an interpretable result? Do you have a back-up confirmation method for challenging scenarios? Learn about some quick, simple confirmation tests that can help improve your laboratory workflow and aid patient management.


Thermo Fisher Scientific’s role in the global fight against AMR

Addressing the threat of AMR, what it means for you and what are we doing to ensure you have the most appropriate treatment options for your patients.


Importance of determining true MIC by BMD (Sensititre) in infectious disease management

The success of the management of bacterial infections depends on two main factors. First, the precocity of the diagnostic, and once bacteria are identified, the determination of their antimicrobial susceptibility. This presentation will discuss how the Hospital of Caen, Normandy University overcame the limitations of some widely used AST methods by utilizing broth microdilution (BMD) and obtaining accurate MIC results with Sensititre custom plates.


Tailored Delivery System - Our most efficient prepared media delivery and stock management service

Have you ever thought about ways to reduce your laboratory’s impact on the environment? What if there was a solution that enabled you to decrease waste and costs while improving the efficiency and ergonomics of your prepared media shipments? Learn how you can simplify your inventory management with the new Tailored Delivery System.


Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: Meeting the Global Challenge of AMR

Learn how the Thermo Scientific™ Sensititre™ System is being used to support microbiology efforts in tackling AMR through a One Health approach.


How do you back up your frontline identification methods?

Problems misidentifying with mass spectrometry? Learn more about the importance of infection confirmation and options for alternative methods in this short video.


Increasing Laboratory Efficiency with Thermo Scientific Bi-plates

Do you need to be more efficient and increase the productivity in your routine lab while reducing costs? Watch now to find out how Thermo Scientific™ bi-plates can help address these challenges.


Why is AST disc quality so important? A few millimeters make the difference!

Do you want to rest assured knowing the AST results you report for your patients are right the first time every time, without unnecessary repeat tests? Watch now to learn more about the critical importance of AST disc quality.


Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) Solutions

Satisfy your antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) requirements with high performance automated and manual test products to help ensure patients are on the most appropriate treatment plan.

Learn more