About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in clinical microbiology and its potential to replace traditional antimicrobial susceptibility tests.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (or MALDI) has revolutionized the clinical microbiology laboratory, enabling rapid, accurate and cheap identification of bacteria, yeast, moulds and mycobacteria. In most labs, it has become a verb (I maldi'ed it). But – can it replace our antimicrobial susceptibility tests? Let's find out! Guests: Dr. Frieder Schaumburg Niklas Wiesmann

People in this episode

Guests: Dr. Frieder Schaumburg, Niklas Wiesmann

Topics covered

• mass spectrometry
• clinical microbiology
• antimicrobial susceptibility testing
• bacterial identification
• yeast identification
• fungal identification

Keywords

• MALDI
• mass spectrometry
• clinical microbiology
• bacteria identification
• antimicrobial susceptibility
• yeast
• fungi
• mycobacteria

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Society for Microbiology

Products: MALDI-TOF

More episodes of Editors in Conversation

• Why Your Lab QC Might Be Missing Critical Errors · April 24, 2026 · 41 min
• Phage JS1: The Virus Breaking the Rules · April 10, 2026 · 41 min
• Urine-based Testing to Detect HPV · March 27, 2026 · 37 min
• The Aerobiome - The Hidden Biology of Air · March 20, 2026 · 38 min
• Fungi in a Warming World: Climate, Candida auris, and the Next Microbial Frontier - with Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D. · February 26, 2026 · 45 min
• Best AMR papers of 2025: A Collaboration between AAC and JID for IMARI · February 6, 2026 · 51 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Editors in Conversation podcast page.