Janet Liu

Choosing the Right Bacteria and Antibiotic in Novel Anti-infective Discovery The development of new drugs to treat infectious diseases requires a great understanding of bacteria and their primary sites of infection. Antibiotic selection should be characterized by two things: 1)…

Introduction Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound, derived from the Cannabis sativa plant, that can be extracted either for medicinal use or as a nutritional supplement. Over the years, there is accumulating evidence that cannabinoids are beneficial for a…

In this video we provide an overview of the European Food Safety Authority’s guidance on antimicrobial testing of microbes used in animal feed. Slide 1: Hello everyone! My name is Dr. Janet Liu, and I am the Director of Microbiology…

The global COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased the demand for disinfection products. Of these, one of the most popular sterilizers that consumers have turned to are UV sterilizers. The principle of UV sterilization lies in the ultraviolet light that lends…

Probiotics, broadly defined as microorganisms that confer a health benefit when consumed or applied, have become a hot area of research and commercial activity in recent years. This is most evident by a quick stroll down the supplements aisle in…

There has been a growing trend among pharmaceutical and biotech companies to abandon their antibacterial research and development efforts. Big companies like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, to name just a few, have come to the decision that the potential commercial…

Each year, it is estimated that there are over 2 million antibiotic-resistant infections in the United States alone. Of these, approximately 23,000 infections result in fatalities [1]. A major driving force behind the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the increasing…

Trillions of microorganisms live in and on our body. It is estimated that there are 10-100 trillion microbes in a healthy human microbiome, outnumbering human cells by about 10 to 1. But they are not just mere passengers; in fact,…

Prenatal screening tests are carried out at different stages in pregnancy and are extremely valuable in preventing diseases in newborns. One of the most important prenatal tests is for Group B Streptococcus (GBS). The Group B Strep screening during pregnancy…

It is well known to most of us that bacteria cause some of the deadliest infectious diseases in humans and animals, but did you know that bacteria can also cause cancer? This is true in the case of Helicobacter pylori…