Jun 10, 2020
As a clinical assistant professor of medicine and
infectious diseases at Stanford University, Dr. Jake Scott
spends his days diagnosing and treating a variety of
infectious diseases. He joins the show to discuss the details
of this interesting work.
Tune in to discover:
When Dr. Scott tells people what he does for a living, most people think his work pertains only to exotic, rare contagious diseases, such as Ebola or COVID-19. In reality, he also deals with very common infections, such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and appendicitis. He also focuses on the diagnosis and management of patients with HIV.
In light of the increasing and deadly threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria, one of the most important aspects of his job has to do with “antimicrobial stewardship,” which is to protect the antibiotics we currently have by prescribing them as carefully as possible. This means prescribing the right dose of the right type of antibiotic for the right duration. Accomplishing this relies upon the ability to quickly identify the specific pathogen at hand using advanced technology.
Dr. Scott explains new types of antibiotics that could hold
promise in the fight against drug resistance, and the major
challenge in getting these drugs to market and keeping them there.
He stresses the importance of raising more awareness about drug
resistance and incentivizing companies and research institutions to
focus on the development of novel and effective antimicrobial
drugs.
He also reminds us that the organisms we’re trying to fight with
antibiotics have been ready to be resistant for millions of years;
the mechanism of resistance is quite literally built into these
organisms, and they outweigh us by a billion-fold or more. If
nothing else, this fact should compel us to do more.
Available on Apple podcast: apple.co/2Os0myK