In this exciting podcast, Fatima AlZahra´a Alatraktchi, Ph.D., nanophysics, discusses bacteria communication and the future of diagnosing infection.

Fatima AlZahra´a Alatraktchi is a celebrated nanophysicist. Her innovative research garnered her the Ph.D. thesis of the year award for, Micro- and nano-sensors for early diagnosis of bacterial infections. Fatima talks about her interests and the pathway she took to begin her current bacteria research. She discusses how her primary goal was to isolate the molecules that allow bacteria to communicate, with an objective of developing sophisticated prediagnostic tools that can diagnose infections in their earliest stages. Fatima draws comparisons between the human world and the bacteria world as she outlines how bacteria communicate with each other to accomplish tasks in a collective manner in order to support the bacteria community’s overall success.

The nanophysics expert explains how she and her team seek to fully understand bacteria colonization. And she discusses cooperation between various bacteria strains, highlighting how they sometimes compete with other potentially adversarial bacteria communities. Fatima talks extensively on bacteria secretion and outlines her team’s work in regard to current medical practices used to detect infection.

Finally, Fatima provides a detailed overview of her method and describes how it is based on a nanosensor and is thus more efficient, faster, and significantly more sensitive than other methods in the field.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed