This Is Only A Test

Ep. 5: "Using The Right Tool!" - This Is Only A Test

On Episode 5 of “This Is Only A Test,” Mickey Urdea takes on one of the most fundamental challenges in modern diagnostics: using the right tool for the job. As scientists gain deeper insight into the complexities of human biology - from the genome and transcriptome to proteins, metabolites, and entire cell populations - the technologies used to study them are evolving just as quickly. Choosing the correct technology at the right stage can mean the difference between a promising discovery and a successful clinical diagnostic. In this episode, Mickey walks through the journey from biomarker discovery to validation and ultimately clinical diagnostics, exploring the platforms that power each step. Along the way, he compares the strengths and limitations of tools like NGS, advanced immunoassays, mass spectrometry, and spatial biology techniques. From massive sequencing projects and the Human Cell Atlas to multiplex protein assays and single-cell metabolomics, researchers are navigating an explosion of biological data while still uncovering how much we have yet to learn about human disease. So before you pick up a pipette, make sure you’ve chosen the right tool. Join Mickey for a tour through the technologies shaping the future of biomarker science on “Using The Right Tool!”

Ep. 4: "Getting Our Heads Around TBI!"

On this episode of "This Is Only A Test", Mickey Urdea is banging his head against the issue of traumatic brain injuries, or TBI! Globally, 69 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries every year, yet there have been very few successful quantifiable diagnostics available aside from field tests for noticeable symptoms. Mickey goes deep into the known diagnosable symptoms of TBI, the FDA-approved tests in the field, and the latest research on acetylated tau proteins as a surrogate endpoint. Now strap your helmet on and brace for impact on "Getting Our Heads Around TBI!"

Ep. 3: "Learning To Live With The Fungus Among Us!"

On the third episode of This Is Only A Test, Mickey Urdea is breaking the mold to talk to you about mold! Mycology, the study of the Kingdom of Fungi, might not get the spotlight as often as Animals or Plants (heck, maybe even less than some Protists) but the powerful Fungus plays a key cog in the cycle of life on Earth, especially in regard to their roles as decomposers (Wolfgang Amadeus Moldzart, anyone?) and as food fermenters. But don't break out the Roquefort just yet, as mold can also cause debilitating disease in humans, from the emerging fungus C. auris, which can cause severe multidrug-resistant illness in hospitalized patients, to ergotism, a poisoning predominantly caused by infected rye which can cause gangrenous symptoms (think a Pieter Bruegel painting [https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/Mind_and_Spirit/images/fungi/ergot/Victims_of_ergotism_PieterBruege_painting_Louvre_lg.jpg]) and delirious hallucinations that border on madness (think a Hieronymus Bosch painting [https://hyperallergic.com/711567/how-bosch-experienced-his-own-kind-of-hell/]); in fact, some hypothesize that ergot poisoning can explain away the Dancing Plague of 1518, and maybe even the Salem Witch Trials! Mickey covers it all, as well as the latest diagnostic technologies and methodologies which are helping to test and treat neglected mycological diseases. So douse your tempeh in soy sauce and grab a bottle of Chianti, it's time for "Learning To Live With The Fungus Among Us!"

Ep. 2: “Gaining An Aptitude For Aptamers!”

On Episode 2 of "This Is Only A Test", Mickey Urdea is thrilled to be finally talking about APTAMERS! Aptamers are generally defined as oligomers of artificial ssDNA, RNA, or XNA which bind a specific target molecule or family or target molecules, and despite some Nobel Prize-winning work in the field, they have been underutilized for immunoassay development – until now! If Mickey has his way, you will walk away from this episode champing at the bit to get your hands on some aptamers. So please enjoy this overview of the development of the use of aptamers in immunoassays, the latest innovations and breakthroughs in those methodologies, and the determined companies working to harness those technologies. Get rapt to be apt at aptamers! Click HERE [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mhxgUj6tKbEtLJYL5RhnzHQDB5DIbbnw/view?usp=sharing] for all the slides presented in this episode.

Ep. 1: "Moving To The Rhythm of Algorithms!"

In the debut episode of "This Is Only A Test", Dr. Mickey Urdea is marching to his own rhythm - his own algorithm, that is! In order to help you understand how modern diagnostic technologies utilize mathematical algorithms, Mickey is covering the ABCs on AUC, scouring the rock bottom of ROC curves, and connecting the algebraic work of 7th century Persian polymath Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi to today's best practices for diagnostic testing. You don't have to rhumba to move to the rhythm of algorithms!