Steven Rehse

Lecture to explore use of lasers to detect and identify bacteria

The last 10 years have seen a marked rise in the number of serious public-health incidents related to infections caused by bacterial pathogens, ranging from contaminated drinking water and foods to antibiotic-resistant infections – even threats related to bio-terrorism.

In this context, the inability to quickly detect and identify bacteria is a troubling gap in the modern suite of medical diagnostics. Most modern bacterial testing can take days.