Majd Tarabichi, MD

Since Nobel Laureates J. Robin Warren, AC, and Barry J. Marshall, AC, FRACP, FRS, FAA, DSc, implicated Helicobacter pylori as a causative agent in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease, infection has been proposed as the root cause of multiple disease processes. In recent years, the collection of all the microorganisms living in association with the human body, otherwise known as the microbiome, has gained much attention. Attention to this topic peaked when the White House announced the $121-million National Microbiome Initiative.

In 1881, Robert Koch, MD, was credited for being the first person to develop the method for isolating infecting organisms using the culture medium. Since then, microbiologic culture has been the “gold standard” for the identification of infecting organisms. This development marked a revolution in microbiological methods and has been the cornerstone of isolating the infecting organism and implementing the appropriate antimicrobial treatment in many specialties in medicine. Interestingly, the method of culture described by Koch has undergone little change during the last 2 centuries.