#11: Wait! There’s a lung microbiome?!

In this episode our guest is Dr. Robert Dickson a Pulmonologist from the University of Michigan who studies the respiratory microbiome. We discuss how the lung microbiome differs in health, chronic illness and acute disease states like pneumonia, sepsis and ARDS. The lung microbiome has the ability to predict frequency of exacerbations and even severity and progression of certain lung diseases. We’ll explore all of this plus Dr. Dickson’s new paper published last month in Nature Microbiology, which had the surprise of finding gut bacteria in the lungs during critical illness. Please enjoy this wide ranging discussion