2025 Conference on Bacteriophages: Webcasts

Workshop 1: Workshop on Bacteriophage Clinical Trial Design and Regulatory Approaches for Bacteriophage Approval

Three presentations on clinical trial designs for bacteriophage therapy targeting antimicrobial-resistant and mycobacterial infections, with attention to regulatory considerations for treatment approval. It included a discussion and Q&A session, allowing for an interactive exchange of ideas and insights.

Convener: Constance A. Benson, MD, University of California San Diego, USA

Considerations for Clinical Trials in Bacteriophages
Vance G. Fowler, MD, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

Practical Considerations for Clinical Trial Design and Analysis of Mycobacteriophage Treatment of NTM: The Design of the POSTSTAMP Trial
Jerry A. Nick, MD, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA

Regulatory Considerations and Data Update for Development and Clinical Use for Phage-Based Antimicrobials
Cara R. Fiore, PhD, United States Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA, and Timothy Brennan, MD, PhD, United States Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA

Workshop 2: Preclinical Models

Three presentations on bacteriophage preclinical models evaluating the safety and efficacy of bacteriophage therapy prior to clinical trials. It included a discussion and Q&A session, allowing for an interactive exchange of ideas and insights.

Convener: Paul L. Bollyky, MD, Stanford University, CA, USA

Mycobacteriophage in Animal Models
Sasha Akins, PhD, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, WA, USA

Pulmonary Phage Therapy: Lessons From the Murine Model
Laurent Debarbieux, PhD, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System for Phage Biology
Patrick Secor, PhD, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA

Opening Session

Evolution of Antiviral Immunity
Philip J. Kranzusch, PhD, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA

Phage Therapy From Bench to Bedside, and Back Again
Daria Van Tyne, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Morning Symposium: The Bacteriophage Landscape: Diversity and Evolution In Vitro and In Vivo

Three presentations focusing on bacteriophage diversity, the changing nature of bacteriophages, and the hidden reservoir of bacteriophages. It included a discussion and Q&A session, allowing for an interactive exchange of ideas and insights.

Conveners:Michael T. Laub,PhD,Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA, and Daria Van Tyne, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Diversity of Microviruses: What We Know and What We Don’t Know
Paul Kirchberger, PhD, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

Phage Evolution in Vitro and In Vivo
Paul E. Turner, PhD, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Prophages: The Hidden Defense Reservoir
Karen Maxwell, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada

Oral Abstract Session 1: Bacteriophage Biology

Conveners:Jonathan Iredell, University of Sydney, Australia, and Karen Maxwell, University of Toronto, Canada

New Views of Phage Tail Assembly and Disassembly
Alan Davidson, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada

Oral Abstract Session 2: Clinical Applications of Bacteriophages

Conveners: Constance A. Benson, MD, and Gina A. Suh, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

Assessment of Phage Susceptibility Testing Reproducibility and Agreement Between Methods
Robin Patel, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

Afternoon Symposium: Lessons from the Clinic: Exploiting Bacteriophage Biology to Enhance Success

Conveners: Cara R. Fiore, PhD, United States Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA, and Gina A. Suh, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

Phage-Induced Immunity
Anthony Maresso, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

Phages vs. Biofilms: Advancing Phage Therapy for Complex Prosthetic Joint Infections due to Staphylococci
Tristan Ferry, MD, PhD, University Lyon, France

Innovating Phage Therapy for Respiratory Infections
Jonathan Koff, MD, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Morning Symposium: Bacteriophage Resistance, Synergy, Tradeoffs: Mechanisms and Consequences

Conveners: Joseph Bondy-Denomy, PhD, University of California San Francisco, USA, and Britt Koskella, PhD, University of California Berkeley, USA

Exploiting the Features of Mobile Genetic Elements to Identify Antiphage Defenses
Breck Duerkop, PhD, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora CO, USA

Fellowship of the Phage: The Interplay of Microbial Communities and Bacteriophages
Meaghan Castledine, PhD, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, England, UK

Mapping the Landscape of Anti-Phage Defense Systems
Michael T. Laub, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

Oral Abstract Session: Bacteriophage Structure, Synthesis, and Engineering

Conveners:Jose R. Penades, PhD, Imperial College London, and Paul Turner, PhD, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Integrating Phage Biology and Therapeutic Potential
Martha R. J. Clokie, PhD, University of Leicester, United Kingdom

Afternoon Symposium: Bacteriophage Engineering, Synthetic Biology, and Advancing Therapeutic Utility

Conveners: Paul L. Bollyky, MD, Stanford University, CA, USA, and Jonathan Iredell, University of Sydney, Australia

Synthetic Phage Genomes: Assembly and Rebooting
Erica Hartmann, PhD, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Systematic High-Throughput Characterization of Phage-Host Interactions to Build Predictive Models of Phage Susceptibility
Vivek Mutalik, PhD, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, CA, USA

Predictive Phage Therapy: The Use of Machine Learning to Help Develop Effective Phage Interventions
David Gally, PhD, University of Edinburgh, Scotland