Britt Koskella, PhD

Since their discovery in the early 20th century, bacteriophages (viruses that infect and kill bacteria) have been thought to have unlimited but relatively untapped utility in controlling bacterial pathogens. The use of phages in clinical and agricultural settings has always been an afterthought in light of the powerful killing abilities of antibiotics. However, the impending antibiotic crisis has rejuvenated interest in phage therapy. Furthermore, the rapidly increasing interest in the microbiome across the clinical and agricultural sectors has also fueled interest in how phages might be used to regulate and manipulate microbial communities within hosts. In this talk I will first explore what we know about phages in nature, and then discuss how this knowledge can be translated to benefit human health and agricultural sustainability. I will highlight both the numerous promising areas where phages can be and are already being applied, but also describe the existing limitations and concerns about taking phage therapy prime time.