Recent News 79 : “Applied science at its best” - Sir Richard Leese on our research into ‘phage therapy

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“Applied science at its best” - Sir Richard Leese on our research into ‘phage therapy


The University of Salford welcomed co-chair of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, Sir Richard Leese, to our Cockcroft building and Maker Space this week. 

Sir Richard was shown around by Professor of Microbiology, Chloe James and her team of PhD students and given insight into our research into 'phage therapy' as treatment to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The day started with a look around the Cockcroft laboratories, where Professor James and her PhD students have been researching different 'phages' – some which form partnerships with the bacteria they infect, and others which can be developed and used for 'phage therapy'.

Bacteriophages, or 'phages' are viruses that infect bacteria – they selectively target and kill bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. The human body contains trillions of bacteriophages that influence human health. 'Phages' have been in an evolutionary battle with their bacterial hosts for millions of years and are the most abundant and diverse organisms on the planet.

Professor James said: 'Initially we thought that people would be hesitant to accept a virus as a treatment, however it was interesting to see that during the pandemic, people were willing to take the vaccines, despite some being developed from a virus.'

The University aims to enable more effective production of phage therapy for compassionate use in the UK, starting by campaigning in the House of Lords earlier this year for more investment in phage production infrastructures and information about bacteriophages to appear in the national curriculum.

Sir Richard Leese, Chair of the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board and Co-Chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, said: "This is very much applied science at its best and given that in the health world we always need to be finding new solutions, this really is excellent stuff and it's also very interesting too."

The day then continued with some time spent in the Maker Space, which contains giant-sized models of bacteriophages as well as a virtual reality programme that shows how 'phages' attack bacteria and can kill even those that are resistant to antibiotics.

The World Health Organisation considers antimicrobial resistance one of the leading threats to global health, therefore it is critical that extensive research is done into phage therapy. "Antimicrobial resistance causes over 35,000 deaths annually in the EU and threatens to undermine modern medicine," said Prof James. "Bacteriophages have always existed, but new technology means that we now have the capacity to deploy them much more effectively."

The team were joined by collaborators from Liverpool University’s CF-Trailfinder Innovation Hub who discussed their work developing phage therapy for people with cystic fibrosis. “These collaborations demonstrate a great example of how joined up teams can achieve so much more”, Chloe said.

Compared to the money spent on non-healing wounds, phage therapy is likely to cost much less. A landmark clinical study in Belgium has shown really promising results, but there’s still much work to be done in educating publics and health professionals to prepare us all for this upcoming new type of therapy. The University of Salford team has developed a range of educational tools that have been really effective in aiding dialogue on phages with a range of stakeholders and our latest work with creative tech experts puts phages in augmented reality so people from different backgrounds can learn about their diversity and the different ways that they can be used.

"I’ve visited the University a number of times over the years and have always been impressed by the work around Energy House and the built environment’ said Sir Richard. 'More recently, I’ve seen a growing focus on health and health applications. The variety of work here is very much geared towards practical application—it’s fascinating, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing it."

For all press office enquiries please email communications@salford.ac.uk.

Copyright belongs to, article taken from : https://www.salford.ac.uk/news/applied-science-at-its-best-sir-richard-leese-on-our-research-into-phage-therapy

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