Reinventing the fight against bacteria, one phage at a time.

The Invisible Arms Race: How Vibrio cholerae Outsmarts Its Viral Predators A Silent Battle Beneath Every Epidemic When we think of cholera, we often visualize the catastrophic toll it has taken on human populations: contaminated water, overwhelmed hospitals, and the urgency of humanitarian aid. Yet beneath this visible crisis lies a microscopic war that may determine the very scope and shape of each outbreak. The cholera bacterium, Vibrio cholerae , is not merely a passive pathogen—it is a highly adaptable organism entrenched in an evolutionary struggle against viruses that specialize in its destruction. These viruses, known as bacteriophages (or simply phages), infect bacteria by injecting their genetic material into them, hijacking their cellular machinery, and ultimately destroying them to release new viral progeny. Phages are not just biological curiosities; they have been shown to directly influence the spread, duration, and severity of cholera outbreaks. Some strains of phage...

Phage Therapy: Understanding the Patient Journey Through a Personalized Treatment Antibiotic resistance poses a significant challenge to modern medicine, leading to the resurgence of interest in alternative therapies such as bacteriophage therapy, or phage therapy. This approach utilizes viruses that specifically infect and kill bacteria, offering hope where traditional antibiotics fail. However, for many patients and practitioners alike, the pathway from diagnosis to treatment remains abstract and complex. By examining a typical patient’s journey through phage therapy, it becomes possible to demystify the process and highlight the personalized nature of this innovative treatment. Consider the case of Sarah, a 42-year-old woman from Boston, Massachusetts. After undergoing surgery to repair a chronic wound on her leg, Sarah developed an infection resistant to multiple antibiotics. Her infectious disease specialist recommended exploring phage therapy, which required travel to a special...

Large-Scale Evolutionary Phage Platforms: Revolutionizing the Landscape of Phage Therapy for Population-Wide Application The global threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has catalyzed renewed interest in bacteriophage therapy as an alternative or adjunct to conventional antibiotics. AMR is responsible for an estimated 1.27 million deaths annually worldwide, with projections warning of a rise to 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if no effective countermeasures are implemented (WHO, 2023; O’Neill, 2016). Phage therapy—using viruses that specifically infect and lyse bacterial pathogens—offers a promising solution due to its specificity, self-amplifying nature, and capacity to circumvent traditional antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Despite its promise, phage therapy has traditionally been constrained to personalized or compassionate use cases, where phages are isolated and matched to individual patients’ bacterial isolates. This bespoke approach, while clinically effective in ...

UCLA Samueli Announces Class of 2025 Awardees and Commencement Student Presenters Every year, the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering honors new graduates who have made special contributions and have distinguished accomplishments. The following is an overview of the 2025 schoolwide award recipients and presenters. Additional class of 2025 awardees are listed on the school’s commencement awardee page. Photo : (c) https://samueli.ucla.edu/ucla-samueli-announces-2025-awardees/ HARRY M. SHOWMAN PRIZE (graduate) Yanxi (Steven) Yang Chemical Engineering Doctor of Philosophy, Spring 2025 Yanxi (Steven) Yang is graduating with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. During his time at UCLA, Yang has been an ambassador for biomedical engineering, highlighting the discipline’s real-world impacts. His podcast, “Phage Therapy Today,” aims to bridge the information gap between academia and clinical practice by exploring the potential of bioengineered drug delivery. The program has garnered more than 7,000 ...

Phage Therapy May Treat Drug Resistance in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis, Study Finds June 13, 2025 "Yale's university researchers find a new approach to combatting antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance, in which germs like bacteria and fungi no longer respond to medicines, is a rising global threat. When antibiotics and other drugs become ineffective, infections can become difficult or impossible to treat, leading to an increase in the spread and severity of disease. In a new study, published in Nature Medicine , a team of researchers at the Center for Phage Biology and Therapy at Yale discovered a novel approach that may revolutionize the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Jon Koff, MD, with a patient Credit: Robert A. Lisak For the study, the research team investigated the use of phage therapy—the use of viruses, or phages, to target and kill bacteria—to help patients with cystic fibrosis, a disease in which antimicrobial resistance is a significant issue....

Reigniting the War on Superbugs: The Global Rise of Phage Therapy as a Market and Medical Breakthrough 1. Introduction: A Renaissance in Microbial Medicine As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reaches catastrophic levels worldwide, the search for viable alternatives to conventional antibiotics has become one of the most pressing priorities in global health. Once overlooked by Western medicine in the post-antibiotic era, phage therapy is experiencing a scientific and commercial revival. Bacteriophages—viruses that specifically infect and destroy bacteria—are no longer seen as relics of early 20th-century microbiology. Instead, they are emerging as precision-engineered therapeutics capable of addressing a medical crisis that conventional antibiotics can no longer control. According to a recent report by InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd., the global phage therapy market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.50% between 2025 and 2034 . This rapid expansion is drive...

First Cancer Patient Dosed in Groundbreaking CRISPR-Engineered Phage Therapy: SNIPR Biome Advances SNIPR001 into Phase 1b Trial Copenhagen-based biotech SNIPR Biome has reached a major milestone, today the 12th of June, in the development of precision antimicrobials by dosing the first cancer patient in its Phase 1b clinical trial of SNIPR001 , a next-generation therapy that harnesses the power of CRISPR-Cas systems combined with bacteriophage technology. This innovative approach marks a significant advancement in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, particularly in vulnerable haematological cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplantation —a population at heightened risk of life-threatening bacterial infections. Trial Overview and Patient Population The Phase 1b study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 24 patients with haematological malignancies across eight leading clinical centers in the United States . These patients are undergoing...