Podovirus
Podovirus
Podcast Description
Phages (bacteriophages) are viruses that kill bacteria. In an age of antibiotic resistance, we need them! Luckily there are 1000s of researchers studying phages, using them, and making them available for humans (phage therapy), agriculture, and beyond!
But phages don't quite fit our modern regulatory systems, so there's lots to do.
Jessica will have conversations with guests across the phage field (and beyond - whatever it takes to get answers). From diving into current research and initiatives, to getting to the root of bottlenecks in our field, to making sense of new trends and findings.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a diverse range of topics related to phage therapy and its applications, including episodes discussing the business viability of phage therapy, personalized medicine, regulatory challenges, and microbiome editing, with specific examples such as the journey of companies like Intralytix and Phiogen Pharmaceuticals.
Phages (bacteriophages) are viruses that kill bacteria with sniper-like precision. They can be incredibly useful for treating life-threatening infections (‘phage therapy’), and can help us reduce our dependence on antibiotics. They’ve been known for 100 years… so WHY do we still not see them on the shelves?
Jessica Sacher, PhD (Staff Scientist at Stanford and cofounder of Phage Directory) and Joseph Campbell, PhD (former NIAID program officer) talk to phage therapy practitioners, researchers and entrepreneurs to understand one question: why don’t we have phage therapy yet?
Chip Schooley (UC San Diego, IPATH) and Graham Hatfull (University of Pittsburgh) join us to discuss why phage therapy needs biologists and clinicians collaborating — and what the HIV field’s playbook can teach us.
Topics covered:
• Why they organized an academic phage conference in Washington, D.C.
• The state of in vitro phage assays and the reproducibility problem
• How to design phage clinical trials that actually teach us something
• Phage resistance, fitness trade-offs, and the role of the immune system
• What HIV’s journey from 1988 to 1998 tells us about where phage therapy is headed
• Why synthetic biology is the future of phage therapeutics
• The need for young scientists entering the field
Guests:
Chip Schooley — Co-founder, IPATH Phage Therapy Center, UC San Diego. Physician behind the Tom Patterson case. HIV research veteran.
Graham Hatfull — University of Pittsburgh. Runs the world’s largest phage collection. Creator of SEA-PHAGES.
Hosts:
Jessica Sacher & Joe Campbell
Links:
IAS-USA: The conference Chip & Graham describe in the episode was sponsored by the International Antiviral Society-USA (Executive Director: Donna Jacobsen): https://www.iasusa.org/
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