[Aquaphage] Fwd: IPATH Quarterly Newsletter: October 2022

[Michelle Thompson]

Most recent IPATH newsletter.

-Michelle Thompson




---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: IPATH <elampley at health.ucsd.edu>
Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2022 at 9:24 AM
Subject: IPATH Quarterly Newsletter: October 2022
To: <mountain.michelle at gmail.com>


Read about IPATH's latest updates and collaborations
*Quarterly Newsletter*
Each quarter, the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics
(IPATH) aims to share the most relevant bacteriophage therapy news,
publications and updates, as well as highlight researchers in the field and
passionate advocates.
IPATH Stories
*NIH-Supported Phage Therapy Clinical Trial *

[image: Pseudomonas Aeruginosa]
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=1aabd6bdfe&e=9b19ce046e>

IPATH is excited to share that the National Institutes of Health
(NIH)-supported phage therapy clinical trial, titled A Phase 1b/2 Trial of
the Safety and Microbiological Activity of Bacteriophage Therapy in Cystic
Fibrosis Subjects Colonized With *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=2026c81ddd&e=9b19ce046e>,
has began this month under the leadership of IPATH Co-Director, Dr. Robert
Schooley. This long-awaited trial plans to enroll 72 participants across 16
cystic fibrosis centers throughout the United States, including a site at
UC San Diego. Participants in this trial will receive a single IV infusion
of WRAIR-PAM-CF1, which contains four anti-*Pseudomonas*
phages. Researchers will study the safety and microbiological activity of
the phages in enrolled patients.

For more information on the trial please see the NIH press release
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=c5da9f1599&e=9b19ce046e>
, ClinicalTrials.gov
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=9b21c4b095&e=9b19ce046e>
or
IPATH's FAQs
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=5817ab10e0&e=9b19ce046e>
on the trial.
*Dr. Elizabeth Kutter Visits IPATH*

[image: Betty Kutter and IPATH Lab]

IPATH was honored to host Faculty Emeritus from The Evergreen State
College, Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Kutter, last month in San Diego. Dr. Kutter
generously shared part of her well-known phage library, in person with
IPATH, and was even able to give an exciting talk about her work throughout
her 60-year career in phage research. Dr. Kutter's presentation was very
well attended, but for those who were unable to join live, they can view
the recorded talk on IPATH's website HERE
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=905565f435&e=9b19ce046e>
.

IPATH is very grateful for this amazing opportunity to connect and partner
with such a celebrity of the phage research community.
*IPATH Collaborations in Brazil*


This summer IPATH had two medical students, one from UC San Diego, Job
Shiach, and one from the University of Missouri, Nicole Hitchcock, travel
to Salvador, Brazil to conduct phage work with local researchers at
SENAI-CIMATEC led by Dr. Roberto Badaró (SENAI-CIMATEC lab members and
Nicole pictured above). Job worked in Brazil for one month, and Nicole has
an entire year of work planned there. Job was nice enough to write about
his experience in Brazil and share it with the IPATH community here. Below
is Job's writing describing his experience in Brazil and how he got there.





*"I met Dr. Badaró at a dinner with the IPATH team after Dr. Schooley
mentioned a potential opportunity to work with phage in Brazil. We spent
the dinner talking about the culture, food and weather in San Diego and
Salvador, Brazil, sailing, surfing, COVID infection, and of course,
bacteriophage. At the end of the dinner Dr. Badaró shook my hand and said,
"We’ll see you in Brazil”. Two months later, I was in Salvador, Brazil at
SENAI-CIMATEC meeting the team and touring the labs I’d spend the next
month in. My goals for the summer were to train a small team of scientists
on how to discover and characterize bacteriophage, help build
collaborations with local hospitals to acquire infectious, drug-resistant
bacteria of interest, discover phages, and learn to samba. [image:
Antibiogram of Klebsiella pneumoniae]When I arrived the team had already
filled a fridge with dozens of environmental samples from across the city
so we could hit the ground running. We started isolating Klebsiella
pneumoniae phage because it is relatively easy to grow and a major cause of
hospital-acquired infection in hospitals across Salvador. In our first
batch we found eight unique bacteriophages! Thanks to Dr. Badaró we were
also able to expedite IRB approval to collect bacteria from a local
hospital to characterize their antibiotic resistance and also to test our
phages against. To test antibiotic resistance, we do what’s called an
antibiogram placing small paper discs each containing an antibiotic onto a
petri dish containing the bacteria of interest. If the bacteria are killed
by the antibiotic there will be a large, clear circle around the disc. If
resistant, the bacteria will grow right up to the disc. Of the K.
pneumoniae strains we received all of them were resistant to multiple
antibiotics and one was resistant to every antibiotic we had available
(pictured above). To test the phage against different strains of bacteria,
we place a small drop (~2µl) of each phage in buffer around a similarly
growing petri dish. Just in the first round of phage discovery we found 3
phages capable of killing that pan-drug resistant strain of K. pneumoniae
we named CKP1.*

*Now, I am back in San Diego along with a few of the bacteriophage found in
Brazil to sequence them, and hopefully add to the repertoire of phages
being used at UC San Diego to treat patients who need them. I am looking
forward to returning to Salvador in the near future to continue this
collaboration and learn to samba."*
Faculty and Staff Profile
[image: Kanza Batool]
Kanza Batool, Visiting Graduate Student


*Where is your hometown?*
My hometown is Lahore, Pakistan

*How did you first get involved with IPATH?*
Actually my field of interest is dealing with phages. I am also doing phage
research in my PhD. While I was applying for my scholarship, I saw a
documentary with Dr. Pride *(W5: Using phage therapy to combat
drug-resistant superbugs **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JasJ_63zqfw*
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=6dbae6b94c&e=9b19ce046e>*
)*. That inspired me a lot to get in touch with IPATH and have some new
experiences and be a part of this innovative research.

*What has surprised you most by working at IPATH and with phage therapy?*
The most inspiring event is the story of Tom Patterson's recovery through
phage therapy. I also have heard a lot about diabetic patients whose wounds
were recovered by phage therapeutics. This is a true alternative therapy
for many bacterial infections emerging nowadays, especially because of
multidrug-resistant superbugs which are unable to be treated by traditional
medication.

*What projects are you currently working on?*
Currently, I am working on two projects. One is dealing with the *Escherichia
coli* phages, that can be used against ESBL *E. coli *to treat various
infections, and checking their synergies with antibiotics. The other
project is dealing with phage hunting for multidrug-resistant *Staphylococcus
aureus *(MRSA) which is of high concern *.*

*What is your favorite part about working at IPATH?*
Most importantly, I love and enjoy working at IPATH because whatever I do,
I always have in my mind that my little efforts can definitely contribute
in saving someone’s life. This is my faith which always made me motivated
toward my work and contributions day by day. Another best part of working
here is synchronization of colleagues who are so cooperative which also
contribute to my motivation all the time.

*What research goals do you hope to achieve in the future?*
My main research goal is to implement whatever I learn here at IPATH at my
home institute (Institute of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,
University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan). It could be an opportunity to
enhance methodology and lab practices at my home institute that will help
most in productive phage hunting. It will also be a great collaboration
with IPATH so that we can also send our potential phages to IPATH to
contribute in clinical trials.

*What is an interesting or fun fact about you?*
Fun fact is that I never get tired of my work because I really enjoy
working with phages. I also love to travel and explore new places.
Phage Therapy in the News
[image: Artwork for podcast Febrile]

Dr. Saima Aslam on: Phage Hunt
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=073279b3e9&e=9b19ce046e>
Febrile Podcast |  August 29, 2022
[image: Fig. 3: Flexibly attached N- and C-terminal segments mediate
self-assembly of the chimallin shell.]
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=6f599be0ac&e=9b19ce046e>
Architecture and self-assembly of the jumbo bacteriophage nuclear shell
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=74ae0408a0&e=9b19ce046e>
Nature |  August 03, 2022
Gifts
We have created a unique gift program where for $10,000 you can
specifically direct your gift to phage hunting (for phages such as
*Staphylococcus aureus,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus, Klebsiella, or E. coli *phages) and
the naming of a new phage.

If you are interested in contributing to our fight against antibiotic
resistance, online gifts of any amount can be made through the button
below, or by contacting our Executive Director of Development, Teri
McIntyre, tlmcintyre at ucsd.edu.
Donate Now
<https://ucsd.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=229bb3861fe841bdbe5c4c921&id=a1e4b5c773&e=9b19ce046e>

Contact Us
Have an idea for our next newsletter?

We welcome all ideas and feedback. Please contact ipath at health.ucsd.edu
<ipath at health.ucsd.edu?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback> with feedback or
suggestions for our next quarterly newsletter.
Thank you for reading!
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