Scientist: Bacteriophage Therapy and Staphylococcus aureus

This project is aimed at evaluating the use of bacteriophage to treat Staphyloccocus aureus colonization and/or disease in order to better combat multi-antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. A major goal of this project is to establish and utilize animal models to investigate the potential of phage treatment against S. aureus to decolonize the upper respiratory tract and/or to treat S. aureus infections. However, other aspects will delve into aspects of the genetics of bacteriophage that are relevant to their deployment in these contexts. These include genetic mechanisms of bacterial resistance to phage and mechanisms of phage adaptation to infect different or new hosts.

Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will be involved with the following project activities: animal models of infection and phage treatment, isolation of mutant bacterial and bacteriophage strains, genetic engineering of bacterial and bacteriophage strains, isolation of bacteriophage from natural sources, next generation DNA sequence analysis.