“Impact of phages on cholera and their use in preventing infection”

Phages play major roles in the ecology and evolution of bacteria, including many human pathogens. We found that cholera patients often shed stools with high titers of one of three species of  phages. We provide evidence that these three phages prey extensively on V. cholerae within the human gastrointestinal tract, and impact the infection, dissemination, transmission and evolution of V. cholerae. Indeed, we hypothesize these phages have evolved specifically to multiply on V. cholerae during human infection as opposed to in the environment. By combining these phages, we have developed a product that can prevent cholera when administered up to 24 h prior to exposure.

Biography:

Andrew Camilli is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Microbiology at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.  He earned a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, then did postdoctoral training at the Harvard University School of Medicine.  He has been a faculty member at Tufts University since 1995.  His laboratory investigates the virulence and transmission properties of human pathogens, and are developing vaccines and bacteriophage products to prevent infections.