Category: Congress Info

Short Oral Award 2025 at the Phage Therapy 2025 Congress

Short Oral Award 2025 at the Phage Therapy 2025 Congress

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

 

Congratulations to Anthony Vocat winner of the Short Oral Award 2025! His outstanding presentation, “Novel Mycobacteriophages as a Promising Adjunct in the Fight against Drug-Resistant TB and NTM Infections” captivated the scientific committee with its scientific rigor and real-world impact. His work highlights the innovative potential of bacteriophage therapy in addressing one of the most pressing global health challenges: drug-resistant tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections.

 

About his Research and Future Steps:

The 37-year-old Swiss microbiologist with over a decade of experience in infectious disease research, particularly Mycobacterium tuberculosis pursues a PhD at CHUV / Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois, under the supervision of Dr. Grégory Resch and Prof. Gilbert Greub within the CRISP group. His research focuses on discovering and characterizing new bacteriophages active against mycobacteria and Pseudomonas-related lung infections. The project includes isolating phages from environmental samples and developing ultra-rapid phage susceptibility testing (PST) using nanomotion technology, in collaboration with Resistell.”

Bravo Dr. Vocat for this well-deserved recognition and for pushing the boundaries of infectious disease research!

 

       

Best Innovation Award at the Phage Therapy 2025 Congress

Best Innovation Award at the Phage Therapy 2025 Congress

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

 

 

Congratulations to José Luis Bila, PhD, from Precise Health SA, Switzerland, on winning the Best Innovation Award at the Phage Therapy 2025 Congress! The winning innovation? A revolutionary digital phagogram platform that’s set to transform how we combat multidrug-resistant infections.

The Challenge: Identifying effective therapeutic phages for MDR pathogens has been painfully slow, creating critical delays when patients need treatment most urgently.

The Solution: An AI-driven identification and decision-support system that:
– Automates matching of bacterial genome sequences to optimal phages
– Connects to a global biobank network
– Dramatically compresses sample-to-treatment time
– Increases clinician confidence in treatment decisions

This breakthrough represents a major leap forward in personalized antimicrobial therapy. By leveraging artificial intelligence and global collaboration, we’re moving closer to a future where life-threatening infections can be treated with precision and speed. The implications for healthcare are enormous – faster treatment decisions, better patient outcomes, and a powerful new weapon against the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Congratulations again to the entire team at Precise Health SA!

 

           

 

Scientific Contribution Award at Targeting Phage Therapy 2025!

Scientific Contribution Award at Targeting Phage Therapy 2025!

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy
 

Congratulations to Prof. Alberto Danielli from the University of Bologna, Italy, for receiving the Scientific Contribution Award at Targeting Phage Therapy 2025! His remarkable talk, “Targeting Tumors with Engineered Phages: A New Frontier in Precision Oncology”, opened exciting perspectives on how phage technology can be harnessed to advance precision cancer therapies.

A well-deserved recognition for pioneering research at the intersection of phage engineering and oncology.

Thank you, Prof. Danielli, for your inspiring contribution to the field!

       
Join the Speakers’ Dinner of Targeting Phage Therapy 2025

Join the Speakers’ Dinner of Targeting Phage Therapy 2025

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

 

 

A Speaker’s Dinner is organized at the Restaurant Double Tree in the Hotel Hilton, Berlin, on June 10, starting at 8:00 PM. 

The dinner will be a great opportunity to enjoy a sociable evening with colleagues, speakers, and committee members of Targeting Phage Therapy around a sophisticated menu.

Tickets to the dinner include:

  • A three-course dinner
  • A selection of wine and soft drinks
  • The chance to interact with invited speakers

To reserve your spot, please register here.

Note: Dinner tickets are non-refundable. However, they can be transferred to colleagues as substitutes.

Location and Arrival Information

DoubleTree by Hilton Berlin Ku’damm
Los-Angeles-Platz 1
10789 Berlin
Germany

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the organizing committee.

[email protected]

Available Now: Abstract Book of the 8th World Conference on Phage Therapy 2025

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

The Targeting Phage Therapy 2025 Abstract Book is the official scientific publication of the 8th World Conference on Targeting Phage Therapy, held June 10–11, 2025, in Berlin. This comprehensive volume includes over 75 contributions from global experts, including keynote lectures, clinical trial updates, and poster presentations from 27 countries. It explores cutting-edge advances in phage therapy, covering:

• Human and veterinary clinical applications

• Personalized and engineered phage cocktails

• Regulatory pathways and GMP production

• Oncology, microbiome modulation, and antibiotic resistance strategies

With content from world leaders in phage research and medicine, this book offers a rich resource for clinicians, researchers, and biotech innovators. It is a must-have for those seeking to stay at the forefront of next-generation antibacterial therapies.

The book is available now for purchase: https://buy.stripe.com/eVa8Aoeez5aKdDG5kP

Concluding Remarks by Prof. Dr. Christian Willy

Concluding Remarks by Prof. Dr. Christian Willy

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

Prof. Dr. Christian Willy from Military Academic Hospital Berlin, Germany will give concluding remarks and deliver his vision on How phage therapy may evolve in the coming years.


About Prof. Dr. Christian Willy :

Prof. Willy has been actively involved in the field of phage therapy since 2016. He led the first phage treatment in Germany using Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-grade phages and has served as the consortial lead of the PhagoFlow project since 2018. His commitment extends to his role as Co-Chairman of the NATO Research Task Group “Reintroduction of phage therapy in military medical space.” Additionally, he has contributed to publications addressing the current state and future prospects of phage therapy in Germany.

Bacteriophage Therapy: From Battlefield Innovation to Civilian Healthcare Renaissance

Bacteriophage Therapy: From Battlefield Innovation to Civilian Healthcare Renaissance

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

Christian Willy

Bacteriophage therapy, once a cornerstone of military medicine, is experiencing a resurgence as a promising solution to antibiotic-resistant infections. Prof. Dr. Christian Willy, a leading figure in this revival, will present his insights at the upcoming 8th World Conference on Targeting Phage Therapy, scheduled for June 10-11, 2025, in Berlin.

Dr. Willy’s presentation, titled “Bacteriophage Therapy: A Renaissance – From Military Medicine to Civilian Healthcare,” will explore the historical use of phages, their decline with the advent of antibiotics, and their modern resurgence. He will highlight NATO and Bundeswehr-led initiatives, including the PhagoFlow project, which have demonstrated phage therapy’s efficacy in treating infected combat wounds. These military applications have paved the way for civilian use, particularly in addressing chronic, multidrug-resistant infections in septic and reconstructive surgeries.

Since 2016, Dr. Willy has been at the forefront of phage therapy in Germany, leading the first treatment using Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-grade phages and serving as the consortium lead of the PhagoFlow project since 2018. His role as Co-Chairman of the NATO Research Task Group on reintroducing phage therapy in military medical settings underscores his commitment to this field.

Breathing New Life into Cystic Fibrosis Care: Personalized Phage Therapy Takes Aim at Superbugs

Breathing New Life into Cystic Fibrosis Care: Personalized Phage Therapy Takes Aim at Superbugs

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy

In a promising breakthrough against antibiotic-resistant infections, researchers have harnessed personalized bacteriophage therapy to combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). The innovative approach—designed to exploit bacterial “trade-offs” that weaken resistance or virulence—was used to treat nine CF patients with compassionate-use nebulized phage therapy.

The results were encouraging: bacterial load in patients’ lungs dropped significantly without disturbing the broader microbiome, and no adverse effects were reported. More intriguingly, the therapy induced evolutionary changes in the bacteria that appeared to reduce both drug resistance and harmfulness. Patients also showed improved lung function, suggesting a dual benefit from reduced bacterial density and phage-driven bacterial weakening.

As the world faces a mounting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis, this targeted and evolutionary-informed strategy marks a potential paradigm shift—especially for hard-to-treat infections in chronic conditions like CF.

Dr. Gail L. Stanley, MD, MPH, will share insights from this pioneering work at the upcoming Phage Therapy 2025 conference, where global experts will explore the clinical frontier of bacteriophage-based medicine.

Keynote Speech 2025: Prof. Robert T. Schooley

Posted on by Targeting Phage Therapy
It is a great pleasure to welcome Prof. Robert Schooley, from University of California, San Diego (USA) as a key note speaker during Targeting Phage Therapy 2025, this June in Berlin.
 
He will present a talk on: Phage Therapy 2030: Getting from Here to There.
 
The use of phages in clinical medicine has been accelerating for nearly a decade and is poised to further accelerate over the foreseeable future. By 2030 it is likely that phage use will be substantially more widespread than at present. In his keynote speech, Prof. Schooley will speculate about where phage therapy we be in 2030 and what will it take to get there.
 
About Professor Robert T. Schooley
 
Robert T. Schooley, MD, is an infectious disease specialist and an expert in HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) infection and treatment. Infectious disease specialists care for patients with infections or diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. 

His research interests include influenza, global health and international medicine, and the diagnosis and management of infections that cause death and morbidity in resource-limited settings. Dr. Schooley is particularly interested in the origin and development (pathogenesis) of HIV and HIV therapy, and was one of the first researchers to describe the humoral and cellular immune responses to HIV infection.

Dr. Schooley is a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, where he has developed a multidisciplinary research program for hepatitis C.

He leads the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane-UC San Diego Medical Education Partnership Initiative and supervises postdoctoral fellows.

Dr. Schooley is extensively published, having edited numerous books and authored hundreds of articles and book chapters. He serves on the editorial board of several medical journals, including Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Clinical Infectious Diseases.

In 2013, Dr. Schooley was honored with the Best Doctors in America and America’s Top Doctors award.