Translating phage-based applications into clinically and commercially viable therapeutics

Dr Benjamin Chan

Dr David Pride

Dr Richard Alm

Richard joined CARB-X as an Alliance Director following almost 20 years in large pharma Infection R&D teams followed by 4 years at a small antibacterial biotech company.  He has supported the progression of small molecule compounds from discovery through to late-stage clinical development.  He obtained his PhD in molecular microbiology from the University of Adelaide, and prior to joining industry he held two post-doctoral positions in the AMR area, one in Australia and one in Canada. Richard is also a consultant on the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance for the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Dave Ousterout

Dave Ousterout is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer for Locus Biosciences. Dave holds a PhD from Duke University where he developed novel gene editing approaches for correcting mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His expertise is in protein engineering and early stage applications of new technologies to treat human diseases. At Locus, Dave is responsible for development of Locus’s crPhage platform and early stage product development. Prior to Locus, Dave was a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Dr Joe Campbell

I am a program officer in the division of microbiology and infections diseases (DMID) in the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). My primary role is running the base contract under which our in vitro testing pre-clinical services are conducted (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/vitro-assessment-antimicrobial-activity-resources). In addition, I am involved in the running of contracts in our pre-clinical models of diseases base contract (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/pre-clinical-models-infectious-disease). Finally, I run DMID’s bacteriophage interest group.  The goal of this group is to work with the FDA and other federal agencies to promote the clinical use of bacteriophages.

Dr Shawna McCallin

Dr Henry Chambers

Dr Minmin Yen

Dr. Yen is a 2018 MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35 and a microbiologist with a global health and program management background. Since co-founding PhagePro, Dr. Yen has received numerous awards and won several startup competitions recognizing her innovative leadership in global health, such as the ASTMH Innovations Pitch Competition and LaunchBio's The Big Pitch. She has been selected for several fellowships, including the MassNextGen Fellowship for women-led early-stage life science businesses, The Capital Network Female Founder Fellowship, and the Henri Termeer Legacy Program. An advocate for DEI in both biotech and global health communities, Dr. Yen strives to center the voices and the needs of the most marginalized.

Tobi Nagel

Photo Credit: Mark Warren

Phages for Global Health is a nonprofit organization that facilitates the application of phages to combat antimicrobial resistance in developing countries. We accomplish this mission in two general ways: by delivering laboratory training workshops through which we teach scientists in developing countries how to isolate and characterize phages locally; and by partnering with developing world researchers to co-develop phage products for specific applications in their countries. Before founding Phages for Global Health, Tobi had 15 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry where she worked with international teams to co-develop products that have been tested in over 80 clinical trials worldwide.

Frenk Smrekar

Dr Danish Malik

Dr Nick Conley

Dr. Nick Conley is Principal Scientist for Locus Biosciences.  Before joining Locus in 2018, Nick was co-founder of EpiBiome, a South San Francisco-based precision microbiome engineering company that built the world’s first fully automated high-throughput phage discovery, characterization, and genomics platform, where he served in various roles, including CEO and Chief Science Officer.  During this time, the company gained admission into Illumina Accelerator, Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s JLABS, and Stanford-StartX; secured non-dilutive funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Department of Defense; established a top-3 pharma partnership; and raised more than $10 million dollars in financing.  Prior to EpiBiome, Nick was Staff Scientist at HGST, a Western Digital Company.  Nick completed a postdoc in Developmental Biology at Stanford University, and he holds a PhD and BS in Chemistry from Stanford University and The University of Texas at Austin, respectively.

Dr Sailaja Puttagunta

Dr Graham Hatfull

Dr Barbara Hubad

Dr Subhendu Basu

Ella Balasa

Tell me about… your business

I am a patient advocate, a scientist, a freelance writer, and a person living with cystic fibrosis. Over the past few years, I have become involved in the CF community through serving on research committees, organizing CF virtual events, serving as a director for the US Adult CF Association, and speaking at both local and national levels to raise awareness for CF and shed light to the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance to the CF population. Having a degree in biology, I have worked in an environmental microbiology lab and I've dedicated my work to studying antibiotic resistant organisms and genes from an environmental perspective in surface waters affected by anthropogenic sources. As a patient, I find fascinating the connection between the bacteria that live in the lungs of those affected by CF and the way these same organisms thrive in the environment.

Along with an interest in science, I have developed an interest for writing. I have been able to provide a scientific voice and encourage empowerment to the CF community by occasionally writing about my research experiences as well as introspectively writing about the increasing hardship yet countless triumphs that come along with living a life with a chronic disease.

Dr Peter Beyer

Peter Beyer, a trained lawyer, is a Senior Advisor with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva where he leads a team working on global initiatives on antimicrobial resistance. He focuses on developing global instruments to combat antimicrobial resistance and to foster the development of new antimicrobial treatments. Peter was instrumental in setting up the Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP), a foundation that is developing new antibacterial treatments as well as the trilateral collaboration among the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and WHO. Previously, Peter Beyer was a Legal Advisor to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Berne. He negotiated bilateral free trade agreements for the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and was responsible for the bilateral dialogue between Switzerland and China on intellectual property. Prior to joining the Swiss civil service, Peter Beyer worked with the Ecologic Institute in Berlin on environmental law and policy.

Lorenzo Corsini

Lorenzo is co-founder and co-CEO of PhagoMed, a biotech company developing targeted antimicrobials to treat microbiome-related conditions based on endolysins. From 2008 to 2017, he worked for the Boston Consulting Group. In his latest function as a Principal, he was advising pharmaceutical companies on topics ranging from corporate strategy to efficiency and quality in manufacturing, and leading large teams of consultants across multiple projects. Before, he did his PhD in molecular biology at EMBL Heidelberg. Lorenzo has diploma degrees in biochemistry and business administration.