Happy to share some recent "summer science" papers from our lab. First, former graduate student @emmamills1.bsky.social's second dissertation paper on culture-enriched metagenomics of VREfm was published in Microbial Genomics @microbiologysociety.org www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Culture-enriched metagenomic sequencing reveals within-patient diversity and transmission of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Colonization of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) often precedes bloodstream infection and serves as a reservoir for onward patient transmission in h...

microbiologyresearch.org

Important results of collab led by ⭐surgeon-microbiologist Ken Urish w/ @dariavantyne.bsky.social @ironark.bsky.social and us: Chronic suppression of a multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in prosthetic joint infection using personalized bacteriophage treatment www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Phages to the rescue! @pghphageprogram.bsky.social @idpittstop.bsky.social

Pitt Program in Microbiology & Immunology@pitt-pmi.bsky.social · 2mo ago

PMI faculty member @dariavantyne.bsky.social in the news!

We submitted this proposal in January 2025 and it was finally funded! Grateful and excited to keep working to bring phage therapy out of the laboratory and into the clinic. @pghphageprogram.bsky.social www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/pitt-ce...

My lab at Pitt is looking for a Research Scientist to help us make phage therapy for patients with antibiotic-resistant infections. Please share and apply! cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...

Drug-resistant infections are rising—and we need new solutions. Phage therapy uses viruses that target & kill harmful bacteria with precision 🦠 At P3, we’re bringing this innovation to patients who need it most. 🔗 www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/infectious-d... #pittsburghphageprogram #phagetherapy

Drug-Resistant Infections Are Rising. Phage Therapy Can Help Stop Them.

Antibiotic-resistant infections are outpacing the drug pipeline, but a powerful, targeted solution has existed in nature all along.

futureofpersonalhealth.com

If you're a senior PhD student or recent graduate interested in doing work at the intersection of AI and microbial genomics and/or microbiomes, please feel free to reach out to discuss the possibility of applying together for an MIT Novo Nordisk Fellowship engineering.mit.edu/novo-nordisk

Novo Nordisk Fellowship

Potential areas of focus for postdoctoral fellows participating in the MIT-Novo Nordisk Postdoc Program include, but are not limited to, the following: Your complete application should include: In the...

engineering.mit.edu

Two new studies from us using culture-enriched metagenomics to study populations (not just clones!) of some of our favorite superbugs collected from infected patients in the hospital 🧵

This was so much fun! Check out Jess’s thread and the podcast to hear how we “do” phage therapy these days @pghphageprogram.bsky.social

Jessica Sacher@jessicasacher.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In 2018, @dariavantyne.bsky.social started her phage lab at @pittdeptofmed.bsky.social. She had 0 phages, just knew their biology & wanted to help patients. Today her lab makes phage for dozens of patients/year under compassionate use, while still publishing research. We asked Daria: HOW? 🧵1/

⏰ Last chance to save $250! Register for Beyond Antibiotics by 11:59pm MST on March 5. Join @joeyzacks.bsky.social, @kimingeneva.bsky.social, @dariavantyne.bsky.social & @maribyndloss.bsky.social to spark new collaborations. 🎥 youtu.be/8Ppjx-MnvxA keysym.us/KSBeyondAnti... #KSBeyondAntibiotics26

KSQA: Drs. Joseph P. Zackular & Mariana X. Byndloss (Beyond Antibiotics)

YouTube video by KeystoneSymposia

youtu.be

🚨Call for papers🚨 Microbial Evolution: Impacts on Human Health in the society journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health Guest Editors: Bob Woods, Silvie Huijben & Camilo Barbosa EIC: me This will be great, please submit and share! academic.oup.com/emph/pages/m...

Submission deadline for short talks and scholarships is Wednesday! Come join us in Breckenridge in May!

Keystone Symposia@keystonesymposia.bsky.social · 7mo ago

⏰ Deadline Jan 7 (11:59 pm MST) to submit a short talk abstract or apply for a scholarship for the Keystone Symposium Beyond Antibiotics. Hear from @joeyzacks.bsky.social, @maribyndloss.bsky.social: youtu.be/8Ppjx-MnvxA keysym.us/KSBeyondAnti... @kimingeneva.bsky.social & @dariavantyne.bsky.social

So incredibly proud of this work, and thankful to everyone who makes it possible!

Pittsburgh Phage Program@pghphageprogram.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Pittsburgh Phage Program — 2025 Wrapped! To our patients, clinicians, researches, regulators, and partners— this work doesn’t happen without you. We screened, treated, delivered, learned—and even laid the groundwork for a 2026 trial! #pittsburghphageprogram #phagetherapy #P3

From our lab to yours, Happy Holidays!!

We're just 6 months away from @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social Beyond #Antibiotics : Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection, May 2026 in Breckenridge! 👉Scholarship and short talk abstract deadlines are Jan 7! 🧐 keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26

Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!

keysym.us

Come join us in Breckenridge next May!

Joe Zackular@joeyzacks.bsky.social · last yr.

Delighted to announce the @keystonesymposia.bsky.social meeting: Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection. Join us in Breckenridge in May 2026!! You can check out the program and amazing lineup of speakers below: keysym.us/KSAntibiotics26 #KSAntibiotics26

Come join us at @mcgill.ca as an assistant professor in virus-host interactions! Please share widely. mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...

Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Microbiology & Immunology, (C2-240724)

Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Big shoutout to @olayarendueles.bsky.social @julielebris.bsky.social , @nathaliechen.bsky.social, @dariavantyne.bsky.social and Adeline Supandy—such an awesome team effort from the #VanTyneLab at Pitt! 💫 Great to see phage work move forward together! #PittsburghPhageProgram

Olaya Rendueles@olayarendueles.bsky.social · last yr.

Our review on recent advances in #PhageTherapy against Klebsiella pneumoniae is out! We analyze KP-phage interactions from an eco-evo perspective, summarize many lab and clinical trials, and discuss novel approaches like genetic engineering & machine learning. #microsky doi.org/10.1371/jour...

🔬 The spotlight continues! We’re excited to introduce the next incredible member of the #PittsburghPhageProgram team — meet Dr. @dariavantyne.bsky.social, whose work is helping push the boundaries of what’s possible in #phagetherapy. #InfectiousDiseases #P3 #VanTyneLab

Behind every patient story, every discovery, and every #phage, there’s a dedicated team making it happen. Over the next few weeks, we’re excited to introduce the people who power the #PittsburghPhageProgram — starting with Dr. Ghady Haidar.🧫✨

Emerging strains of a deadly ‘superbug’ seem to have picked up an advantage over other micro-organisms: a chemical weapon that kills competing bacteria https://go.nature.com/4lb8279

A superbug rose to the top after gaining a chemical weapon

A newfound ability to produce an antibiotic helped a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to take over a hospital.

go.nature.com

Shoutout to @dariavantyne.bsky.social, our Head of Phage Biology and Discovery, for her leadership in #phagetherapy. P3's latest clinical impact was given the spotlight in Contagion Live! Read more on how phage therapy is transforming treatment options: 🔗 tinyurl.com/Contagion-Live

Excited to share our latest, out today in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social Bacteriocin production facilitates nosocomial emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium www.nature.com/articles/s41... @idpittstop.bsky.social

Bacteriocin production facilitates nosocomial emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium - Nature Microbiology

Genomic and functional analyses of healthcare-associated vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium reveal that bacteriocin T8 is enriched in emergent lineages and provides a competitive advantage in v...

nature.com

👋 We're the Pittsburgh Phage Program (P3)! Based at Pitt, we advance precision medicine using phages—viruses that kill bacteria. We fight antibiotic resistance through compassionate use & clinical trials. Follow for 🔬research, 💡phage facts, 📢success stories! #PhageTherapy #P3

How does avi-caz treatment lead to broad-spectrum treatment failure? Our awesome Peds ID faculty and labbie @rapskiid.bsky.social shows how, by longitudinal sequencing, genotyping, and phenotyping. Congrats Glenn! @dariavantyne.bsky.social @aleciarokes.bsky.social journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Mutations leading to ceftolozane/tazobactam and imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam resistance during in vivo exposure to ceftazidime/avibactam in Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Microbiology Spectrum

Antibiotic resistance is a significant challenge for physicians trying to treat infections. The development of novel antibiotics to treat resistant infections has not been prioritized for decades, lim...

journals.asm.org

I remember seeing Dr. O’Brien at seminars around Boston and Cambridge and being wowed at his stature, both physically and in the AMR field. And that was before I knew whose father he was… www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1...

A Tribute to Dr. Thomas J. O'Brien | NEJM

Original Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — A Tribute to Dr. Thomas J. O'Brien

nejm.org

From our lab to yours, happy holidays!

🧪 Please share! Spring 2025 Microbiology & Immunology Diversity Scholars Program Applications open Dec 4-Jan 15. The program seeks to provide biomedical research opportunities for Pittsburgh area undergrads who are from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds www.pmi.pitt.edu/research/mid...

JOB CLAXON! I am recruiting a post-doctoral researcher on a BBSRC-funded project (36 months) on the genetics and functional genomics of vancomycin resistance in enterococci. Further details here: edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid... Please DM or email me if you want to discuss this post.

Research Fellow - Department of Microbes, Infections and Microbiomes - 104864 - Grade 7

This exciting BBSRC-funded project aims to mechanistically characterise the fitness costs associated with vancomycin resistance in the Gram-positive opportunistic pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and E...

edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com

Silver lining of an otherwise awful week: attending #RBM2024 with these fabulous folks. A great meeting full of awesome science!