Project description
New technology for improved phage therapy
With the rise of antibiotic resistance, phage therapy is a promising alternative treatment. However, its widespread adoption has been hindered by challenges such as the lengthy process of identifying suitable phages and their limited effectiveness in living organisms. The ERC-funded PHAGE-PRO project aims to address these challenges by leveraging a novel approach that combines engineered prophages (viruses that integrate into bacterial genomes) with probiotic strains. This allows for the rapid identification of effective phages through machine learning. The project’s focus is on developing tools to identify optimal combinations of prophages and probiotics, as well as conducting high-throughput experiments to validate their efficacy. The results could also pave the way for applications in human medicine.
Objective
Amid the antibiotic resistance crisis, the century-old practice of phage therapy, the use of bacterial viruses to treat bacterial infections, has gained renewed attention. Despite extensive research and clear-cut advantages over antibiotics, phage therapy has yet to gain momentum. This is primarily due to remaining limitations, e.g. the time-consuming process of identifying suitable phages and limited in vivo efficacy.
With PHAGE-PRO I propose a new technology to overcome the shortcomings of traditional phage therapy. Unlike the conventional use of lytic phages, I will capitalize on prophages – viruses that integrate into bacterial genomes capable of excision and replication. By integrating prophages into safe carrier strains, originating from probiotics, I will unlock two pivotal benefits, (1) rapid identification of suitable phages using advanced machine learning, (2) sustained in-vivo efficacy. Yet, the core advantage of PHAGE-PRO lies in its unparalleled synergy of phage killing and pathogen competitive exclusion imposed by the probiotic.
To realize this concept, the development of predictive tools is essential to quickly identify the most promising prophages and probiotic combinations for each pathogen (WP1). Prophage engineering (WP2), followed by rigorous in vitro testing will ensure a high safety and efficacy. High-throughput in vivo experiments using wax moth larvae will reveal the most promising candidate which I will subsequently validate through a proof of principle experiment using a poultry model (WP3).
Although I initially tailored PHAGE-PRO to treat Salmonella infections in poultry, its impact extends far beyond: This new technology holds the potential for transformative changes in phage therapy, not only advancing infection management in livestock farming through the enhancement of animal health and the assurance of food product safety, but also by opening the door for targeted preventive and therapeutic interventions in human medicine.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals animal husbandry
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.