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Welcome to the Bacteriophage Biology & Therapeutics SIG


Welcome to the Bacteriophage Biology & Therapeutics Special Interest Group (SIG) as part of the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM). Our goal for the SIG is to promote Australian collaborative bacteriophage work through associations with the ASM. However, we hope that this SIG can go beyond this. 


During my post-doctoral training in the USA, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a number of well-connected bacteriophage researchers. Through conferences and aligned research interests, they had composed an informal network of researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs, who were all interested and invested in bacteriophage biology. This network was extremely valuable and formative for my career. Through it, I was exposed to some brilliant science and collaborations, and was given access to phage and host strains, invitations to present my work at conferences, and job opportunities. 

In 2016, I returned to Australia and joined Monash University, where I established my own research lab to investigate the role and interaction of phages within human cells and tissues. Although I still had connections with US collaborators and researchers, I realised I did not know many phage researchers in Australia.

Over the following year, myself and four other researchers, including Matt Payne (WA Rep), Karen Weynberg (QLD Rep), Carola Venturini (NSW Rep) and Peter Speck (SA Rep), proposed to establish a Bacteriophage SIG as part of the ASM to build a similar collaborative network of researchers, clinicians, companies, and other interested parties. I believe the Bacteriophage Biology & Therapeutics SIG can be influential for Australian phage research in a number of ways:
  • Foster collaboration between SIG members and interested parties. In my opinion, this is the greatest potential benefit of the SIG. I hope it will lead to new collaborations, publications, joint-grant applications, and other outputs between the SIG members.
  • Promote Australian phage research on both a national and international scale. The SIG will be involved in the organisation of conference symposia and sessions both nationally and internationally. Through this we aim to promote the bacteriophage research and translational science originating from Australia.
  • Distribute resources, methodologies, and strains between SIG members. Phage research can be difficult and one benefit of a network of researchers is the shared knowledge, strains, methods, and resources. Since returning to Australia, a number of labs here have kindly provided my group with phages, methods and other resources. I hope the SIG can further share resources to foster the development of phage research within Australia.
  • Establish links with stakeholders in bacteriophage space. This includes connections with the ASM and the benefits it provides SIG members. Additional links with biotechnology companies, entrepreneurs, government officials, and clinicians are all incredibly important for the translation of bacteriophage biology.
  • Have an influential role on phage therapy within Australia.  We have an opportunity to shape the way in which phage therapy is promoted and established within Australia. This will require input from various stakeholders, education of the general public, shared phage lysates for compassionate usage cases, and collaborations between researchers and clinicians.
  • Provide guidance and support for early career bacteriophage researchers. Supporting the next generation of phage researchers is incredibly important and the SIG has a unique opportunity to support these individuals through seminar invitations, collaborations, mentorship, and job opportunities.
In order to better communicate with SIG members and other interested parties, we have decided to set up this blog site -  https://bacteriophagesig.blogspot.com/. Every three months, a different member of the SIG will write a blog post on this site to update the members on SIG activities and other associated bacteriophage work. This site will also be used to promote bacteriophage conference sessions, job postings, and other SIG events. If you would like to write a post, or have something to share with the SIG, please contact myself or one of the SIG committee members.

Please have a look through the site and the members section. I have included you all on this list, as well as a brief summary of your research interests. If you would like to make any changes to this content, or have other collaborators who would be interested in joining, please let me know.

Finally, we will be officially launching the Bacteriophage Biology & Therapeutics SIG at this year’s ASM conference in Brisbane. We will be holding a SIG meeting in the plenary hall on Wednesday 1-2pm, which you are all welcome to attend. Here we will provide a brief update on the SIG and formally elect the convenor and state representatives for a two-year term. You can find more information here:

Sincerely,
Jeremy Barr

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