Issue 298
Evergreen Phage Meeting hits the road for 2025
The Evergreen Phage Meeting is a special conference — many of us can trace our phage journeys back to Evergreen. And when we wrapped up last year, we weren't even sure if we'd ever do it again. But when there's a will, there's a way.
Sponsor
Sponsor
At the 7th Bacteriophage Therapy Summit, returning to Boston March 11-13, 2025 (next week!), dive into the regulatory and investment landscape for drug developers, clinical updates showing efficacy, utilizing machine learning, and developing personalized and off-the-shelf therapies to fight AMR in infectious diseases.
Register here and use discount code PHAGEDIRECTORY10 for 10% off!
Community digest5updates6jobs4posts
Updates
Eugen Pfeifer (Université Paris-Saclay) and colleagues published a new paper on the impact of cephalosporin antibiotics on gut phages, showing cephalosporins induce phage bursts, mostly of virulent phages, which may help restore microbial diversity after antibiotic perturbation.
Brittany Supina (University of Alberta) and colleagues published a new paper on flagella-dependent jumbo phage controlling rice seedling rot, showing a phage that reduces Burkholderia glumae virulence in rice seedlings and depends on bacterial flagella for infection.
Alexa Fitzpatrick (University of Toronto) and colleagues published a new paper on phage reprogramming of bacterial metabolism, showing two phage proteins increase amino acid and putrescine levels in Pseudomonas aeruginosa to promote efficient phage replication by altering host gene expression.
Sada Raza (Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences) and colleagues published a new paper on indigo carmine as an antiphage agent, showing it selectively inactivates DNA phages by binding to their genome and causing capsid deformation, while protecting bacterial cultures.
Unfortunately, funding for the Canadian National Microbiology Lab's Phage Science, Therapeutics, and Research (PhageSTAR) program is ending.
Jobs
Researcher (Faculty and Technologists) in Molecular Biology of Phage-Bacteria-Animal Symbioses at One Health Microbiome Center, Penn State University in University Park, PA, USA
The Bordenstein lab in the One Health Microbiome Center at The Pennsylvania State University seeks multiple Researchers. The Researcher position (non-tenure track faculty) will focus on the use of Drosophila transgenic expression, genetic editing techniques, fitness assays, reproductive tissue dissections, fluorescent and electron microscopy, microinjections, and team management to understand the genetics and mechanisms of how endosymbionts and their phage genes modify reproduction in animals.
Business Development Manager at Amerigo Scientific in New York
Amerigo Scientific, a company that makes adsorbent resins, catalyst resins, chelating resins, and other ion exchange resins for biopharma and life sciences, is looking for Business Development Manager to join their team.
Creative Biolabs is seeking a Senior Project Manager, Phage Therapy to join their R&D team to focus on phage discovery and cocktail optimization.
Fabienne Santmann (Balgrist University Hospital / University of Zurich) seeks a postdoc (80-100%) from March/April 2025 for 2 years to develop protocols for clinical sample analysis in a randomized trial, validate phage susceptibility methods, and oversee lab work.
The University of Glasgow is hiring a Research Associate, to study mechanisms and evolutionary dynamics of phage-anti-phage systems, specifically newly discovered anti-phage systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, under Dr. Giusy Mariano's supervision.
The University of Leicester is hiring PhD students, to study biosciences topics like phage biology, antimicrobial resistance, and protein structures as part of the BBSRC Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership.
Community board
Seeking Themus thermophilus HB27 bacteriophages.
Dear colleagues, I would greatly appreciate sharing T. thermophilus bacteriophages for my research of thermophilic bacteria anti-phage defence or any advice where I can find them.
Please contact me by email prostova@caltech.edu Thank you in advance!
Best regards, Maria Prostova
The University of California San Francisco is hosting a symposium called Annual Bay Area Microbial Pathogenesis Symposium (BAMPS).
The event takes place Saturday, March 22, and aims to bring together researchers interested in microbial pathogenesis and microbes in health and disease. It features short talks, poster sessions, and a keynote by Dr. Nels Elde from the University of Utah.
The International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA) is hosting a conference called Conference on Bacteriophages: Biology, Dynamics, and Therapeutics, taking place October 12-14 2025 in Washington, DC.
This inaugural 2.5-day event aims to bring together 500 US and international researchers to discuss recent advances in phage biology and potential clinical applications.
Featured speakers include Martha Clokie and Philip Kranzusch; conference chairs are Graham Hatfull and Robert (Chip) Schooley, with an extremely exciting roster of key phage scientists and clinicians making up the scientific program committee!
2026 meeting alert! (Yes, 2026 — these get planned early!)
The Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection Keystone Symposium will take place on May 4–7, 2026 in Breckenridge, Colorado.
The event aims to explore innovative approaches to fight bacterial infections beyond traditional antibiotics. The scientific organizers are Joseph P. Zackular, Kimberly Kline, Daria Van Tyne and Mariana X. Byndloss.
Evergreen has never been just a conference — it is a catalyst for innovation, a gathering place for pioneers, and a driving force behind the future of phage science. For over 50 years, it has brought together researchers across disciplines, creating a home for discovery, mentorship, and real-world impact.
In 2019, Evergreen was the largest it had ever been. In 2021, we refused to let a global crisis halt progress, launching our first hybrid meeting to keep research moving forward. In 2023, we said farewell — not to Evergreen itself, but to the location that nurtured us for so long.
Now, we look ahead — not to an ending, but to an era of expansion and reinvention.
Knoxville: The First Stop on Our Journey
Evergreen is hitting the road. As part of our new rotating format, we’re taking the meeting beyond Olympia, allowing us to expand our reach and highlight leading institutions in phage research worldwide.
Knoxville, Tennessee, is the perfect place to launch this new era. Dr. Tom Denes and Dan Bryan, both former students of Dr. Betty Kutter, now call the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) home, where they continue their work in phage research. UTK faculty are eager to join us in shaping the future of Evergreen, providing an ideal setting for this next chapter.
When the Phagebiotics Research Foundation decided to take Evergreen on the road, we knew we needed a strong first host to support us as we experiment, grow, and ensure a smooth transition into this new phase. Knoxville gives us that foundation, and we are excited to begin this journey with them.
Expanding Our Scientific Focus
Phage science is advancing at an unprecedented pace, yet challenges remain. Regulatory landscapes are shifting, access to phage therapies is still limited, and promising solutions have been overlooked—only to be rediscovered and validated in modern times.
Evergreen has always been a place to tackle these challenges head-on, and 2025 will be no different. We are expanding our scientific focus with new tracks that reflect the rapidly evolving landscape of phage research:
Phage Biology, Evolution, Ecology, and Therapeutics – Continuing the core tracks that built Evergreen’s legacy.
Diagnostics – Phage-based tools for infection detection and microbiome analysis.
Regulation & Policy – Navigating the evolving landscape of phage therapy approvals and global standards.
Biomanufacturing & Scale-Up – Bridging research and industry to bring phage-based products to market.
From Classroom to Career – Connecting students, postdocs, and industry leaders to foster professional growth.
This meeting has always been about collaboration, mentorship, and advancing the field. As we step into this next phase, we invite you to participate. Bring your research, share your ideas, and help shape the future of phage science.
Honoring Dr. Betty Kutter
Evergreen would not exist without Dr. Betty Kutter, who dedicated her life to mentoring young scientists and championing phage research, even when the field was at the margins of mainstream science. She made sure this community had a place to grow.
Now, as Emeritus Leader, Betty is enjoying her well-earned retirement in the Pacific Northwest. Though she won’t be with us in person, her legacy is in every researcher, every discovery, and every connection formed at this meeting.
Evergreen 2025 is a tribute to her vision and dedication; we are honored to carry it forward.
Join Us in Knoxville
Evergreen is more than a conference—it is a movement. It is where ideas take shape, collaborations begin, and the next generation of scientists finds inspiration and opportunity.
We hope you’ll join us, share your work, engage in discussions, and contribute to the future of phage research.
Register now and submit your abstract, at:
https://evergreen.phage.directory
We look forward to welcoming you to Knoxville for Evergreen 2025: Where the Future of Phage Science Takes Shape.
With deep appreciation and anticipation,
Tom Denes & Ria Kaelin Co-Chair Organizers, Evergreen Phage Meeting Phagebiotics Research Foundation
Tom Denes
Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studying phage interactions with foodborne pathogens. Co-Director of the Tennessee Integrated Foodsafety Center of Excellence. Ph.D. in Comparative Biomedical Sciences from Cornell, Ithaca, NY, B.S. in Microbiology/Molecular Biology from The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA.