1. inPhocus: Current State and Challenges of Phage Research in Singapore
- Author
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Navin Kumar Verma, Si Jia Tan, John Chen, Hanrong Chen, Muhammad Hafiz Ismail, Scott A. Rice, Pablo Bifani, Sukumar Hariharan, Vivek Daniel Paul, Bharathi Sriram, Linh Chi Dam, Chia Ching Chan, Peiying Ho, Boon Chong Goh, Shimin Jasmine Chung, Kenneth Choon Meng Goh, Shu Hua Thong, Andrea Lay-Hoon Kwa, Adam Ostrowski, Thet Tun Aung, Halimah Razali, Shermaine W.Y. Low, Mani Shankar Bhattacharyya, Hemant K. Gautam, Rajamani Lakshminarayanan, Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén, Martha R.J. Clokie, Wilfried Moreira, Maurice Adrianus Monique van Steensel, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), Asian School of the Environment, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences and Engineering, and NTU Institute for Health Technologies
- Subjects
metagenomics ,Biological sciences::Microbiology [Science] ,filamentous phages ,recombinant phage proteins ,Ectolysin ,Antimicrobial Resistance ,Perspectives - Abstract
Bacteriophages and phage-derived proteins are a promising class of antibacterial agents that experience a growing worldwide interest. To map ongoing phage research in Singapore and neighboring countries, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) recently co-organized a virtual symposium on Bacteriophage and Bacteriophage-Derived Technologies, which was attended by more than 80 participants. Topics were discussed relating to phage life cycles, diversity, the roles of phages in biofilms and the human gut microbiome, engineered phage lysins to combat polymicrobial infections in wounds, and the challenges and prospects of clinical phage therapy. This perspective summarizes major points discussed during the symposium and new perceptions that emerged after the panel discussion. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Ministry of Health (MOH) National Medical Research Council (NMRC) National Research Foundation (NRF) Following supports are acknowledged: N.K.V. to LeeKong Chian School of Medicine Strategic Academic In-itiative Grant (L0494003); H.C. to A*STAR Grant(C210812044); P.H., B.C.G., and W.M. to Singapore Na-tional Research Foundation (NRF)’s Intra-Campus for Re-search Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Seed Collaboration Grant; P.H. and B.C.G. to Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) An-timicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Group funded by theNRF under its CREATE program; T.A.A. to NUSMedpostdoctoral fellowship (NUHSRO/2019/046/PDF/19); J.P.B.to National University Hospital System Seed Fund (NUHSRO/2019/050/T1/Seed-Mar/03) and SMART (ING-001014 BIO);W.M. to Singapore Ministry of Health’s National MedicalResearch Council (OFIRG21jun-0038); M.A.M.V.S. to Na-tional Health Innovation Centre Singapore Innovation to De-velop Grant (NHIC-I2D-2104625).
- Published
- 2022