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Division of Infectious Diseases & Global Public Health IDGPH
  1. Division of Infectious Diseases & Global Public Health
  2. Research
  3. Center for Innovative Phage Applications & Therapeutics (IPATH)
  4. Research

Research Projects & Focus

IPATH research currently focuses on patients with drug-resistant chronic bacterial infections associated with cystic fibrosis, organ transplantation, and implantable hardware (e.g. pacemakers, joint replacements, etc.).

Clinical Trials

A Phase 1b/2 Trial of the Safety and Microbiological Activity of Bacteriophage Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis Subjects Colonized With Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

IPATH launched the first NIH-funded phage therapy clinical trial within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Antibiotic Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG). Dr. Robert Schooley serves as the Co-Primary Investigator, with initial site locations at IPATH, UC San Francisco and other ARLG clinical trial sites. This single-dose pilot study focuses on cystic fibrosis patients that are shedding Pseudomonas aeruginosa in expectorated sputum. 

Upcoming Clinical Trials

 IPATH anticipates recruiting for clinical trials in late 2024/early 2025 for the following conditions:

  • recurrent UTIs among kidney transplant recipients (organism: E coli and/or Klebsiella pneumoniae)
  • recurrent UTIs (organism: E. coli)
  • pulmonary infections among cystic fibrosis patients (organism: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, E. coli, or Achromobacter)

Phage Libraries

Burkholderia Patient Registry and Phage Library

In 2020, Dr. Saima Aslam was awarded a two-year grant, from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to create a Burkholderia-specific patient registry and lytic phage library. She is collaborating with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; University of Toronto; Duke University; Cleveland Clinic; Emory University; Universityé de Montréal; Vancouver General Hospital; Mayo Clinic, Rochester; University of Pennsylvania and Hadassah Medical Center to register Burkholderia-infected cystic fibrosis and lung transplant patients, and attempt to find matching phages against the patients' Burkholderia strains.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Phage Library

Dr. David Pride was awarded a 2-year grant in 2020, from Emily's Entourage (a non-profit organization that accelerates research and drug development for cystic fibrosis). This funding will be used to create a well-characterized anti-MRSA phage library. Dr. Pride hopes to use this phage library to treat lung infections in future patients with cystic fibrosis.