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Tejas Dharmaraj

Phage therapy–the use of viruses to kill bacteria—is a promising approach to treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Technologies that enable the extended release of high-dose phage will be critical to the success of clinical phage therapy. My research combines chemical engineering, biophysics, and medicine to develop a hydrogel platform which can deliver phage to sites of infection with the desired release kinetics. While I will focus my initial efforts on developing and testing a wound dressing, my working group is optimistic that this platform can be utilized to treat antibiotic-resistant prosthetic joint and middle ear infections as well. Alternative antimicrobial strategies like these will enable us to confront the growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and provide options to patients where few currently exist.