Emmanuel Osei

Project Title: Improved Pig Health through the Novel Application of SynBio in Phage Therapy

Overview: The global shortage of new antibiotics and the spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria through the food chain pose a challenge in food production and healthcare delivery. It has become imperative to develop alternative therapeutic strategies to address this global threat. Bacteriophages (viruses that “kill” bacteria) have been considered as a possible control measure for several bacterial infections.

Streptococcus suis is a bacteria known to cause diseases such as endocarditis, meningitis and septicaemia in pigs and humans. Emmanuel’s research focuses on exploiting the bacterial killing capabilities of phages and phage engineering to produce and deliver phage products for the control of S. suis infection in pigs. The S. suis strains used in the study will primarily come from farms across Ireland. The existing practice in phage therapy is to screen phages against isolated strains and this can be time-consuming. This project will utilise genomics and high throughput genetic engineering to improve upon the current state-of-the-art.

Emmanuel holds an MSc in Infection and Immunity from the University of Leicester, UK. He has worked on the application of phages in Clostridium perfringens infections in animal models and in a chicken clinical trial.

Programme Area: Food Biosciences

Supervisors: Dr. John Kenny, Dr. Edgar Garcia Manzanilla and Prof. Jennifer Mahony

Location: Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre

Funding Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)