Phage Plus
Project Overview
About
Antimicrobial resistance spreads between people, animals, food, water and the wider environment, yet many heavily affected regions lack access to targeted treatments. Phage Plus builds local biobanks and manufacturing capacity for bacteriophages, naturally occurring viruses that infect specific bacteria while leaving beneficial microbes largely unharmed. Resistant strains are matched with suitable phages, which are purified and combined into tailored treatments or controls. The platform could treat difficult human infections, reduce antibiotic use in farming and limit resistant bacteria in wastewater, strengthening regional responses to antimicrobial resistance.
Team
Ali Khalid
Dr. Ali Khalid is a Consultant Microbiologist and Clinical Microbiologist specializing in bacteriophage therapeutics. He holds an MBBS, fellowship training in Clinical Microbiology, an M.Phil (NUST), and a PhD from the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney, under Prof. Jon Iredell, alongside CIC (USA) and MAIMS (Australia). He founded Phage Plus, a bacteriophage therapeutics company at NSTP, NUST, Islamabad, bringing this treatment to patients in low- and middle-income countries. His research has appeared in Nature Microbiology, the Medical Journal of Australia, and Frontiers in Microbiology. A member of ESGNTA/ESCMID, Ali works to combat antimicrobial resistance through phage-based innovation.
Anam Imtiaz
Dr. Anam Imtiaz, FCPS (Microbiology) is a Consultant Microbiologist and Assistant Professor of Pathology with over five years of experience in clinical microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, and infection prevention and control. A PhD scholar, her research focuses on translating bacteriophage therapy into personalized treatment strategies for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. She has established and curated a characterized bacteriophage bank, bridging clinical microbiology, research, and innovative approaches to combating antimicrobial resistance.
Hira Niaz
Dr. Hira Niaz is Phage Scientist with a PhD in Microbiology and biotechnology from the Atta-ur-Rahman school of Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) Pakistan. She has 5 plus years of research experience in bacteriophage biology, antimicrobial resistance, and phage-based therapeutics. Her research expertise includes the isolation and characterization of bacteriophages, phage genomics, phage-derived enzymes, molecular biology, and evaluation of phage efficacy against multidrug-resistant pathogens in animal models. At Phage Plus, she contributes to phage hunting, purification, characterization, and quality assessment of phages. She has published several research articles, and has experience in academic–industry collaboration, research supervision, and scientific writing.