Spotlight on phage for a fascinating policy discussion

Scientists turned the spotlight onto the potential of phage in a recent AMI webinar that yielded a fascinating in-depth discussion that proved invaluable in clarifying the way forward.

The ‘Phages for a Sustainable Future’ webinar was held on September 18 2025 but has now been released as a video for those who weren’t able to make it in person.

The Policy Spotlight webinar is free of charge and is the first in a new series launched by AMI in line with its Sustainable Microbiology journal, aimed at highlighting the journals’ policy-in-practice papers.

These webinars will feature authors who have recently contributed to this kind of publication and demonstrated how microbiology can be applied to underpin decision-making that impacts sustainability.  

Policy-in-practice papers

The first webinar highlighted three policy-in-practice papers that were recently published in Sustainable Microbiology and focused on bacteriophage as a sustainable alternative to traditional antimicrobials. They can be accessed via the event page.

The inaugural webinar was launched by AMI Chief Executive Dr Lucy Harper and panellists included Professor James Ebdon, Professor of Environmental Microbiology, University of Brighton; Dr Francesca Hodges, Innovation Lead for Future Medicines at Innovate UK; Professor Jon Iredell, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Sydney; and Dr Ruby CY Lin – Deputy Director, Phage Australia.

Discussions ranged from exploring how a thought leadership approach, via the Phage Innovation Network, has been effective in increasing engagement, delivering solutions, and supporting progress of the phage sector in the UK; to examining the lessons from the UK and Australian experience that could inform global policy making.

Barriers to phage therapy

The webinar also looked at the barriers to phage therapy implementation in the UK and the alternative therapeutic strategies being researched for managing AMR in Cystic Fibrosis via Phage Australia.

This led onto a fascinating discussion between the panellists followed by an enlightening Q&A session.

The webinar has earned a wealth of positive feedback from viewers, who described it as a “brilliant initiative”.

“Great panel and nice concise overview of a complex area,” commented viewer Claire Hope.

Dan Shelley, from Cardiff, added: “Honestly the coverage of the subject was excellent - and it raises the concerns of the sector which need to be addressed before it can become a standard and common treatment”.

Informative and up-to-date

Another viewer said it was “Really informative and up to date with clear practical points and references for those who are interested in engaging in policy on phages or anything else really.”

The final word went to the viewer who added: “Great emphasis on our collective duty to progress phage therapy.”

View the Phages for a Sustainable Future webinar for yourself HERE and find out about our future events HERE.

If you’re interested in collaborating with AMI to influence global policy, email policy@appliedmicrobiology.org - and to contribute a policy article to Sustainable Microbiology, contact publishing@appliedmicrobiology.org .