Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection (D4)
May 4-7, 2026  | Village at Breckenridge, Breckenridge, CO, United States
Joseph P. Zackular, Kimberly Kline, Daria Van Tyne and Mariana X. Byndloss
Scholarship Deadline: Jan. 8, 2026 | Abstract Deadline: Apr. 14, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Mar. 6, 2026
* Session Chair † Invited but not yet accepted | Program current as of February 25, 2026 2 AM | For the most up-to-date details, visit https://www.keystonesymposia.org
Monday, May 4, 2026
4:00–8:00 PM Registration
6:00–8:00 PM Welcome Mixer
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast
7:30–8:00 AM Poster Setup
7:45–5:00 PM Poster Viewing
8:00–8:10 AM Welcome Remarks
8:10–9:00 AM Keynote Address
  Dianne K. Newman, California Institute of Technology
Rethinking AMR: How Heterogeneity in Metabolism Shapes Drug Resistance
 
9:00–11:15 AM Phage Biology and Therapy: Basic
  Andrew Camilli, Tufts University
Phage Cocktails for the Control of Cholera
 
  Katrine L. Whiteson, University of California, Irvine
Experimental Evolution of Gram Positive-Targeting Phages
 
  Martha Clokie, University of Leicester
Getting Bacteriophages Closer to Clinical Development
 
  Kendal R Tinney, University of Oregon
Short Talk: Impacts of Nasal Nutrients on Staphylococcus aureus Physiology and Adaptation to Bacteriophage
 
9:30–9:50 AM Coffee Break
11:15–12:15 PM Lunch
12:00–2:30 PM Poster Session 1
2:30–4:30 PM Symposia Spotlight 1: From Bench to Bedside: An emerging Roadmap for New Therapies
  Michael S Gilmore †, Harvard Medical School/Mass General Brigham
Efagins Evolved Independently to Target the Enterococcal Cell Wall
 
  Charlie Mo, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Using Bacteriophages to Combat Drug Resistance and Virulence in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
 
  Adeline Supandy, University of Pittsburgh
Distinct Receptors Shape Phage Activity and Antimicrobial Resistance in Klebsiella spp.
 
  Jee-Yon Lee, University of California at Davis
Restoring Epithelial PPARγ Signaling Limits High-Fat Diet–Induced Susceptibility to Clostridioides difficile Infection
 
  Drew Joel Schwartz, Washington University School of Medicine
Using the Infant Gut Microbiome to Predict Sepsis and Tailor Antibiotics
 
  Tahoura Samad, MIT
Microbially-inspired Antidotes to Repurpose Toxic Compounds as Antimicrobials
 
  Yash Sanjay Acharya †, JNCASR
Breaching the Bacterial Cell Envelope: A Peptidomimetic Strategy to Overcome Metabolic Dormancy and Complicated Infections
 
  Joshua Price, Harvard University
(S)-crizotinib Drives Host-mediated Clearance of Intracellular Pathogens by Targeting Cholesterol Trafficking
 
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available
5:00–7:00 PM Phage Biology and Therapy: Applied
  Daria Van Tyne, University of Pittsburgh
Functional Genomics and Phage Therapy for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections
 
  Paul E. Turner, Yale University
Leveraging Evolution to Fight Antibiotic Resistance with Phage Therapy
 
  Susan M. Lehman, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
An in vitro Preclinical Model of Phage Dosing for Localized Infections
 
  Jennifer A. Schwartz, INTRALYTIX, INC.
Phage Control of Pathogens in Food Processing, Medicine, and Environmental Settings
 
7:00–8:00 PM On Own for Dinner
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast
8:00–11:00 AM Harnessing the Microbiome for Infection: Basic
  Mariana X. Byndloss, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Host-Microbiota Metabolic Interactions during Infectious Gastroenteritis
 
  Vanessa Sperandio, University of Wisconsin
Microbiota Control of EHEC Pathogenesis
 
  Bärbel Stecher, TUM School of Life Sciences
Using Defined Microbiota Communities to Reveal Novel Insights into Colonization Resistance Against Salmonella
 
  Katy Patras, Baylor College of Medicine
Short Talk: Microbe-Based Strategies to Eradicate AMR Pathogens from the Vaginal Mucosa
 
  Hallie Avalos, Vanderbilt
Short Talk: Salmonella Typhimurium Relies on Vitamin C Utilization for Expansion During Intestinal Inflammation
 
  Noah Lyons, NC State University
Short Talk: Lachnospiraceae Bile Salt Hydrolases as Regulators of C. difficile Colonization Resistance and Pathogenesis
 
  Apollo Stacy, Cleveland Clinic
Short Talk: Dietary Nitrate Enhances Commensal-Mediated Antagonism of Oral Pathogens
 
9:00–9:20 AM Coffee Break
11:00–1:00 PM Poster Setup
11:00–5:00 PM On Own for Lunch
1:00–10:00 PM Poster Viewing
3:00–4:30 PM Career Roundtable
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available
5:00–7:00 PM Harnessing the Microbiome for Infection: Applied
  Joseph P. Zackular, University of Pennsylvania
Leveraging Ecology to Design New Therapeutic Strategies Against Clostridioides Difficile
 
  Julie Segre, NIH/NHGRI
Human Skin Microbiome: From Friends to Foes
 
  Greg Medlock, Vedanta Biosciences
Microbiome Therapeutics in the Age of Multi-Drug Resistant Pathogens
 
  Amber Nguyen, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Short Talk: Bacteriocins from Staphylococcus hominis Protect Against Skin Pathogens
 
  Jason Pizzini, Baylor College of Medicine
Short Talk: Engineering the Gut Microbiome to Resist Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens
 
7:00–8:00 PM Social Hour with Dinner
7:30–10:00 PM Poster Session 2
Thursday, May 7, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast
8:00–11:00 AM Leveraging Immunity to Combat Bacterial Infection: Basic
  Kimberly Kline, University of Geneva
Host-Pathogen Interactions in Mixed-Species Infections
 
  Victor Torres, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Impact of Nutrition on Host-Pathogen Interactions during ESKAPE Pathogen Infection
 
  Raphael Valdivia, Duke University
Akkermansia Mediated Control of Mucosal Immunity
 
  Victor Choi, University of Oxford
Short Talk: Antimicrobial-Loaded Ultrasound-Responsive Agents (AURAs) for Treatment of Wound Infections
 
  Kai Yi E Lim, A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs
Short Talk: Siglec F- expressing Nasal Resident Myeloid Cells Protect Against Airway Infection by Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae
 
  Rochelle Glover, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Short Talk: mRNA-LNP Therapeutics for Clostridioides difficile Infection
 
  Grant Norton, University of California San Diego
Short Talk: Enterobactin Immunization Enables Precision Targeting of Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli in a Murine Model of Colitis
 
9:00–9:20 AM Coffee Break
11:00–5:00 PM On Own for Lunch
2:30–4:30 PM Symposia Spotlight 2: Pulling the Right Lever - Target Discovery for Future Therapies and Prevention
  Luke Joyce, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Group B Streptococcus Glycolipids Protect Against Immune Cell Clearance During Host-Pathogen Interactions
 
  Lindsey R Burcham, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Iron Metabolism as a Key Regulator of Group B Streptococcus-Host Interactions
 
  Kia Holt, University of Illinois College of Medicine
The Acinetobacter baumannii Cyanide-Insensitive Oxidase is Required During Bloodstream Infection
 
  Wendy Mok, UConn Health
Nutrient Availability Modulates Staphylococcus aureus Repair and Resuscitation Following Antibiotic Treatment
 
  Aanuoluwa Adekoya, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Quantitative Analysis of Microbial Physiology within Human Chronic Wound Infection Models
 
  Ffion Hammond †, University of Oxford
Enrichment of Drug-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae in the Gut Following Antibiotics Influences Subsequent Lung Challenge
 
  Matt Barber, University of Oregon
Adaptation of Staphylococcus Aureus to Host and Microbial Defenses
 
  Ahmed M. M Moustafa, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Enabling Precision Surveillance: A Genomics-Guided Approach to Rapidly Detect Circulating Pathogenic Lineages
 
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available
5:00–7:00 PM Leveraging Immunity to Combat Bacterial Infection: Applied
  Molly A Ingersoll, Institut Cochin & Institut Pasteur
Leveraging Mucosal Immunity in the Fight Against Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection
 
  Victor Nizet, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
Novel Biomimetic Nanotherapies and Nanovaccines for AMR Pathogens
 
  Andreas Peschel, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine
Teichoic Acids at the Staphylococcus-Host Interface
 
  Ann Marie Stanley, AstraZeneca
Monoclonal Antibodies to Prevent and Treat Bacterial Infections
 
7:00–7:15 PM Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers)
7:15–8:15 PM Social Hour with Dinner
8:00–11:00 PM Cash Bar
8:00–11:00 PM Entertainment
Friday, May 8, 2026
12:00–11:59 PM Departure