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 April 6, 2026 1 PM | For the most up-to-date details, visit https://www.keystonesymposia.org
Monday, May 4, 2026
4:00–8:00 PM Registration Atrium Lobby
6:00–8:00 PM Welcome Mixer Forest Ballroom and Lounge
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast Forest Ballroom and Lounge
7:30–8:00 AM Poster Setup Atrium Lobby
7:45–5:00 PM Poster Viewing Atrium Lobby
8:00–8:10 AM Welcome Remarks by the Organizers Elevation Ballroom
8:10–9:00 AM Keynote Address Elevation Ballroom
  * Kimberly Kline, University of Geneva
Session Moderator
 
  * Joseph P. Zackular, University of Pennsylvania
Session Moderator
 
  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 Elevation Ballroom
  * Medini K Annavajhala, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Session Moderator
 
  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 Elevation Foyer
11:15–12:15 PM Lunch Forest Ballroom and Lounge
12:00–2:30 PM Poster Session 1 Atrium Lobby
2:30–4:30 PM Symposia Spotlight 1: From Bench to Bedside: An emerging Roadmap for New Therapies Elevation Ballroom
  * Cristina Penaranda, National Jewish Health
Session Moderator
 
  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 Elevation Foyer
5:00–7:00 PM Phage Biology and Therapy: Applied Elevation Ballroom
  * Zachery Lonergan, Rutgers University
Session Moderator
 
  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 Forest Ballroom and Lounge
8:00–11:00 AM Harnessing the Microbiome for Infection: Basic Elevation Ballroom
  * Carolyn Ibberson, University of Tennessee
Session Moderator
 
  Mariana X. Byndloss, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Host-Microbiota Metabolic Interactions during Infectious Gastroenteritis
 
  Vanessa Sperandio, University of Wisconsin
Microbiota Control of EHEC Pathogenesis
 
  Franziska Faber, Würzburg University
Talk Title to be Announced
 
  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 Elevation Foyer
11:00–1:00 PM Poster Setup Atrium Lobby
11:00–5:00 PM On Own for Lunch
1:00–10:00 PM Poster Viewing Atrium Lobby
3:00–4:30 PM Career Roundtable Elevation Ballroom
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available Elevation Foyer
5:00–7:00 PM Harnessing the Microbiome for Infection: Applied Elevation Ballroom
  * Casey M Theriot, North Carolina State University
Session Moderator
 
  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 Forest Ballroom and Lounge
7:30–10:00 PM Poster Session 2 Atrium Lobby
Thursday, May 7, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast Forest Ballroom and Lounge
8:00–11:00 AM Leveraging Immunity to Combat Bacterial Infection: Basic Elevation Ballroom
  * Laura Cook, Binghamton University - State University of New York
Session Moderator
 
  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
 
  Eldeen KY 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 Elevation Foyer
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 Elevation Ballroom
  * Gina Lewin, Case Western Reserve University
Session Moderator
 
  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
 
  Titas Sil, 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 Elevation Foyer
5:00–7:00 PM Leveraging Immunity to Combat Bacterial Infection: Applied Elevation Ballroom
  * Victoria Godfrey, AstraZeneca
Session Moderator
 
  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) Elevation Ballroom
7:15–8:15 PM Social Hour with Dinner Forest Ballroom and Lounge
8:15–9:15 PM Cash Bar Forest Ballroom and Lounge
8:15–9:15 PM Entertainment Forest Ballroom and Lounge
Friday, May 8, 2026
12:00–11:59 PM Departure