Lance Pollitz

My work is focused on uncovering the genetic and biochemical basis for anti-CRISPR immunity in staphylococcal phages. As antibiotic resistance becomes an ever-increasing problem for treating bacterial infections, phage therapy offers a promising alternative. By discovering and characterizing new anti-CRISPR genes found in isolated phages, this work can increase our understanding of how phages overcome bacterial immune systems, as well as offering appealing gene candidates for engineering designer phages in the future.