Our bodies are home to trillions of bacteria that help digest food, support immunity, and protect us from disease. When harmful microbes take hold, these finely tuned microbial communities can lose balance, leading to infections and chronic health problems.
Now, University of Minnesota researchers from the College of Biological Sciences and the School of Dentistry are turning to phages – bacterial viruses that can be deployed to restore microbial balance by eliminating harmful bacteria while sparing beneficial microbes. Their work is part of a new five-year and up to $28-million initiative, funded by a contract with the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), that brings together leading experts in microbiology, dentistry, and computational biology from across the country.
The project, “Microbe/phage Investigation for Generalized Health TherapY (MIGHTY),” unites scientists from the University of Minnesota with collaborators at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Baylor University, Oregon State University, Oregon Health and Science University, and Ginkgo Bioworks. Together the team will develop new tools to rapidly identify and deploy phages that selectively remove disease-causing bacteria, giving protective microbes the chance to thrive and support overall health.
Cari Vanderpool, Department Head and McKnight Presidential Endowed Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology, co-developed the MIGHTY project and helped build the collaborative framework that united its academic and industry partners.
“Phages are everywhere, and they perform an important biological function by keeping bacterial populations in check. By identifying phages that target detrimental bacteria within the human body, we aim to develop new therapies that prevent infections and give the bacteria that help us a chance to thrive,” says Vanderpool. “The resulting treatments could fundamentally improve health.”
From the lab to the clinic
The MIGHTY project will first focus on the oral microbiome, where bacterial imbalances drive tooth decay and gum disease and have been linked to chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, and oral and colorectal cancers.
At the University of Minnesota, Karen Johnstone, a basic sciences researcher in the School of Dentistry, is leading the project’s sampling and pre-clinical studies that will explore how phage-based interventions can restore microbial balance in the mouth. Johnstone’s work draws on the School of Dentistry’s strong clinical research infrastructure, which provides access to patient samples, translational expertise, and facilities that bridge basic and clinical science. She is joined by Mark Herzberg, a professor and periodontist who brings decades of experience in oral microbiology and host-microbe interactions.
“Our team is excited to translate these discoveries into practical solutions for oral health,” says Johnstone. “By testing phage-based approaches in pre-clinical settings, we aim to develop safe, effective, and accessible tools that can improve health for a broad population.”
Vanderpool noted that this collaboration across the biological and clinical sciences is one of the project’s strengths. “Working with our colleagues in the School of Dentistry allows us to move seamlessly from molecular discovery to pre-clinical validation,” she said. “It’s an ideal environment for developing interventions that can make a real difference.”
MIGHTY researchers aim to develop an easy-to-use, low-cost product – such as a chewable gummy – that can improve oral health for everyone.
Laying the groundwork for next-generation therapeutics
While the first phase of the MIGHTY project centers on oral health, its impact could extend far beyond the mouth. Antibiotic resistance continues to rise, and few reliable tools are available to restore microbial balance once it’s disrupted. By building a scalable platform for rapidly identifying and testing phages and applying computational modeling and artificial intelligence to design effective combinations, the MIGHTY team aims to lay the groundwork for a new generation of targeted microbiome therapeutics.
“The MIGHTY project reflects the kind of cross-disciplinary, high-impact science that Minnesota excels at,” Vanderpool said. “Working alongside our colleagues in the School of Dentistry allows us to connect fundamental discoveries about phage-bacteria interactions with real opportunities to improve human health. It’s about translating basic microbial biology into tangible benefits, starting with oral health, but ultimately extending much further.” — Mary Hoff