Philip Lauman

I investigate strategies to optimize the use of bacteriophages as antibacterial agents in the food supply system, with a focus on phages that target bacterial pathogens infecting highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) plants in British Columbia, including Pseudomonas syringae and Rhizobacterium tumefaciens. At the intersection of microbiology, immunology, plant biology, bioinformatics, and machine learning, my work integrates quantitative and mathematical modeling of phage–host dynamics, the development of novel plant infection and rescue models, and characterization of interactions between phages and plant cells.