Science Lecture Series: Hear from Scientist who Battles Bacteria with a Virus to Save Lives

Otterbein University is kicking off the academic year with a lecture by a renowned scientist who is working to tackle a growing healthcare crisis.

Microbial antibiotic resistance — when bacteria adapt to survive medicines that used to kill them — has become an increasingly widespread and deadly healthcare crisis. Dr. Graham Hatfull studies phages — viruses that stalk and infect bacteria — and believes they are the future of defeating microbial antibiotic resistant infections. In fact, he saved a 15-year-old patient’s life with this lifesaving medical breakthrough! Read about the Phage Hunters or watch the story on YouTube. 

The George W. and Mildred K. White Science Lecture Series is sponsoring two talks by molecular biologist Dr. Graham Hatfull.

Public Lecture for General Audience:  

Bacteriophages: Our best response to a crisis in microbial antibiotic resistance? 

Aug. 26, 2026, 6 p.m. 

Riley Auditorium at the Battelle Fine Arts Center

Technical Talk for STEM Students: 

Exploration and exploitation of mycobacteriophages 

Thursday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m.  

Towers Hall Room 112

About the Public Lecture: Extensive use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections has facilitated the widespread development of antibiotic-resistant microbes. How will we respond to this emerging health care threat? One potential response is the therapeutic use of bacteriophages – viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Dr. Hatfull will discuss the prospects and potential of phage therapies for responding to the antibiotic microbe crisis. 

About the Speaker: Graham F. Hatfull, Ph.D., is professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his doctorate degree in molecular biology from Edinburgh University in 1981 and did postdoctoral work at Yale University and at the Medical Research Council at Cambridge University. He joined the University of Pittsburgh in 1988 and served as chair of the Department of Biological Sciences from 2003 to 2011. His research focuses on the molecular genetics of the mycobacteria and their bacteriophages, and their use for educational advancement and clinical interventions. Hatfull has published over 300 articles, book chapters, and reviews, and has co-edited four books. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Microbiology, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor since 2002.   

About the Series: Established in 1987, the George W. (1921) and Mildred K. White Science Lecture Series at Otterbein University sponsors annual scientific seminars that bring national leaders in science and technology to campus to share their insights about the future of scientific endeavor. Past speakers have included Dr. Robert Grubbs, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Dr. Tina Henkin, 2006 winner of the National Academies of Science Pfizer Prize; Dr. Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and renowned experimental psychologist; Dr. Andrea Ghez, an international expert in observational astrophysics; Dr. Sean B. Carroll, a leading voice of evolutionary science in the U.S.; animal behaviorist Dr. Steve Nowicki; and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. William D. Phillips.

For more information, visit www.otterbein.edu/sciencelectureseries.