Graham Hatfull is the Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology and an HHMI Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where he serves as the lead scientist for the SEA-PHAGES program, guiding its overall scientific vision and research goals. Trained in the United Kingdom, he earned his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh and completed postdoctoral research at Yale University and the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, UK with renowned scientists including Fred Sanger. His research focuses on understanding the biology and genetics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, by leveraging Mycobacteriophages—viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts—as powerful experimental tools. Using the fast-growing model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis, his work explores how phages can be used to investigate mycobacterial gene function and develop innovative molecular tools, advancing efforts to better understand and ultimately combat one of the world’s most persistent infectious diseases.
IN-PERSON at San Francisco State University, CA