
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


In this episode, we talk with Dr. Zach Waldrop about his Arkansas Health Ventures Accelerator (ARHVA) project developing genetically engineered probiotics to treat gastrointestinal diseases. His team modifies a safe yeast strain, Saccharomyces boulardii, to display antibodies that neutralize bacterial toxins, offering a potential alternative to antibiotics. Early lab tests show the engineered yeast can survive in colon-like conditions and bind harmful toxins. Waldrop envisions this as a platform technology adaptable to multiple gut infections, including E. coli, C. difficile, and cholera, with hopes of creating easy access and affordable treatment.
By BioVenturesIn this episode, we talk with Dr. Zach Waldrop about his Arkansas Health Ventures Accelerator (ARHVA) project developing genetically engineered probiotics to treat gastrointestinal diseases. His team modifies a safe yeast strain, Saccharomyces boulardii, to display antibodies that neutralize bacterial toxins, offering a potential alternative to antibiotics. Early lab tests show the engineered yeast can survive in colon-like conditions and bind harmful toxins. Waldrop envisions this as a platform technology adaptable to multiple gut infections, including E. coli, C. difficile, and cholera, with hopes of creating easy access and affordable treatment.