Michael Koeris

Michael Koeris

Arlington, Virginia, United States
29K followers 500+ connections

Join to follow

About

Founder of for-profit (Corvium, Sample6) and Not-for-profit ventures (BiotechStart.org)…

Services

Request proposal

Articles by Michael

See all articles

Activity

Join now to see all activity

Experience

  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Graphic

    Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

    Arlington, Virginia, United States

  • -

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • -

    Irvine, California, United States

  • -

    Singapore, Singapore

  • -

  • -

    Orange County, California Area

  • -

    Orange County, California, United States

  • -

    Boston, Massachusetts

  • -

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • -

    Washington D.C. Metro Area

  • -

    Rehovot Area, Israel

  • -

  • -

    Irvine, California

  • -

  • -

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • -

    Greater Boston Area

  • -

    San Francisco Bay Area

  • -

    Greater Boston Area

  • -

    Greater Boston Area

  • -

    Boston, MA

  • -

  • -

  • -

    Boston

  • -

    Greater Boston Area

  • -

  • -

  • -

  • -

Education

  • Harvard Business School Graphic

    Harvard Business School

    -

  • Activities and Societies: Visiting scientist in the Synthetic Biology Research Group w/ Prof. Tim Lu in the Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

  • Activities and Societies: Sigma Xi research honor society, Alpha Chi Sigma professional chemistry fraternity, MIT European Club - Vice President, European Career Fair - Chair

  • Activities and Societies: Alpha Chi Sigma, MIT European Club, MIT European Career Fair, MIT soccer

Licenses & Certifications

Publications

  • Sample6 DETECT/L: An In-plant, In-shift, Enrichment-free Listeria Environmental Assay

    Journal of the AOAC International

    Other authors
    See publication

  • Advancing bacteriophage-based microbial diagnostics with synthetic biology

    Trends in Biotechnology

    Synthetic biology is an emerging engineering field focused on designing artificial biological systems with novel functionalities for use in therapeutics, basic science, biotechnology, and diagnostics [1,2]. Continuous advancements in DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies coupled with new techniques for genomic modification and assembly have opened the door for harnessing the power and diversity of biology for applications. For example, natural bacteriophage products, such as ListShield…

    Synthetic biology is an emerging engineering field focused on designing artificial biological systems with novel functionalities for use in therapeutics, basic science, biotechnology, and diagnostics [1,2]. Continuous advancements in DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies coupled with new techniques for genomic modification and assembly have opened the door for harnessing the power and diversity of biology for applications. For example, natural bacteriophage products, such as ListShield (Intralytix) and Agriphage (Omnilytics), are commercially available for reducing unwanted bacterial contamination. Natural bacteriophages can be genetically modified to deliver engineered payloads into bacteria, thus selectively functionalizing target bacterial populations to produce active biomolecules. This strategy can endow bacteriophages with the ability to efficiently destroy bacterial biofilms or increase the bactericidal efficacy of antibiotics used in combination with phages by many orders of magnitude [3]. In addition, bacteriophages can be engineered as near-real-time microbial diagnostics by using them to transform target bacteria into factories for detectable molecules (Figure 1A)[4].

    Other authors
    See publication

  • The next generation of bacteriophage therapy

    Current Opinion in Microbiology

    Bacteriophage therapy for bacterial infections is a concept with an extensive but controversial history. There has been a recent resurgence of interest into bacteriophages owing to the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance and virulent bacterial pathogens. Despite these efforts, bacteriophage therapy remains an underutilized option in Western medicine due to challenges such as regulation, limited host range, bacterial resistance to phages, manufacturing, side effects of bacterial lysis,…

    Bacteriophage therapy for bacterial infections is a concept with an extensive but controversial history. There has been a recent resurgence of interest into bacteriophages owing to the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance and virulent bacterial pathogens. Despite these efforts, bacteriophage therapy remains an underutilized option in Western medicine due to challenges such as regulation, limited host range, bacterial resistance to phages, manufacturing, side effects of bacterial lysis, and delivery. Recent advances in biotechnology, bacterial diagnostics, macromolecule delivery, and synthetic biology may help to overcome these technical hurdles. These research efforts must be coupled with practical and rigorous approaches at academic, commercial, and regulatory levels in order to successfully advance bacteriophage therapy into clinical settings.

    Other authors
    See publication

Patents

  • Codon optimized recombinant phage and methods of using same

    Issued US 10,039,795

    Composition and methods for the detection of one or more target microbe(s) are provided. Compositions of the disclosure include at least one recombinant phage capable of infecting a target microbe, said phage comprising at least a capsid protein sequence, a ribosome binding site, and a codon-optimized marker. Compositions of the disclosure may further include an aqueous solution that enhances the ability to detect marker expression upon phage infection of the target microbe. In some embodiments…

    Composition and methods for the detection of one or more target microbe(s) are provided. Compositions of the disclosure include at least one recombinant phage capable of infecting a target microbe, said phage comprising at least a capsid protein sequence, a ribosome binding site, and a codon-optimized marker. Compositions of the disclosure may further include an aqueous solution that enhances the ability to detect marker expression upon phage infection of the target microbe. In some embodiments the target microbe include is Listeria.

    Other inventors
    See patent

  • Phage-based bacterial detection assay

    Issued US 9,828,625

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of…

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of such phage and articles of manufacture comprising such phage, among other things.

    Other inventors
    See patent

  • Methods of making recombinant phage, compositions and articles of manufacture of same for bacterial detection

    Issued US 9,340,817

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of…

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of such phage and articles of manufacture comprising such phage, among other things.

    Other inventors
    See patent

  • RECOMBINANT PHAGE AND METHODS

    Issued US 9234227

    This disclosure provided methods of cloning a phage genome. Also provided are methods of making a recombinant phage genome. In some embodiments the phage genome is engineered to comprise a heterologous nucleic acid sequence, for example a sequence comprising an open reading frame. In some embodiments the phage genome is cloned in a yeast artificial chromosome. Recombinant phage genomes and recombinant phage are also provided. In some embodiments the methods are high throughput methods such as…

    This disclosure provided methods of cloning a phage genome. Also provided are methods of making a recombinant phage genome. In some embodiments the phage genome is engineered to comprise a heterologous nucleic acid sequence, for example a sequence comprising an open reading frame. In some embodiments the phage genome is cloned in a yeast artificial chromosome. Recombinant phage genomes and recombinant phage are also provided. In some embodiments the methods are high throughput methods such as methods of making a plurality of recombinant phage genomes or recombinant phage. Collections of recombinant phage genomes and recombinant phage are also provided.

    Other inventors
    See patent

  • PHAGE-BASED BACTERIAL DETECTION ASSAY

    Filed US 20150004595

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of…

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of such phage and articles of manufacture comprising such phage, among other things.

    Other inventors
    See patent

  • Recombinant Phage and Bacterial Detection Methods

    Filed US 20140302487

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of…

    Methods of detecting target bacteria are provided. In some embodiments the methods comprise exposing the sample to a phage capable of infecting a set of target bacteria and comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker. In some embodiments the target bacteria comprise Listeria. In some embodiments the target bacteria are all Listeria. Recombinant Listeria phage comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a marker are also provided as are useful combinations of such phage and articles of manufacture comprising such phage, among other things.

    Other inventors
    See patent

  • SYSTEM FOR ON-SITE ENVIRONMENT MONITORING

    Filed US 20140046722

    Methods and systems are provided herein for monitoring pathogens in various environments and on various items, wherein data from monitoring is trackable, analyzable and comparable versus various standards or thresholds. The methods and systems disclosed herein also include a platform for managing the detection and reporting of pathogens across a number of locations within a number of environments, and using such detection for a wide variety of purposes.

    Other inventors

  • Bacteriophages expressing antimicrobial peptides and uses thereof

    Filed US 2010026357

    The present invention is generally related to engineered bacteriophages expressing antimicrobial peptides or lytic enymes or fragments thereof for targeting a broad spectum of bacterial hosts, and for the long-term suppression of bacterial phage resistance for reducing bacterial infections. In some embodiments, bacteriophages express antimicrobial peptides or antimicrobial polypeptides (e.g. phage lytic enzymes) which are secreted from the host bacteria, or alternatively released upon lysis of…

    The present invention is generally related to engineered bacteriophages expressing antimicrobial peptides or lytic enymes or fragments thereof for targeting a broad spectum of bacterial hosts, and for the long-term suppression of bacterial phage resistance for reducing bacterial infections. In some embodiments, bacteriophages express antimicrobial peptides or antimicrobial polypeptides (e.g. phage lytic enzymes) which are secreted from the host bacteria, or alternatively released upon lysis of the bacterial host cell. Aspects of the present invention also relate to the use of the engineered bacteriophages for the reduction of bacterial infections, both in a subject or for bioremediation purposes, in clinical settings and wound healing.

    Other inventors
    See patent

Projects

  • NSF SBIR Phase I A/B Award

    Conceptualized project, wrote successful grant application, managed communication with stakeholder, and oversaw implementation.

    Project was delivered on time and within budget.

    Other creators

Honors & Awards

  • Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Life Sciences

    The Immigrant Learning Center

    https://www.ilctr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/5-7-18-Immigrant-EntrepreneurAwards.-Press-Release.pdf

    As the co-founder and CEO of Sample6, Michael Koeris’ mission is to secure the global food supply chain
    by changing and improving the way food production is tested for bacterial pathogens. The synthetic
    biology-based technology he and his team developed can detect dangerous pathogens in the food supply
    chain, which currently cause one in five Americans to get sick or die every…

    https://www.ilctr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/5-7-18-Immigrant-EntrepreneurAwards.-Press-Release.pdf

    As the co-founder and CEO of Sample6, Michael Koeris’ mission is to secure the global food supply chain
    by changing and improving the way food production is tested for bacterial pathogens. The synthetic
    biology-based technology he and his team developed can detect dangerous pathogens in the food supply
    chain, which currently cause one in five Americans to get sick or die every year, and catch them before food
    reaches the market. The diagnostics and software inventions they created have the potential to shift the
    industry from a reactive safety model to a proactive one through prediction. His innovation already helps
    customers like Unilever secure their food production, and it can be more broadly applied to reduce hospital
    acquired infections.
    Koeris also co-founded BiotechStart.org, a not-for-profit geared toward helping more biotech startups build
    their businesses faster. The organization is a fast-growing network of business builders and experts that is
    helping guide and fuel the next generation of biotech startups.
    Koeris credited his success to the local community saying, “The thread that runs through the biotech scene
    here in Boston and that binds it together tightly is one of community! Immigrants are accepted with open
    arms into the scientific and biotech entrepreneurial community.” He also acknowledged rancor and
    negativity toward immigrants at a national level, but said, “This negativity is counterbalanced by the
    positivity of shows of support, generosity, openness, support and altruism I observe in daily interactions
    between entrepreneurs, between immigrants and former immigrants.”

  • DAAD Doctoral Fellowship

    Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V.

  • DAAD Masters Fellowship

    Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V.

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • German

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Hungarian

    Elementary proficiency

  • Spanish

    Elementary proficiency

Recommendations received

6 people have recommended Michael

Join now to view

More activity by Michael

View Michael’s full profile

  • See who you know in common
  • Get introduced
  • Contact Michael directly
Join to view full profile

Other similar profiles

Explore more posts

Explore collaborative articles

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.

Explore More

Add new skills with these courses

See all courses