Imagine not having access to affordable, healthy food. For many Americans, it’s a reality. A new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) shows that between 2003 and 2023, nearly five million people in the United States lived in food deserts, places with no grocery stores. Most of these deserts are in poor and rural areas and in places where people rely on public transit. At the same time, the number of food swamps or areas with mostly restaurants/fast-food locations increased nationwide. The findings are to be published today in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH).

College of Medicine Assistant Professor Renee Fleeman continues to refine a powerful therapy for drug-resistant bacteria that pierces the gooey coating that anchors and protects such germs from the drugs we take to kill them. 

As antimicrobial resistance continues to threaten modern medicine, international experts will gather at Targeting Phage Therapy 2026 (Valencia, Spain, June 9–10, 2026) to address one of the most pressing questions in infectious disease research: how can phage therapy move from scientific promise to routine clinical practice?

The congress will bring together leading clinicians, researchers, regulators, biotechnology innovators and industry leaders to discuss the scientific, regulatory, manufacturing and clinical challenges shaping the future of bacteriophage-based therapies. Featuring 56 scientific communications, the meeting will explore personalized phage therapy, engineered phages, hospital implementation, GMP manufacturing, regulatory pathways and One Health applications. As antibiotic resistance continues to rise worldwide, the event aims to identify practical solutions that can accelerate the responsible integration of phage therapy into healthcare systems and improve patient access to innovative treatments.