The Perfect Predator – A gripping memoir detailing how a brilliant scientist saves her husband from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and in turn, gives modern medicine hope.

Pathogens, “Superbug”, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections, post-antibiotic era – any of these terms are scary. They’re even scarier when you or someone you love are ill. The Perfect Predator, A Memoir by scientists Dr. Steffanie Strathdee and Dr. Thomas Patterson details the terrifying reality of these terms, yet provides a ray of hope. The Perfect Predator should be on everyone’s reading list. Yup, everyone.

This medical mystery puts Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle to shame. A nail-biting “page-turner” that makes you laugh and cry. And yet, a book that promises a solution to antibiotic-resistant pathogens – one of our greatest global medical crises. I could easily see The Perfect Predator on reading lists for high school and college students in medicine, science or non-science majors! However, anyone needing a well written, thrilling, inspirational memoir will enjoy it. The Perfect Predator is a perfect book in my mind. A gripping, true story AND a primer on the history and future of viruses to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Overview

The Perfect Predator tells the story of two world-renowned, globetrotting HIV research scientists almost defeated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This harrowing, first-hand narrative takes a reader bedside throughout Tom’s seemingly futile battle with a multi-drug resistant bacterial infection. It lays bare the couple’s struggles. White-knuckled and tensed, I sobbed as Steffanie morphed from confident, accomplished scientist to frustrated, desperate wife of a dying man. I cheered as she returned to her brilliant, determined self. Very weird, ethereal visions Tom experienced as he fell in and out of a coma punctuates Steffanie’s journey. The Perfect Predator is an uncensored look into the struggles of two people who survive a hell like none of us hope to ever experience.

(Left) Steffanie and Tom with their tour guides on vacation in Egypt before Tom falls ill. (Right) Tom in the UCSD hospital in a coma while doctors begin trying phage therapy. (photos by Steffanie Strathdee)

Hopeless?

I love the emotional rawness of this book. Steffanie is as vulnerable as anyone with a sick loved one is. Tom’s lab results and medical problems leave her confused and feeling helpless. Her supportive
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) medical colleagues repeatedly help. They define medical terms. They provide cutting-edge care. Yet, the microbes are winning. With Tom’s IV pole fully loaded with an assortment of antibiotics, Steffanie overhears a passing comment. She realizes her UCSD medical friends were hopeless. Suddenly, Steffanie’s brilliance, resourcefulness, and love for Tom turn the tables on the multi-drug resistant bacterial infection. I’ll stop there to prevent spoiling the full effect of this amazing story. The Perfect Predator brutally illustrates the danger of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their control by bacteriophage virus predators.

Science’s Strength

I didn’t have the answers – nobody did – but I know how to look.

Stephanie Strathdee

Process

The Perfect Predator details the power of the scientific process and strength of collaboration. It is empowering to read how Steffanie isolates the problem, finds a solution, and pulls together a network of researchers to solve it. “But she’s a scientist” you might say. Yes, but it’s NOT the knowledge that she gained in school or during her research career. It’s the PROCESS of science! All of us use the scientific process to solve problems as babies exploring the world!

Can you tell which one of these 4 people spent 9 mo in #hospital (4 mo in #ICU) fighting a #superbug and was saved by #phagetherapy with the help of the other 3? Thanking the US #Navy, @AmpliPhiBio & @ChipatUCSD from @UCSDMedSchool for the #GiftofLife! #AMR #phage #survivor pic.twitter.com/cpVmwhQn4M

— Steffanie Strathdee, PhD 🗡️ 🦠Superbug Slayer🗡️ (@chngin_the_wrld) March 30, 2018

Collaborations

Collaboration, another cornerstone of science, saves the day. Steffanie cold-calls military and academic researchers asking for help finding bacteriophage that would help Tom. U.S. Army soldiers and Navy sailors fighting in the Gulf Wars have acquired antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as Acinetobacter baumannii. Thus, military research on phage viruses is active. As Navy scientists share their phage therapy research with Steffanie and the UCSD doctors, Steffanie is optimistic. Yet the perfect virus predator for Tom’s antibiotic-resistant bacteria was still missing. More collaborators are needed.

Academic phage hunters were pulled in next. Professors and students at teaching colleges and research universities have been collecting and studying phage viruses in the environment since 2008. Like Darwin and other naturalists collected and cataloged Earth’s plants and animals in the 1800s. Similarly, today’s professors and their students isolate different types of phage from sewage, rotten vegetables, and seawater “just because viruses are interesting” (o.k. and part of their microbiology class grade!). Such basic research has no particular application in mind. Only to “understand the world”. However, when an application like phage therapy emerges, screening of that vast library of 15,000+ viruses students collected over 8 years takes only a few weeks. Collaborative science, spearheaded by his brilliant wife, saves Tom.

Happy endings

The story told in The Perfect Predator is refreshing and hopeful. Our world has huge problems. However, the perfect mix of passion, determination, resourcefulness, and collaborative science can solve these problems. No matter what your training is, no matter where you are in life, Steffanie and Tom’s memoir of their battle with antibiotic-resistant bacteria will touch your head, heart, and soul. ThePerfect Predator is an incredible read for anyone. Read it and pass it on.

Additional resources

https://health.ucsd.edu/news/topics/phage-therapy/Pages/default.aspx

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