BIOS 1512 - SEA-PHAGES Virus Discovery

4.5 Credits

Students will participate in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) undergraduate research program SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science). This research education initiative course involves students learning and applying variety of microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology techniques. Students isolate, purify, amplify, and characterizing novel bacteriophages (viruses that kill bacteria) from soil samples that they collect. Students will contribute the data on the phages that they discover to the growing database at HHMI’s Phage Archive. This course involves 3 lecture and 4.5 lab hours in-person meetings per week.

Lecture Hours: 3.0
Lab Hours: 4.5
Internship Hours: 0.0
Clinical or Practicum Hours: 0.0

Course Objectives

Explain the structure, abundance, and life cycles of bacteriophages
Outline the reasons for isolating bacteriophages and how this aids our understanding of viral evolution
Demonstrate aseptic lab techniques and lab safety policies to prevent host bacterial culture and phage sample contamination
Develop proper laboratory handling skills involving bacterial culture and phage sample based experimental assays
Identify the broader impacts of studying bacteriophages on other areas of medical and basic science
Analyze the mechanism of action and proper application of the experimental techniques utilized in phage isolation, purification, amplification, DNA extraction, and phage characterization.
Keep an accurate, organized record of experiments that can be easily interpreted by other scientists
Summarize and present collected experimental data on phage discovery
Collaborate with a team of students to complete the phage discovery process

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