SEA-PHAGES: Course-Based Undergraduate Research in Microbial Genomics

The Flamio Lab participates in the HHMI SEA-PHAGES program, a course-based undergraduate research experience that integrates authentic microbial discovery into General Biology. In this program, students are not completing scripted laboratory exercises but instead contribute directly to ongoing research in bacteriophage biology and microbial genomics.

Students isolate bacteriophages from environmental samples, perform host bacterial culture and plaque assays, extract and sequence viral DNA, and annotate complete phage genomes. Throughout this process, they develop skills in microbiological technique, genomic analysis, and scientific interpretation while working with real datasets that contribute to a broader scientific community.

Bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and key drivers of microbial evolution and population dynamics. Through SEA-PHAGES, student-generated genome data feed into publicly available databases used for comparative genomics and evolutionary analysis across research groups.

This experience provides training in microbiology and genomics within an authentic research framework, emphasizing experimental design, data analysis, and the logic of genome interpretation in microbial systems.