A Broadly Implementable Research Course in Phage Discovery and Genomics for First-Year Undergraduate Students
Tuajuanda C. Jordan,Sandra H. Burnett,Susan Carson,Steven M. Caruso,Kari Clase,Randall J. DeJong,John J. Dennehy,Dee R. Denver,David Dunbar,Sarah C. R. Elgin,Ann M. Findley,Chris R. Gissendanner,Urszula Golebiewska,Nancy Guild,Grant A. Hartzog,Wendy H. Grillo,Gail P. Hollowell,Lee E. Hughes,Allison Johnson,Rodney A. King,Lynn O. Lewis,Wei Li,Frank Rosenzweig,Michael R. Rubin,Margaret S. Saha,James Sandoz,Christopher D. Shaffer,Barbara J. Taylor,Larissa K. Temple,Edwin Vazquez,Vassie C. Ware,Lucia P. Barker,Kevin W. Bradley,Deborah Jacobs-Sera,Welkin H. Pope,Daniel A. Russell,Steven G. Cresawn,David Lopatto,Cheryl Bailey,Graham F. Hatfull +39 more
TLDR
A general model in which faculty and teaching assistants from diverse academic institutions are trained to teach a research course for first-year undergraduate students focused on bacteriophage discovery and genomics is developed, showing that this alliance-sourced model not only substantially advances the field of phage genomics but also stimulates students’ interest in science, positively influences academic achievement, and enhances persistence inScience, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.Abstract:
Engaging large numbers of undergraduates in authentic scientific discovery is desirable but difficult to achieve. We have developed a general model in which faculty and teaching assistants from diverse academic institutions are trained to teach a research course for first-year undergraduate students focused on bacteriophage discovery and genomics. The course is situated within a broader scientific context aimed at understanding viral diversity, such that faculty and students are collaborators with established researchers in the field. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) course has been widely implemented and has been taken by over 4,800 students at 73 institutions. We show here that this alliance-sourced model not only substantially advances the field of phage genomics but also stimulates students’ interest in science, positively influences academic achievement, and enhances persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Broad application of this model by integrating other research areas with large numbers of early-career undergraduate students has the potential to be transformative in science education and research training. IMPORTANCE Engagement of undergraduate students in scientific research at early stages in their careers presents an opportunity to excite students about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and promote continued interests in these areas. Many excellent course-based undergraduate research experiences have been developed, but scaling these to a broader impact with larger numbers of students is challenging. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Science Education Alliance Phage Hunting Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program takes advantage of the huge size and diversity of the bacteriophage population to engage students in discovery of new viruses, genome annotation, and comparative genomics, with strong impacts on bacteriophage research, increased persistence in STEM fields, and student self-identification with learning gains, motivation, attitude, and career aspirations.read more
Citations
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Phage Therapy in the Postantibiotic Era
TL;DR: The benefits of phage therapy beyond the clinical perspective are discussed, including opportunities for scientific outreach and effective education, interdisciplinary collaboration, cultural and economic growth, and even innovative use of social media, making the case thatphage therapy is more than just an alternative to antibiotics.
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Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM
Mica Estrada,Myra Burnett,Andrew G. Campbell,Patricia B. Campbell,Wilfred F. Denetclaw,Carlos G. Gutierrez,Sylvia Hurtado,Gilbert H. John,John Matsui,Richard McGee,Camellia Moses Okpodu,T. Joan Robinson,Michael F. Summers,Maggie Werner-Washburne,Maria Elena Zavala +14 more
TL;DR: Members of the Joint Working Group on Improving Underrepresented Minorities Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), utilizing Kurt Lewin's planned approach to change, describe five recommendations to increase URM persistence in STEM at the undergraduate level.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phage diversity, genomics and phylogeny.
TL;DR: This Review explores phage diversity at the structural, genomic and community levels as well as the complex evolutionary relationships between phages, moulded by the mosaicity of their genomes.
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Modeling Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Agenda for Future Research and Evaluation
TL;DR: The authors review relevant literature to determine established and predicted outcomes of course-based undergraduate research experiences and then use this information and social learning theory to model how students may realize desired short, medium, and long-term outcomes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Whole Genome Comparison of a Large Collection of Mycobacteriophages Reveals a Continuum of Phage Genetic Diversity
Welkin H. Pope,Charles A. Bowman,Daniel A. Russell,Deborah Jacobs-Sera,David J. Asai,Steven G. Cresawn,William R. Jacobs,Roger W. Hendrix,Jeffrey G. Lawrence,Graham F. Hatfull +9 more
TL;DR: To understand the population structure of phages infecting a single host strain, 627 phages of Mycobacterium smegmatis were isolated, sequenced, and compared to reveal a continuum of genetic diversity, albeit with uneven representation of different phages.
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