Phage Safari

Phage Safari at Saint Joseph's University is a two-semester phage genomics lab course that gives first-year Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Medical Lab Science, Neuroscience, Chemical Biology, and Environmental Science students the unique opportunity to participate in an authentic research experience rather than a “cookbook” lab.

This lab experience combines themes and technology from several specialized biological fields, including microbiology, molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics. It satisfies the lab components of BIO 101: Cells and BIO 102: Genetics, as well as the first-year seminar (FYS) requirement.

As unique phages are characterized, students will publish their findings in Databases (Phages DB, NCBI GenBank) and scientific journals for the broader scientific community. Additionally, since Saint Joseph’s is part of the SEA-PHAGES program supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), faculty members and student representatives have the opportunity to report their discoveries and experiences at HHMI’s annual research symposium.

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Alexa Mihaita '24 and Deborah Duong '24 share their experiences studying bacteria phages through the Phage Safari program.

April Pivonka '22 and Mary Marino '22 explain their Phage Lab experience.

Students who participate in Phage Safari enjoy several benefits:

• Early exposure to cutting-edge research
• Experience in analyzing and interpreting data
• Learn skills in using genomics research tools
• Gain confidence in conducting independent research
• Appreciate the importance of communicating science
• Build collegiality among classmates and other scientists

For the 2024 - 2025 academic year, we will be discovering new phages in the fall (BIO 150L) and analyzing the DNA sequences of the new phages’ genomes using bioinformatics tools in the spring (BIO 151L). BIO 150L is mostly bench work, and BIO 151L is almost entirely computer-based.

Fall 2024 Semester: Students will isolate and purify bacteriophages from soil samples and characterize them using state-of-the-art technologies including electron microscopy and DNA analyses.

Spring 2025 Semester: Students will learn to use bioinformatics tools to annotate their phage genome sequence.

For more information about Phage Safari, please contact Julia Lee-Soety, Ph.D. and Nikki Sunnen, Ph.D.