Biology

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Education Alliance, Gene-function Exploration by a Network of Emerging Scientists (SEA-GENES) project is a new semester-long course-based research experience designed to expand the work conducted in the SEA-PHAGES course. WKU students have participated in the SEA-PHAGES program for over a decade and the data they have collected can be viewed at https://phagesdb.org/filter/ (choose Western Kentucky University in the “Institution” drop down menu).  The new GENES program provides the opportunity for students to further characterize phage and to understand how scientific progress is built upon previous research. In the GENES project, students will generate expression libraries for phage genes, test for the ability of phage gene products to modulate bacterial host phenotypes, and screen phage gene products against the bacterial host proteome to identify putative host target(s).  Student and faculty representatives from the GENES project will attend the annual SEA Symposium to present their results. Drs. Rodney King, Claire Rinehart, Simran Banga and Chandra Emani will complete instructor training over the next several months. The Biology professors are excited about this next phase of innovative student engagement and are looking forward to welcoming the inaugural class this fall.

Contact Dr. Rodney King, rodney.king@wku.edu, 270-745-6910 or Claire Rinehart, claire.rinehart@wku.edu, 270-745-6892