When: 
Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Where: 
103 Ramer History House
Price: 
Free

The SEA-PHAGES lab is an alternative to our General Biology lab for a select group of 16 students. Through the fall semester, students collect soil samples, isolate bacteriophage (a virus that infects bacteria), and characterize the phage using both molecular biological tools and electron microscopy. At least one phage is sequenced over interim and students use bioinformatics tools through spring semester to identify and annotate the genome for curation at the University of Pittsburgh and the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 125 institutions now use this lab sequence to positively impact student education.

Lafayette is partnered with Bryn Mawr College and ten other institutions to design, deliver, and assess just-in-time support for fundamental computational skills.  This semester students in Chemistry 121, Mathematics 161 (and 165), and Physics 111 have been invited to use online materials to build skills and confidence in areas that often inhibit their progress in STEM fields.  The hope is that these supports will increase STEM completion rates for all students, particularly low-income, first-generation and under-represented minority students, categories where STEM attrition is particularly acute.  This project is funded by a First in the World grant, of the Fund for Improving Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), U. S. Department of Education.

Sponsored by: 
The Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship

Contact information

Name: 
Professor Chawne Kimber
Phone: 
610.330.5269
Email: 
kimberc@lafayette.edu