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Get the most interesting and important stories from the University of Pittsburgh.Each fall, hundreds of first-year college students across the country are sent outside by their professors to dig in the dirt. Virtually every scoop of soil contains bacteria as well as bacteriophages that infect and kill bacteria. These phages, as they are known, could change how scientists tackle bacterial infections and even help save lives. They are even more likely to spark the students’ love for research, leading to a lifetime of discoveries.
“There are an estimated 10 to the power of 31 bacteriophages in the world, so each student’s chances of discovering something novel and getting to name it is extremely high,” said Graham Hatfull, Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. “Too often, first-year biology labs are simply something a student has to get through to do something else. This program allows the student to make a legitimate contribution to science and it captures their imagination.”
The program is called Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomic and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES). The basic concept was created by Hatfull as part of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) program to encourage college professors to bring innovative science to the classroom. The Institute has continued to fund the program and awarded $3 million late last year to keep the program running through 2029. In total, HHMI has awarded more than $11 million to the program and its predecessor projects.
The SEA-PHAGES class is usually taught over two semesters. In the first semester, students gather samples from the local environment, grow particular soil bacteria, look for a phage that infects the bacteria, then isolate it and make more of it. A sample of the phage is then sent to Hatfull’s lab at Pitt to have its DNA sequenced. The sequence is sent back to the students for the second semester, which focuses on computational biology using the genome. The HHMI award supports the sequencing and the administrative costs associated with the program.
Between 150 and 175 higher education institutions participate in the SEA program each year. In total, more than 50,000 students have participated in the program since 2018. Despite that volume, it is extremely rare that two students independently find the same phage.
“I am so appreciative of the financial support and scientific encouragement I have received from HHMI over the years,” Hatfull said. “Hundreds and hundreds of papers have been published by SEA-PHAGES students. However, it’s not about making phage biologists. It is about getting students excited about science and showing them that it can be fun, interesting, productive, and a reason to get up in the morning.”
And the impact of SEA-PHAGES goes beyond the walls of the classroom — it’s part of a three-pronged effort to understand and find beneficial uses for bacteriophages. While researchers in Hatfull’s lab are doing basic science to learn about phages, students across the country are helping to build the world’s largest database and archive of phages, some of which physicians are using to cure their patients.
SEA-PHAGES at Pitt-Greensburg
This fall, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg became the first regional campus in the Pitt system to offer its science students the opportunity to participate in the SEA-PHAGES program.
“Students discover and name their own phages, which gives them a sense of ownership over their research,” explained Assistant Professor Sarah Swerdlow, who worked with fellow biology instructors Jennifer Ingram and Christie Zagorac to bring the program to Pitt-Greensburg. “These students are the primary researchers, and their work has real-world implications, contributing to the expanding field of virology and microbiology. For faculty, it’s a chance to be part of a larger, global scientific initiative — researching phages that could be used to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”
It’s been a game-changer for both students and faculty. “Before we had this program, students interested in phage research would have to relocate to the Pittsburgh campus or other institutions. Now, they can get that same world-class experience without leaving campus,” said Ingram.
For many students in this year’s cohort, made up of sophomores, juniors and seniors in microbiology, SEA-PHAGES is more than just a class — it’s an opportunity to transform how they view science.
“As an undergraduate STEM student, research is important. I knew I wanted to go into research, and this program gave me a real chance to do that,” said Charlotte Boyle, a junior biochemistry major. “Being able to contribute to the scientific community as an undergraduate is a rare and exciting opportunity.”
Students involved in the program get hands-on experience with cutting-edge techniques like bacterial and phage isolation and propagation, DNA gel electrophoresis and bioinformatics, all highly sought after skills in the biotechnology and research fields. They also gain confidence in their ability to conduct independent research and collaborate with faculty and peers on complex problems, even walking away with a tangible accomplishment: scientific publications based on their own work.
“Each year faculty and students are asked to present our work at symposia, where we have the chance to discuss our findings with scientists who have been in the field for decades,” said Swerdlow. “It’s an incredible experience for students to be able to speak to someone like Dr. Hatfull, who’s a pioneer in this field, and engage with them as equals.”
Pitt-Greensburg will expand its offerings this fall, becoming the first campus in the Pitt system to offer SEA-GENES, another HHMI program with a focus on genomics. The SEA-PHAGES program has the potential to grow even further, too. As more faculty members are trained and more students get involved, it could become integrated in BIO 1 and BIO 2 lab courses, a core part of the undergraduate experience for science majors.
Photography and Pitt-Greenburg story by Susan Isola. In the top photo, Haley Knepper holds up the tubes containing phages, which she’ll add to plates.