Phages Helping Acquire Genuine Experiences in Science (PHAGES)

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The proposed project requests $1.35 million over five years to build sustainability for the successful “Phagedigging” program at Montana Tech. We aim to 1) equip teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to provide high-quality bacteriophage-based research opportunities for students; 2) establish a sustainable pipeline for students into the sciences; and 3) create self-sustaining satellite labs to ensure that students in underserved areas have access to local research opportunities. Select teacher leaders who have been involved with phage discovery in their classrooms for 4 or more years will serve as peer mentors to expand the project to their colleagues' classrooms. 1) A diverse population of K-12 students, teachers, and undergraduate students will participate in research efforts to discover and characterize bacteriophages. The proposed project will integrate K-12 outreach programs to broaden the cadre of participating teachers and provide thousands of K-12 students with genuine research experiences and rigorously measure the effects of the program. We hypothesize that this customized delivery and personalized mentoring will enhance retention of newly participating teachers, increase the diversity of participating students, and expand the geographical reach of the program. 2) In a forefront collaboration between SEPA and INBRE programs, we are currently piloting a program to widen the pipeline of precollege undergraduate researchers. Students who participated in phage discovery receive support for summer and academic year research. This pipeline will expand during the PHAGES project. After completing high school research projects, these new college students will transition to Montana INBRE-supported projects at any of eight Montana INBRE participating institutions, deepening their research experiences, and increasing the pipeline of Montana students into biomedical research. 3) With support from PHAGES, each teacher will develop the knowledge, skills, and infrastructure to provide classroom phage discovery in formats most appropriate for his or her school district, including the establishment of satellite labs for independent preparation of materials and delivery of the program. The project results and materials developed will be widely disseminated through publications, internet, and presentations at local, regional, and national science, and science education conferences. As there is >100 universities and college faculty participating in phage discovery in college classrooms, this program may provide a model to expand the reach of the HHMI SEA-PHAGES program to K-12 teachers and students.