Planning: sea-phages-tycs DCL: building undergraduate research capacity at an urban two-year college through course-based research experiences

San Jose City College received a $198,998 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076), awarded July 15, 2025, with a completion date of June 30, 2027. The award supports the planning and implementation of the Science Education Alliance—Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) initiative at the institution. The primary deliverable is a two-semester, course-based undergraduate research curriculum integrated into the biology major series that engages students in discovery-based research on bacteriophages, beginning with isolation of novel phages from soil and progressing through microbiological methods, genome annotation, and bioinformatics analyses.

Through this initiative, San Jose City College provides early research opportunities to two-year college students in an urban setting, with particular emphasis on serving underrepresented populations in STEM. The college participates in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's nationwide SEA-PHAGES community, which delivers ongoing professional development to faculty and facilitates collaboration among educators. The project aims to increase student persistence in biology coursework, create viable academic pathways into the biological science workforce in Silicon Valley, and contribute to broader research on effective educational practices in STEM instruction.

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by providing early research opportunities, increasing persistence in biology coursework, and preparing two-year college students to enter pathways that lead to the stem workforce. Evergreen college has been selected to be part of the howard hughes medical institute's (HHMI) science education alliance phage hunters advancing genomics and evolutionary science (sea-PHAGES) initiative, which provides a nationwide community of stem faculty to support the adaptation, implementation and assessment of authentic research experiences for students early in the stem pathway. The sea-PHAGES curriculum spans two-semesters and immerses students in discovery-based research that begins with isolating novel bacteriophages from soil and continues through microbiological methods, genome annotation, and bioinformatics analyses. In doing so, the project creates a valuable opportunity for a two-year college students to engage in a national community focused on improving instruction and contributing to broader research on effective educational practices. The goal of this project is to increase success and facilitate academic pathways into the biological science workforce in silicon valley. To achieve this goal, the sea-PHAGES curriculum is incorporated into the biology major's series which engages students in the discovery and genomic characterization of bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Although bacteriophages have been studied for decades, thousands remain undiscovered and studying them may provide important insights into biology and medicine. As part of this initiative, two-year college faculty engage in an on-going professional development community that links educators nationwide through shared activities and collaboration. Assessment and evaluation efforts focus on student outcomes such as persistence, career pathway selection, and content mastery. An external advisory board plans to collect course artifacts, project deliverables, and surveys that capture the success and challenges of the adaptation of new curriculum. Dissemination efforts focus on student presentations at conferences, as well as faculty publications and presentations aimed at informing the broader biology education community. Ultimately, this project aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how two-year colleges can effectively engage students in research experiences. The NSF iuse: innovation in two-year college stem education (ITYC) program seeks to accelerate the impact of and advance knowledge about emerging and evidence-based practices in undergraduate stem education at two-year colleges. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.