Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. These viruses generally kill their hosts, which can provide a potential source of future medical treatments. In fact, phage therapy was developed before our expansion of antibiotic treatments and exists as a tailored treatment set for specific infections. The aim of this work is to continue to find new phages and test their host ranges.
Students will collect soil, work through isolation and characterization of bacteriophages from several potential bacteria species. Students will be expected to go through biohazard and safety training before beginning bench work. Additionally lab specific training will be required on site for protocols. Based on protocol requirements, there is more initial work so longer spans of time are needed on aberage 2-3 hour blocks. After phage is recovered, the time for protocols is reduced to about 1-2 hour spans. The differences in days would be at least once a week but not more than twice because of incubation time.
Students do not have a course prerequisite. The program is designed so that students at any stage of their education and in any major can participate.
Any relate coursework or experiences that would inform the student's experience should also be included in the email, along with what the student hopes to gain from the experience.
Interested students should contact the PI, Ms. Mary Ann Smith, mvs14@psu.edu, via email to discuss the opportunity and fit for the experience. Remember this is for students at the Schuylkill site because of the laboratory component.