Christian NewellTwo N.C. Central University professors are leading a group of biology and biomedical sciences students who are helping build a database that could hold the key to fighting infections that no longer respond to traditional antibiotics.
Several undergraduate students are working with professors Gail P. Hollowell and Lindsey Costantini in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences to discover, analyze and share bacteriophages, also called phages, which are viruses that can attack harmful bacteria that antibiotics cannot.
“Antibiotics are commonly used by your doctor, however not all antibiotics are used for every bacteria,” Costantini said. “So, we need other ways to treat bacterial infections. Phages is an alternative way to treat bacterial infections.”
NCCU is conducting bacteriophage research through a two-semester course called Phage Discover and Phage Genomics as a part of The SEA-PHAGES Program, a program that aims to give undergraduate students the resources to discover, isolate, and study bacteria from soil and water to grow a scientific database.
The work being done at NCCU is part of a national effort to find and catalog new phages. By creating a large database of these viruses, researchers may be able to better understand how phages function and how they could be used to treat infections.
This database, which contains contributions from universities across the United States and internationally, allows scientists to study newly discovered phages in detail.
“If we can identify at the genetic level, we may be able to use genomic replacements across species to develop new disease treatments,” Hollowell said.
In the fall semester, students take a class called Phage Discovery, where students go outdoors to collect outside samples such as soil, water, and other natural materials that might contain new phages. Back in the lab, students isolate and identify the phages they’ve found.
In the spring semester, the class focuses from discovery to analysis.
Students who find new phages, or viruses that infect bacteria, get the chance to add their findings to the SEA-PHAGES program, providing global access to their findings. Students study their phages at the genetic level, learning how to annotate genomes and understand the molecular biology that makes each virus unique.
Several students in Costantini’s class said their work adds valuable entries to the national phage database, while also training students in the kinds of advanced research methods usually reserved for graduate-level work.
The course, designed for sophomores, is intended to allow students to get early exposure to research which may encourage students to explore careers in science.
“It helps you get into the world of research medicine biology,” Yasmine Peterkin, an NCCU student, said. “As an aspiring doctor this helps me and my classmates a lot.”
