Membership in the SEA-PHAGES program is an excellent opportunity to bring a proven, discovery-based, broadly-implementable research experience to novice scientists at your college or university. You can apply to join the Science Education Alliance's Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science program here.

Member institutions receive a variety of benefits and are expected to contribute to the community in several ways.

Active SEA-PHAGES Member Institutions

Receive the following benefits:

• Have access to all SEA-PHAGES protocols and procedures.
• Have access to the experienced SEA-PHAGES team to help with implementation and troubleshooting questions.
• Have access to SEA-PHAGES databases, web sites, virtual machines, and software, including support.
• Will have at least one phage genome sequenced, free of charge, by the SEA-PHAGES program per student section (~18 students) of the course.
• Receive invitations and support to send faculty and students to participate in the annual Symposium.
• Participate in preparation and publication of research findings in peer-reviewed journals.

Are expected to:

• Offer discovery-based phage research classroom courses for which students register for credit.
• Deliver a research-based curriculum that includes phage isolation and purification, electron microscopy, DNA extraction, genome sequencing, annotation, and comparative analysis using SEA-PHAGES protocols.
• In accordance with the project's scientific goals, use host bacteria within the Phylum Actinobacteria.
• Utilize SEA-PHAGES-trained faculty or other mentored faculty to teach the courses.
• Enter and maintain information about newly isolated phages into the phagesdb.org database.
• Submit DNA for sequencing, or indicate alternative options for sequencing.
• Use quality controlled complete genome sequences for annotation.
• Submit high-quality annotated genomes for review and subsequent GenBank submission.
• Maintain a local phage lysate archive and submit phage samples for SEA-PHAGES program archiving.
• Participate in SEA-PHAGES-wide program and student assessments.
• Enter and maintain current and relevant institutional information, including faculty contacts, numbers of students, and number of class sections, into seaphages.org.
• Submit a student-authored abstract for the annual symposium.
• Provide data and materials by the appropriate deadlines (see attached), and provide timely responses to requests from the SEA-PHAGES leadership for information and documentation.
• Recognize the contributions of HHMI, member institutions, faculty, and students in publications and presentations.
• Maintain a spirit of collaboration when publishing, including deciding authorship and data usage collectively, inclusively, and transparently.

SEA-PHAGES Yearly Program Deadlines

1. Please note that these deadlines are firm.
2. Materials can be submitted any time prior to the deadline.
3. If you have trouble meeting any of these deadlines, please contact us as soon as possible, prior to the deadline. Reasonable accommodations can usually be arranged.
4. Specific deadlines for each academic year will be announced prior to beginning of Fall term.