Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Due Dates: October 31, 2025 (Application deadline for next academic year)
Funding Amounts: No direct award; HHMI provides faculty training, curriculum support, and covers some administrative costs for participating institutions.
Summary: Supports STEM faculty at academic institutions to implement inclusive, course-based undergraduate research experiences in phage discovery and gene function.
Key Information: Open to academic institutions; not individual researchers. Only institutions offering SEA-PHAGES may apply for SEA-GENES.
Description
The Science Education Alliance (SEA) program, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), is designed to help STEM faculty at academic institutions implement and sustain course-based research experiences for undergraduates. The program is open to institutions regardless of their prior research experience or research infrastructure, with a focus on broadening access to authentic research in the undergraduate curriculum.
SEA currently offers two main research-education projects:
- SEA-PHAGES: A two-term, discovery-based research experience in which students isolate, characterize, and annotate bacteriophages from environmental samples. This program is often used as a replacement for traditional introductory biology lab courses.
- SEA-GENES: An extension for institutions already running SEA-PHAGES, allowing mid- to upper-level undergraduates to functionally investigate phage-encoded genes, typically as part of Genetics, Molecular Biology, or Microbiology courses.
Both projects emphasize hands-on research, critical thinking, and professional development, including opportunities for students and faculty to present at scientific meetings and publish research findings.
HHMI supports participating institutions by providing faculty training, negotiating discounts and donations for supplies, and covering some administrative costs. The program does not provide direct monetary awards to individual researchers or students.
Due Dates
- October 31, 2025: Application deadline to begin offering the program in the next academic year.
Funding Amount
- No direct monetary award to individuals or labs.
- HHMI provides:
- Faculty training and ongoing support.
- Curriculum materials and protocols.
- Whole-genome sequencing for selected phage isolates.
- Administrative and logistical support for program implementation.
- Negotiated discounts and donations for supplies.
Eligibility
- Eligible Applicants: Academic institutions (2-year and 4-year colleges and universities).
- Not open to: Individual researchers, students, or non-academic organizations.
- SEA-GENES eligibility: Only institutions already offering SEA-PHAGES are eligible to apply for SEA-GENES.
Application Process
- Institutions must submit an application by the annual deadline (October 31, 2025) to be considered for participation in the following academic year.
- The application typically requires:
- Institutional information and commitment.
- Description of current curriculum and interest in course-based research.
- Identification of faculty leads and support staff.
- Selected institutions receive onboarding, training, and ongoing support from HHMI and the SEA community.
For detailed application instructions and requirements, visit the SEA program page.
Additional Information
- SEA-PHAGES curriculum includes phage isolation, purification, amplification, genome sequencing, and annotation, with submissions to GenBank.
- Some phages discovered by students have been used in therapeutic applications, including treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections (see example).
- Students and faculty can present at scientific meetings and co-author peer-reviewed publications (see SEA-PHAGES publications).
- The program fosters a national and international network of faculty and students engaged in phage research and genomics.
External Links
Contact Information
For specific questions about the application process or program details, use the contact form on the HHMI website or the SEA program page.