Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience Classes (CURE)
CUREs are designed to increase interest in science by immersing undergraduates in genuine research experiences.
MCB CURE Courses
MCB 1200 Virus Hunters and MCB 1201 Virus Bioinformatics are CUREs and part of the HHMI SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program. The students identify and characterize unique viruses that infect soil bacteria, also called bacteriophages. The DNA genomes of the new viruses are sequenced and student then annotate these genomes. The bacteriophages are banked and sometimes used in phage therapy. The genomes are ripe with unidentified proteins that can be used for a variety of functions.
MCB 2612 Microbe Hunters-Crowdsourcing Antibiotic Discovery is part of the Tiny Earth program that allows students to perform independent microbial research projects to aid in the discovery of novel antibiotics. Using a “crowdsourcing” approach, new data is compiled with data from ~100 other institutions worldwide (12 countries) in an effort to combine teaching with a novel approach to antibiotic drug discovery.