Dondra Bailey

Dondra Bailey serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at Coppin State University, where she has been the primary instructor for the BIOL 402 Genetics laboratory course since Spring 2023 through the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. She has taught 63 undergraduate students across three semesters (26 in Spring 2023, 26 in Spring 2024, and 11 in Spring 2025), collaborating with Dominique Dotson as additional instructor in the latter two terms.

Her research focuses on computational approaches to bacteriophage analysis, with demonstrated work involving bacterial hosts Mycobacterium smegmatis and Microbacterium foliorum. Key research domains include:

• Phage Genomics
• Bioinformatics
• Bacterial Genetics
• Microbial Evolution
• Genomics Education

Professor Bailey's teaching integrates in silico phage genomics and bioinformatics projects into undergraduate curriculum, contributing to national initiatives in science education. She actively participates in SEA-PHAGES workshops and symposia, including the upcoming 2025 Phage Genomics Workshop and 2026 SEA Symposium, advancing genomic literacy through authentic research experiences.