Rob Newman

Rob Newman is a Lecturer at North Carolina A&T State University, teaching within the HHMI-funded SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program since 2015. He has co-instructed four undergraduate biology course sections covering both phage discovery (in situ) and genomic analysis (in silico) components.

His research focuses on:

• Bacteriophage isolation and characterization
• Mycobacterium and Arthrobacter host systems
• Undergraduate bioinformatics training
• Viral genomics and evolutionary biology

Through SEA-PHAGES, he integrates authentic research into coursework, guiding students from phage culturing to genome annotation while contributing to national phage diversity databases.

Dr. Newman has mentored 52 undergraduates across multiple cohorts (2015-2024), with course enrollments ranging from 5-19 students per section. His teaching spans all undergraduate levels but primarily serves freshmen and sophomores in the two-semester SEA-PHAGES sequence, requiring 3.5-6 weekly hours of laboratory and computational work.

He actively participates in the national SEA-PHAGES network, utilizing standardized protocols for phage discovery and genomics education. The program provides structured resources including the Phage Discovery Guide, Bioinformatics Guide, and Genome Exchange platform, facilitating collaborative research across participating institutions.