Ann Koga

Ann Koga is a Lecturer in the Biology department at the College of Idaho, actively engaged in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program since 2016. She teaches laboratory-based bacteriophage research courses integrating wet-lab discovery and computational genomics.

Her research focuses on bacteriophage isolation and genomic analysis using bacterial hosts including Gordonia terrae, Arthrobacter globiformis, and Microbacterium foliorum. She directs both in situ (phage discovery/microbiology) and in silico (phage genomics/bioinformatics) course components, emphasizing authentic undergraduate research experiences.

Koga has mentored over 100 students across nine course sections (2016-2021), primarily freshmen, with class sizes ranging from 2-18 students. Her in situ sections meet twice weekly for 4 hours conducting phage isolation, while in silico sections meet once weekly for 2 hours performing genomic annotation.

No scientific awards were documented in the source material.

As a SEA-PHAGES network member, she utilizes national resources including PhagesDB, Genome Exchange, and SRA for collaborative phage research. Her work contributes to the program's mission of transforming biology education through discovery-based learning.