Bhaswati Manish

Bhaswati Manish serves as a Biology Instructor at Metropolitan Community College and is an active participant in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. She teaches multiple course sections spanning phage discovery and genomics, including both laboratory-based (in situ) and computational (in silico) approaches for undergraduate students primarily in their first and second years of college.

Manish's research interests center on bacteriophage genomics using Gordonia rubripertincta as a host organism, with emphasis on viral annotation, evolutionary analysis, and bioinformatics pipeline development. She integrates these interests directly into course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) through the SEA-PHAGES curriculum, enabling students to contribute to authentic phage genome sequencing and annotation projects.

She has mentored over 50 students across five course sections since Fall 2023, with teaching responsibilities including BIOS 2900 (SEA-PHAGES), BIOS 1512 (Phage Discovery), and BIOS 1513 (Viral Genomics). Her participation in the HHMI-funded SEA-PHAGES network provides structured resources for student research in microbial genomics and evolutionary science.

As part of the national SEA-PHAGES consortium connecting over 100 institutions, Manish contributes to collaborative phage genome analysis while implementing the program's standardized curriculum at Metropolitan Community College. Her work utilizes dedicated laboratory facilities for phage isolation and computational resources for genomic annotation, fostering hands-on research experiences that bridge microbiology and bioinformatics.