Christina MacLaren

Christina MacLaren is a Lecturer at Merrimack College actively involved in the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program, teaching undergraduate laboratory courses focused on bacteriophage research since at least 2018.

Her research interests center on Microbiology, Genomics, and Bioinformatics, with specific expertise in phage discovery using Microbacterium foliorum and Mycobacterium smegmatis hosts, genomic annotation, and evolutionary analysis of bacteriophages. She integrates authentic research experiences into undergraduate education through the SEA-PHAGES curriculum.

Dr. MacLaren has instructed over 80 students across multiple course sections between 2018-2019, including 14 students in Fall 2019's phage discovery course (BIO1027L-B) and five sections of bioinformatics courses (BIO2018L) in Spring 2018 ranging from 14-16 students each. Her teaching spans all undergraduate levels from freshmen to seniors, with course structures involving 1-2 weekly meetings totaling 2.5-3 hours of hands-on laboratory work.

As a core faculty member in Merrimack College's SEA-PHAGES implementation, she contributes to this national HHMI-funded initiative that revolutionizes undergraduate science education through authentic phage genomics research. Her work supports student engagement in complete research cycles from phage isolation to genomic annotation, advancing the program's mission to integrate cutting-edge genomics into introductory biology curricula.