Christopher Buehl

Christopher Buehl serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, actively engaged in the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. He functions as the primary instructor for multiple sections of BIOL160, an undergraduate course dedicated to phage discovery and microbiology.

His research spans Microbiology, Genomics, Evolutionary Biology, and Phage Biology, with emphasis on bacteriophage isolation and characterization using bacterial hosts including Arthrobacter globiformis and Microbacterium species. Through the SEA-PHAGES initiative, Dr. Buehl integrates authentic research experiences into freshman-level curriculum, advancing genomic databases and evolutionary science understanding.

Dr. Buehl has consistently instructed BIOL160 since Fall 2023 across multiple sections, teaching 23-26 freshmen students per term in intensive 6-hour/week laboratory courses. His sections employ standardized phage discovery protocols using specific bacterial hosts, with Fall 2023 including collaboration with additional instructor J. Alfred Bonilla. The program structure involves participation in national workshops and symposia including the annual SEA Symposium and Phage Discovery Workshops.

As a SEA-PHAGES faculty member, he contributes to a nationwide network advancing undergraduate science education through hands-on genomics research, utilizing resources like PhageDB and the Genome Exchange platform to support student-driven phage characterization and annotation projects.