Courtney Galle

Courtney Galle serves as an Assistant Professor in the Biology department at South Texas College, actively teaching within the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. Her current instructional responsibilities span multiple sections of BIOL-1406 (phage discovery) and BIOL-1407 (phage genomics) courses for Fall 2024 through Fall 2025 terms.

Her research and pedagogical focus centers on microbiology and phage genomics, specifically utilizing Microbacterium foliorum as a host organism. She integrates wet-lab phage isolation techniques with computational bioinformatics analysis, providing students with authentic research experiences in viral evolution and genomic characterization through the national SEA-PHAGES initiative.

Dr. Galle mentors undergraduate students across sections with enrollments ranging from 10–19 students per term, emphasizing hands-on discovery and genomic analysis. Her work is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's SEA-PHAGES framework, which structures curriculum standards and sequencing resources. She participates in program-wide events including the 2025 Phage Discovery Workshop and 2026 SEA Symposium to advance pedagogical approaches in phage research education.