Ivan Erill

Ivan Erill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), actively engaged in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program since Spring 2013.

His research and teaching specialize in phage genomics and bioinformatics, focusing on bacteriophage genome annotation and evolutionary analysis using bacterial hosts including Bacillus thuringiensis and Streptomyces species (S. griseus, S. scabiei, and S. mirabilis). This work integrates computational biology with microbial evolution studies.

Dr. Erill has taught UMBC's SEA-PHAGES course (BIOL 316L) as an Additional Instructor alongside Steve Caruso for ten consecutive spring semesters (2013-2023), guiding 200+ undergraduates through in silico genomic analysis. He also served as Primary Instructor for Study Abroad programs in Summer 2018 and 2019, adapting instruction to online formats during the Spring 2021 pandemic semester.

His pedagogical approach emphasizes hands-on bioinformatics training in dedicated computer labs, with students meeting twice weekly for four-hour sessions to annotate phage genomes. This sustained commitment demonstrates significant contribution to undergraduate research education in genomic sciences.