James Melton

James Melton serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Biology Department at Spelman College, actively teaching in the HHMI-funded SEA-PHAGES program since at least 2023. His courses integrate wet-lab phage discovery with computational genomics, primarily serving senior biology majors through structured undergraduate research experiences.

Education:

• PhD in Molecular Systematics and Genomics of Green Algae, The University of Alabama (2017)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Diversity and Genomics of Amoebozoa, Spelman College

Research Focus: Dr. Melton specializes in microbial genomics with emphasis on bacteriophage characterization and evolutionary analysis. His work bridges classroom instruction and authentic research through the SEA-PHAGES curriculum, utilizing Arthrobacter globiformis and Gordonia rubripertincta as host systems to explore viral diversity.

Teaching Profile: He consistently instructs 10-11 students per semester across BIO350 (Phage Discovery) and BIO351 (Phage Genomics) courses, maintaining rigorous 4-5 hour weekly laboratory sessions. Recent sections (2023-2025) demonstrate his focus on training seniors in both microbiological techniques and bioinformatics pipelines.