Jessica Labonté

Jessica Labonté serves as a Lecturer at Texas A&M University-Galveston, where she functions as Primary Instructor for the SEA-PHAGES program's MARB482 course (Phage Discovery) during Fall 2019. This hands-on microbiology course focuses on bacteriophage isolation and genomic analysis within the HHMI Science Education Alliance framework.

Her research interests center on microbial evolution and bacteriophage genomics, utilizing Arthrobacter globiformis as a host organism for phage discovery. This work bridges experimental microbiology with evolutionary science, emphasizing practical genomic applications in undergraduate education.

Dr. Labonté mentored 10 undergraduate students in Fall 2019 across freshman (3), sophomore (4), and junior (3) levels through a structured 4-hour weekly laboratory format. Her instructional approach integrates phage hunting with genomic analysis techniques central to the SEA-PHAGES national curriculum.