Jillian Nissen

Jillian Nissen serves as a Lecturer at the State University of New York at Old Westbury within the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program, a national HHMI-funded initiative. She has directed multiple research-intensive courses including BS2401 (Phage Discovery, Fall 2019), BS4460 (Genetics, Spring 2023), and BS5590 (Advanced Research, Spring 2020), utilizing Mycobacterium smegmatis as the primary host organism across all sections.

Her research integrates experimental microbiology with computational genomics, focusing on bacteriophage discovery, annotation, and evolutionary analysis. Teaching methodology emphasizes hands-on laboratory techniques and bioinformatics workflows, engaging 42 students from freshman to senior levels in authentic research experiences totaling 3-5 hours weekly per course.

Dr. Nissen's pedagogical approach bridges foundational genetics with cutting-edge genomic analysis, preparing students for advanced research through structured phage isolation, sequencing, and annotation pipelines within the SEA-PHAGES framework.