Larry Blumer

Larry Blumer serves as a Professor in the Department of Biology at Morehouse College, where he has been a core instructor in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program since 2014. His teaching spans both in situ (phage discovery/microbiology) and in silico (phage genomics/bioinformatics) tracks across multiple course sections including BIO 110 and BIO 111.

His research centers on bacteriophage discovery and genomic analysis, utilizing Mycobacterium smegmatis and Rhodococcus erythropolis as primary host organisms. This work integrates molecular biology techniques with bioinformatics pipelines to advance evolutionary science education. Over nearly a decade, Blumer has developed curriculum that immerses freshmen in authentic research through structured laboratory workflows and computational analysis.

As a dedicated educator in the SEA-PHAGES network, he has instructed over 200 undergraduate students across 12+ course sections between 2014-2023. His courses typically involve 10-20 freshmen per section meeting 1-2 times weekly for 4-5 hours, emphasizing hands-on phage isolation, characterization, and genomic annotation. Blumer collaborates closely with colleagues Alex Peister and Brandon Carpenter to deliver this nationally recognized science education initiative.