Melinda Harrison

Melinda Harrison serves as Professor of Chemistry at Cabrini University and is a core instructor in the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. She has led multiple course sections since Summer 2017, teaching both laboratory-based phage discovery (BIO280) and computational genomics (BIO441) with documented instruction through Spring 2024.

Her research focuses on:

• Phage genomics using Arthrobacter hosts
• Bioinformatics pipeline development
• Evolutionary analysis of bacteriophages
• Microbial genetics of Arthrobacter atrocyaneus

Harrison has mentored over 100 undergraduate students across 8 documented sections, including Spring 2024 Bioinformatics (11 students: 1 junior, 10 seniors) and Summer 2017 Virus Discovery (13 students). Course structures vary from intensive 20-hour/week laboratory sessions to 3-hour/week computational modules, reflecting dual expertise in wet-lab and in silico methodologies.

As an active SEA-PHAGES contributor, she participates in national workshops and symposia, utilizing hosts like Arthrobacter sp. and Arthrobacter atrocyaneus for phage isolation and genomic characterization. Her work bridges microbiology education with genomic research through structured student-driven projects.