Pamela Connerly

Pamela Connerly serves as a Professor of Biology at Indiana University-Southeast, actively engaged in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. She has held teaching roles since at least 2021 across multiple course sections focused on phage discovery and genomics.

Her research centers on microbiology and phage genomics, utilizing Gordonia rubripertincta as a bacterial host for phage isolation and genomic analysis. This work bridges experimental microbiology with computational bioinformatics, contributing to evolutionary science through bacteriophage studies. Her pedagogical approach integrates wet-lab phage discovery (in situ) with genomic annotation (in silico) methodologies.

Dr. Connerly has mentored 112+ undergraduate students across six semesters (2021-2025), primarily freshmen (73.6%) and sophomores (21.4%). She collaborates closely with Elizabeth Rueschhoff and Danielle Watt within the SEA-PHAGES network, participating in national workshops and symposia. Her institutional role emphasizes hands-on genomic education through structured laboratory experiences totaling 7 hours weekly per course section.

Affiliated with Indiana University-Southeast's Biology department, she contributes to national science education initiatives through the HHMI SEA framework, focusing on scalable undergraduate research experiences in microbial genomics.