Sara Tolsma

Sara Tolsma is a Professor of Biology at Northwestern College, actively leading the institution's participation in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program since 2017. She serves as primary instructor for multiple course sections including BIO 200 (phage discovery) and BIO 202 (phage genomics), guiding undergraduate students through authentic research experiences in microbiology and bioinformatics.

Her research focuses on bacteriophage biology and genomics, specializing in phages infecting Mycobacterium smegmatis, Microbacterium foliorum, and Gordonia terrae. Through the SEA-PHAGES program, she contributes to national efforts in phage annotation and evolutionary science education, emphasizing hands-on genomic analysis and microbial host interactions.

Professor Tolsma has taught 12+ course sections from Fall 2017 to Spring 2025, with enrollments ranging from 3 to 23 students across all undergraduate classifications. She mentors honors students in BIO 499 and HON 499 research projects extending PHAGES/GENES coursework, maintaining consistent 4-5 weekly meetings with 5-8 hours of instructional time per section.