Steve Caruso

Steve Caruso is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he has served as a core instructor in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program since 2008. He teaches 6-7 concurrent course sections annually across fall, spring, and winter terms, mentoring approximately 150-200 undergraduate students yearly in both wet-lab phage discovery and computational genomics.

His research and teaching focus on bacteriophage genomics and host-pathogen interactions, specializing in phages infecting Streptomyces species (S. griseus, S. mirabilis, S. scabiei) and Bacillus thuringiensis. Professor Caruso has developed a vertically integrated curriculum where students progress from phage isolation to genomic annotation, with lab facilities maintained open Monday-Friday during business hours to support continuous research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he adapted courses to hybrid formats while preserving authentic research experiences.

As a long-standing SEA-PHAGES faculty member, he contributes to this national HHMI-funded initiative that has engaged over 100 institutions in undergraduate phage research. His teaching portfolio includes foundational courses (BIOL 215L/302L) and advanced genomics courses (BIOL 316L), frequently co-instructing with colleagues like Ivan Erill. He also leads intensive summer programs through UMBC's STEM-BUILD initiative, designing 3-4 week modules that combine phage discovery with bioinformatics for underrepresented STEM students.

Professor Caruso maintains a high-volume teaching operation with consistent enrollment across 15+ years, demonstrating exceptional commitment to undergraduate research education. His courses serve as critical entry points into biomedical research for UMBC students, with recent sections extending into Winter 2026 terms.