What students do in the lab
Collect environmental samples, plate them on host bacteria, look for plaques, purify phages, prepare lysates, extract DNA, analyze genomes, and present final posters.
Your first research lab experience can start here.
Community Phages is for Roxbury Community College students who want hands-on experience in a research lab. Students work with HMS researchers to isolate environmental bacteriophages and learn the methods needed to describe them.
What the summer is.
The program is a paid 8-week research internship. Students are usually on campus Monday through Thursday, 9am-2pm, and spend the summer moving from basic lab technique to their own phage data and poster.
What students learn along the way
Sterile technique, pipetting, bacterial lawns, phage purification, titers, microscopy, restriction digests, Geneious, BLAST, notebook habits, and scientific communication.
What the schedule is like
The program typically runs Monday through Thursday, 9am-2pm, for eight weeks from May to July, with exact dates set each year.
What students actually work on.
The summer is organized around one real question: can students find and characterize bacteriophages from environmental samples that infect corynebacterial hosts?
1
Learn the bench
Pipetting, sterile technique, bacterial cultures, plates, lawns, safety, labels, and notebook habits.
2
Find plaques
Environmental samples are filtered, plated, enriched, and checked for clearings that suggest phage activity.
3
Characterize isolates
Students purify phages, prepare lysates, measure titers, image particles, extract DNA, and compare results.
4
Prepare posters and figures
Genome analysis, figures, phage names, poster practice, and final presentations turn results into a scientific explanation.
Selection and timing.
Selection and dates are coordinated each year with Roxbury Community College.
Timing
When the cohort is set
Student selection and dates are coordinated each year with Roxbury Community College. The usual summer window is May-July.
Fit
Who the program is for
The program is for Roxbury Community College students who can commit to the full 8-week schedule and are excited to learn in a research lab.
Commitment
Expected schedule
Typical hours are Monday-Thursday, 9am-2pm, for 8 weeks.
Questions about student participation?
Questions about timing, student participation, or teaching can go through the contact link.