Saint Augustine’s University has entered into a program that will transform the way introductory biology is taught. Known as the Science Education Alliance (SEA) program, the initiative involves replacing SAU’s entire year-long introductory biology laboratory curriculum with a research project that can later be presented at science and education meetings and published in peer-reviewed publications.

The program is being led by Dr. Sarah Straud, SAU’s Biology Program Coordinator, and Dr. Tyrell Carr, Associate Dean for the School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Allied Health.

“This opportunity expands the ability of Saint Augustine’s University to offer scholars cutting-edge and relevant experiences for competitive entry and matriculation in the scientific workforce, graduate school and/or professional school centered on the life sciences,” Dr. Carr stated. “In addition, this opportunity will strengthen and expand our program offerings in the biological and biomedical sciences as it relates to integrative and interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) education and research.”

The Science Education Alliance is a project of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), a biomedical research organization and philanthropy with a mission of unlocking the fundamentals of biology and building an open, inclusive future for science.

The year-long research experience is called SEA-PHAGES and involves isolating and characterizing novel viruses that infect bacteria. Dr. Carr and Dr. Straud attended a meeting about SEA on Nov. 21, 2024, at North Carolina Central University in Durham.

Although SEA-PHAGES has been in existence since 2008, HHMI is piloting and developing a program involving the 10 HBCUs of North Carolina, collectively known as NC10. The program has several phases that can be thought of as “experiences”:

Experience 1, an undergraduate student from each NC10 institution will be provided with a $7,000 stipend and housing to engage in eight weeks of SEA-PHAGES research at North Carolina Central University in Summer 2025.

Experience 2, which is tentative pending final approval, calls for the SEA-PHAGES trained undergraduate student to then engage in a year-long research experience under the mentorship of faculty at their home institution with stipend and funding support from HHMI.

Experience 3 (also tentative), in the summer of 2026, the same undergraduate student from Experiences 1 and 2 will engage in an 8-week research experience in the Laboratory of an HHMI Investigator at their institution. This experience will come with a stipend and housing support.

At Saint Augustine’s University, Dr. Straud will serve as the Faculty Lead for the SEA-PHAGES research project experience in BIOL 133L – Principles of Biology Part 1 Lab and BIOL 134L – Principles of Biology Part 2 Lab. The SEA-PHAGES experience at Saint Augustine’s University is slated to begin in the Fall of 2025. In addition, Dr. Straud will serve as one of the Research Mentors for Experience 2 along with Dr. Carr.

The other institutions participating in NC 10 are N.C. Central University, Shaw University, Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina A&T University, Johnson C. Smith University, Fayetteville State University, Bennett College, Livingstone College, and Elizabeth City State University.