SWITAPASPresentations

ThirdAnnual

SmallWorldInitiativeSymposium

at

AmericanSocietyforMicrobiology

(ASMMicrobe2016)

FromrighttoleftErikaKurt,SWIPresidentandCEOJoHandelsman,SWIFounder

NicholeBroderick,SWIPartnerInstructorLead

SymposiumOrganizingCommitteeJeanSchmidt

UniversityofPittsburghMustafaMorsy

UniversityofWestAlabamaBetsyRoberts

SouthernConnecticutStateUniversityEricWarrick

StateCollegeofFlorida

SWILeadership

AbouttheSmallWorldInitiative

FormulatedatYaleUniversityin2012bythecurrentAssociate

DirectorofScienceattheWhiteHouse,JoHandelsman,the

SmallWorldInitiative™(SWI)isaninnovativeprogramthat

encouragesstudentstopursuecareersinsciencewhile

addressingareal‐worldhealththreat– thediminishingsupply

ofeffectiveantibiotics.SWIcentersaroundanintroductory

biologycourseinwhichstudentsperformhands‐onfieldand

laboratoryresearchonsoilsamplesinthehuntfornew

antibiotics.Throughaseriesofstudent‐drivenexperiments,

studentscollectsoilsamples,isolatediversebacteria,testtheir

bacteriaagainstclinically‐relevantmicroorganisms,and

characterizethoseshowinginhibitoryactivity. Thisis

particularlyrelevantasovertwothirdsofantibioticscome

fromsoilbacteriaorfungi.

SWI’snovelapproachharnessesthepowerofactivelearningto

achievebotheducationalandscientificgoalsandprovidesa

uniqueandsustainableplatformtoreplenishtheantibiotic

pipelinebyidentifyingsuitablecandidatesfortesting.

Currently,SWI’scourseisin108schools(98colleges)across

33USstates,PuertoRico,andtenadditionalcountries– Belize,

Canada,Iraq,Ireland,Jordan,Malaysia,Nigeria,thePhilippines,

andtheUK,andhasimpactedmorethan8,000students.

Levelingdown‐SWItheSummerCampExperience

MichaelBuckholt,Ph.D.

WorcesterPolytechnicInstitute

WhatWeDo:

• 2weeks(actually8days)

• ~20students(campers)

• Welcomeletterwithwarningandwaiver

• 1assistant(usuallyaformerSWIstudent)

• Lotsofliquidnitrogen

WhatICanSay:

• Cangetresultsin8days

• Goodwithbigconceptswithoutallofthecontentdetails

• Recruitsstudentsfortheuniversityandthedepartment

SWIBiosafetyUpdates

KristenButela,Ph.D.

SetonHillUniversity

SWIBiosafetyUpdates

• UpdatedStudentGuide,InstructorGuide,andResearchProtocols

• BiosafetyTrainingPowerpoint withtrainingactivities

• HowtoupgradeBSL‐1labtoBSL‐2standards

• Informationonregulationsforhandlingpotentialhumanandplantpathogens,soiltransport,mailingstrains,etc.

• Recommendationsforimmunocompromised students

SmallWorldInitiativealluringLatin@s intoResearch

Lilliam Casillas,Ph.D.

UniversidaddePuertoRico‐Humacao

SmallWorldInitiativeIntegratedLabs:(1)MolecularandCellBiologyLab– UntilbacterialID’sofisolatesproducingantimicrobials.

(2)IntroductiontoBiotechnology– ChemicalCharacterizationof

antimicrobials.LaboratoryManualsweretranslatedtoSpanish

Accesstoresearchtoallstudentsintheclass=Equity

CyberneticgirlscanbepinkyEquityintheclassroomCulturallysensitiveGenderdifferencesinComputationalBiologyEmpoweringAfrodecedentsWhiteFragilityhttps://www.aacu.org/tides

cienciapr.org

Semestercourse

4daysworkshop

TheMicrobialWorld:thebenefitsofanSWIcourseonnon‐sciencemajorstudents

DebraDavis,Ph.D.WingateUniversity

MoreThanJustD.I.R.T.T:PilotingtheSWIHuntforAntibioticsinHighSchool

BarbaraFishel,Ph.D.

TheHockaday School

Hockaday’sgoalsmatchedtheSWIapproach• Introduceprinciplesofgeneralbiologythroughauthenticresearchandinquiry‐basedlearning.

• Developscientificthinkingskills.• Increaseconfidenceandinterestinpursuingscience.

Studentoutcomesexceededexpectations• InvestedingoalsofSWIandourcourse.• Repetitiongeneratedownershipoflearning,reflectedinengagementandperformance.

• Allninestudentsreportedtheyappliedthebiologytheylearnedwhendesigningexperimentsandinterpretingresults.

Affordablewhole‐genomesequencingof2novelmarineantibioticproducers

BrittanyJ.Gasper,Ph.D.

FloridaSouthernCollege

ExtensionofSWIResearch

• Youfoundsomethingcool!Nowwhat?

• WholegenomesequencingandANI

• Lessexpensivethanyouthink!

• Multilocus sequenceanalysis(MLSA)

• Genusspecific

• Polyphasic Analysis• FAME,biochemical,etc.

AntimicrobialAgents:What’sintheLabel

MaryMiller,Ed.D.

BatonRougeCommunityCollege

AClassroomActivity

Objective:Toexposestudentstocontenttheywillseeintheirlives,andapplywhattheyhavelearnedtounderstandmechanismsofactionsandsusceptibilitytests.

• Pairandshare

• 15‐20minutes

• Pre‐requisites• Prokaryotecellstructureandfunction

• DNAreplicationandProteinSynthesis

Studentsfindthefollowing

informationandsharewiththeclass:

• Description

• Microbiology

• Susceptibility• Kirby‐Bauer• MIC

• AdverseReactions

HighThroughputAntibioticsScreening

MustafaMorsy,Ph.D.TheUniversityofWestAlabama

150mmPetridishes96‐wellplate(0.5ml) 96‐wellPinReplicator

100mmPetridishes100mmPetridishes

TheIsolationandCharacterizationofMarineAntibioticProducingBacteria

EricWarrick,Ph.D.StateCollegeofFlorida

TesterStrain GramReaction/CellularMorphology

Bacillussubtilis GramPositive – RodStaphylococcusepidermidis

GramPositive– Cocci

Chromohalobactersalexigens

GramNegative– Rod

Vibriofischeri GramNegative– RodVibrioanguillarum GramNegative– Rod

Whatdoesyourbackyardlooklike?AtStateCollegeofFlorida– Bradenton,FloridaI’veadaptedtheSWIcurriculumtofocusonmarineantibioticproducingbacteria.

Whatdoyouneedtoculturemarinebacteria?

‐ Supplementthemedia0.5MNaCl(PDA,LB,TSA,andR2A)

‐ MarineAgar

Howwillthetesterstrainsgrowonthemediasupplementedwith0.5MNaCl?

What HaveWeFound?Vibriospecies

Pseudoalteromonas species

Photobacterium species

Halobacillus species

Streptomycesspecies

Halomonas species

Zooshikella species

PinkPigmentedVibrioisolate

RedPigmentedZooshikellaIsolate

PhotobacteriumIsolate

IdentificationofaBiosurfactant bywayoftheSWI

ElizabethLewisRoberts,Ph.D.SouthernConnecticutStateUniversity

AtomizedOilDropletAssay

0

1

2

3

4

BigR BlackKrim

DroughtSeverity

0µg

SmallWorldInitiative™CROWDSOURCINGANTIBIOTICDISCOVERY

www.smallworldinitiative.org