Phillip C. Delekta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology (MGI) at Michigan State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Microbiology from MSU. He serves as Course Director for MMG 301 (Introductory Microbiology) and MMG 494L (Summer Undergraduate Research Institute in Genomics), and has also taught BS 171, MGI 434, MGI 490, and MGI 892.
As director of MMG 301, Phillip has led efforts to implement active learning strategies and online environments that emphasize scientific practices. He completed the Postdoctoral Short-Course on College Teaching in Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and earned certification with distinction in An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching through the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning. At MSU, he furthered his pedagogical training through the Three-Dimensional Learning (3DL) in STEM fellowship. His contributions to science education at MSU have been recognized with the College of Natural Science Faculty Teaching Prize and the MGI Early Career Award.
Phillip’s current research focuses on how students retain and apply foundational knowledge from gateway biology courses in upper-level coursework. Motivated by persistent gaps in prerequisite knowledge among MMG 301 students, he has partnered with the BioSci Program to study how content from prerequisite courses like BS 161 supports success in MMG 301. In the project’s first phase, they are assessing student retention and application of BS 161 content and examining academic and demographic factors affecting prerequisite knowledge use. In phase two, they will develop and test an AI-based tutoring intervention to address identified knowledge gaps. This work aims to provide practical solutions to improve undergraduate biology education at MSU.