title: PHIRE and TWiV: Experiences in Bringing Virology to New Audiences.
abstract: Virology encompasses a broad spectrum of topics touching upon many aspects of our everyday lives. However, appreciation of this impact is too often restricted to those who have specialized training and participate in virology research. The Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education (PHIRE) program and the This Week in Virology (TWiV) podcast seek to bring virology to new audiences through two different approaches-direct involvement of undergraduates in discovering and genomically characterizing bacteriophages (PHIRE) and clear, accessible, and free discussions among experts of all topics in virology (TWiV). Here we discuss these two high-impact programs, the audiences that they serve, their broader impacts, and their future potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260; email: gfh@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Graham F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Hatfull
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032; email: vrr1@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Racaniello
keywords: PHIRE; TWiV; bacteriophage; podcast