Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

06/18/2026

Research Professor Camelia Kantor, director of strategic initiatives at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been selected as a 2026 Future of the Field honoree by the Society of Research Administrators International.

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Research Professor Camelia Kantor, director of strategic initiatives at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been selected as a 2026 Future of the Field honoree by the Society of Research Administrators International.

06/17/2026

Sarah Assmann, Waller Professor of Biology at Penn State, is working to better understand how plants respond to environmental signals — and is applying that understanding to develop crops more resilient to environmental stress.

In a Q&A with Penn State News, she discussed how plants cope with environmental stress and how more resilient crops could not only increase agricultural food security but also help cool the warming climate.

Sarah M. Assmann, Waller Professor of Biology at Penn State, is working to better understand how plants respond to environmental signals — and is applying that understanding to develop crops more resilient to environmental stress. In this Q&A, Assmann discussed how plants cope with environmental s...

06/16/2026

The Huck Institutes' One Health Microbiome Center has named Jacques Ravel, professor of microbiology and immunology and director of the Center for Advanced Microbiome Research and Innovation (CAMRI), Institute for Genome Sciences, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine as the second recpient of its Microbiome Medal award.

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The One Health Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of Life Sciences at Penn State has selected Jacques Ravel, professor of microbiology and immunology and director of the Center for Advanced Microbiome Research and Innovation, Institute for Genome Sciences, at the University of Maryland School....

06/15/2026

Although self-driving cars and sophisticated robots use advanced cameras, computer algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to picture their surroundings, these artificial eyes struggle to remain reliable in mixed lighting conditions. A team of researchers, co-led by an engineer from Penn State, has proposed a solution that mimics the mechanics of the human eye to adapt from bright to dark light in seconds.

A team of researchers, co-led by an engineer at Penn State, are developing artificial vision technology that could help self-driving cars and robots see more clearly in changing light. Inspired by the way human eyes adjust from bright to dark settings, the new system is able to recognize visual patt...

06/11/2026

Experiencing stress leads to a suite of rapid physiological changes, and over time, the body can acclimate to the stress, eventually changing an individual’s baseline brain state. To improve understanding of the changes in the brain and body during acclimation to stress using a mouse model, the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences has awarded a five-year, $2 million grant to Grayson Sipe, assistant professor of biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences has awarded a five-year, $2 million grant to Grayson Sipe, assistant professor of biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science, to improve understanding of the changes in the brain and body during acclim...

06/10/2026

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has selected three faculty members to serve as Huck Leadership Fellows for the 2026-27 academic year. The competitive program prepares faculty for future leadership roles while engaging them in strategic initiatives that advance interdisciplinary research at Penn State.

Joshua Kellogg, associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences; Andrew Deans, professor of entomology and director of the Frost Entomological Museum; and Le Bao, professor of statistics, will participate in the fifth year of the Huck’s faculty professional development initiative, which involves faculty members in high-level decision-making at the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and encourages them to develop projects that contribute to the broader institutional mission.

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The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has selected three faculty members to serve as Huck Leadership Fellows for the 2026-27 academic year. The competitive program prepares faculty for future leadership roles while engaging them in strategic initiatives that advance interdisciplinary research at....

06/09/2026

Dipanjan Pan, Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine and recently appointed director for innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems at the Huck Institutes, will lead a Penn State team developing biosensors for a wearable eye health system as part of a multi-institution project backed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded up to $75.8 million to four research teams through its Ocular Laboratory for Analysis of Biomarkers program. Researchers from Penn State will develop biosensors for the Cl...

06/08/2026

This past year, chemistry graduate students Amanda Gramm and Jessica Thompson became the first participants in our new core facilities assistantships program, gaining hands-on experience working with advanced scientific instruments alongside our facilities staff.

For the 2026-27 academic year, the Huck Institutes is seeking applicants for four assistantships. See our announcement in Penn State News for full details: https://www.psu.edu/news/huck-institutes-life-sciences/story/huck-seeks-grad-students-immersive-facility-assistantships

06/04/2026

"Regulation of Plant Development," a new book edited by Hong Ma, professor of biology and Huck Chair in Plant Reproductive Development and Evolution, is the first on its topic in over 30 years.

Read a Q&A with him about the new work here:

Hong Ma, professor of biology and Huck Chair in Plant Reproductive Development and Evolution, is the co-editor of a new book, Regulation of Plant Development, recently published by Springer Nature. The book presents a synthesis of recent advances in plant vegetative growth and diverse aspects of rep...

06/03/2026

The Center for RNA Molecular Biology hosted its third annual Symposium last month, bringing together graduate students, postdocs, and faculty from multiple departments for research talks, poster presentations, and a keynote speaker.

Co-directors Philip Bevilacqua and Paul Babitzke did a Q&A session with Penn State News about the event: https://www.psu.edu/news/eberly-college-science/story/third-center-rna-molecular-biology-symposium-brings-together

Photos of the day are available on the Huck Institutes Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCVKqM

In this Q&A, Paul Babitzke, Don Bryant Chair in Microbial Physiology, and Philip Bevilacqua, distinguished professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology, shared about the history of the Center for RNA Molecular Biology and the importance of its annual symposium.