News

Bull steps down at Microbiome Center, looks forward to future innovation

After more than five years at the helm of Penn State’s Microbiome Center, founding director Carolee Bull has stepped down. Though she will continue serving as department head of plant pathology and environmental microbiology and as a professor of plant pathology and systematic bacteriology at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Bull has handed off leadership of the Microbiome Center to recent Penn State hire Seth Bordentstein.

Disease outcomes differ by new host species in virus spillover experiments

Why has the SARS-CoV-2 virus ravaged the global human population, but many other animal viruses haven't? Using nematode worms as a model, researchers at Penn State conducted a set of experiments to investigate the factors influencing the disease outcomes of virus spillover events.

Makova awarded Masatoshi Nei Innovation Prize in Biology

Kateryna Makova, Verne M. Willaman Chair in the Life Sciences and professor of biology at Penn State, has been awarded the Masatoshi Nei Innovation Prize in Biology. The award was established through a generous gift from Masatoshi Nei, emeritus professor of biology at Penn State and Laura Carnell Professor of Biology at Temple University, and his wife Nobuko Nei.

'Zombie Ant Experience’ invades Penn State Berks

Penn State Berks will host a public reception for the Zombie Ant Experience on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The event will feature Huck Sci-Art Group Director Daryl Branford and senior research artist Talley Fisher, who will introduce the Penn State Berks community to their interdisciplinary project.

Game-changing stem cell engineer Lance Lian featured on Symbiotic podcast

Xiaojun “Lance” Lian, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is set to be the Symbiotic podcast’s final guest for 2022 when he appears at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 28 on the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences’ livestream page.

Mixed cover crops capture carbon in soil, could help mitigate climate change

When it comes to adding carbon to the soil, all cover crops don’t perform equally, according to a team of researchers whose new study revealed the disparity for the first time.

Heard on Campus: Sarah Bordenstein, The Wolbachia Project

Sarah Bordenstein, associate research professor in the Eberly College of Science, and director of Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project, spoke at the Millennium Café on Sept. 13.

Penn State awarded grant to help dairy farmers develop climate-smart commodities

Funding of up to $25 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will support a new Penn State-led collaboration with dairy industry associations and producers to develop and implement climate-smart practices on Pennsylvania dairy farms.

Nicole Lazar (left), and Laura Weyrich

Lazar, Weyrich selected as inaugural Huck Leadership Fellows

Designed to be an opportunity for professional development and exposure to senior leadership, the new Huck Leadership Fellows Program is being piloted in the 2022-23 academic year, and will run for each academic year thereafter.

Millennium Café series to feature special editions in October, November

The Millennium Café, held every Tuesday by the Materials Research Institute (MRI) featuring two talks by Penn State researchers that serve as an exchange of ideas and solutions, will hold three special sessions in October and November.