We've had a wonderful year here at the Huck Institutes and we would like to send a big thank you to everyone for an amazing 2025! May you have a wonderful break and come back in January refreshed and rejuvenated!

Before we head out for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, we have a few important announcements.

⚡️ Accessibility Training:

Accessibility at Penn State is everyone’s responsibility.

⚡️ In this Edition:

⚡️ Newsletter Updates:

Starting January 12, Keep Up with Huck will become a weekly newsletter, delivering announcements, awards, Kudos, news, funding opportunities, events, industry partnerships, and more—all in one place. We’re excited to launch this updated format as we welcome a new semester!

⚡️ Holiday Treat Exchange:

Bring your favorite holiday treats to share and enjoy a sweet break with friends and colleagues. Let's wrap up the year with good cheer and great company!

⚡️ …and ICYMI:

Check out our Giving Tuesday video highlighting Huck’s Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs.

The seasonal flu infects as many as one billion people every year, and bacterial co-infection with the influenza virus can cause serious complications — for example, pneumonia is a leading cause of death in flu pandemics. The specifics, however, of how co-infection of the flu and bacteria impact immune systems and the lungs remain unknown. To investigate the interactions between the influenza virus and bacterial microbe infections and how these interactions impact the lungs, a team co-led by researchers at Penn State and Duke University School of Medicine has been awarded a four-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The team will use a unique 3D-bioprinted platform that is made of stem cell-derived lung cells, procured from the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Boston University, to conduct their research.

What is Catalysis?

The Huck Catalysis Program (Huck C) at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences is designed to spark interdisciplinary research collaborations across campuses and disciplines. Huck C helps faculty develop large, complex, multi-PI proposals for external funding, provides seed funding for early-stage projects, and offers strategic guidance, project management, and access to resources like Huck Core Facilities and graduate programs.

Our goal is to expand Penn State’s research portfolio and build strong teams tackling big challenges—bridging life sciences, engineering, social sciences, public health, and more.

✅ Want to lead a proposal or collaborate on an interdisciplinary project?

Contact Brittany Grimes or the Huck Strategic Initiatives team to learn how Huck C can support you with planning, funding, and proposal development.

Basic research in neurobiology, defined as follows: Invertebrate and vertebrate (excluding clinical) neurobiology, specifically investigations of neural mechanisms involved in sensory, motor, and other complex functions of the whole organism as these relate to behavior. The overall goal should be to better understand behavioral output or brain mechanisms of behavior.

Mammalian reproductive biology as related to the regulation of fertility.

This opportunity is designed to support highly integrated research teams of three to six Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) to address ambitious and challenging research questions that are within the mission of NIGMS. Project goals should not be achievable with a collection of individual efforts or projects. Collaborative program teams are expected to accomplish goals that require considerable synergy and managed team interactions.

This program aims to revolutionize how we support warfighter performance in extreme and dangerous environments. Recognizing the limitations of current solutions and the time required for natural acclimation, Smart-RBC is exploring innovative ways to enhance physiological resilience.

The program aims to foster interdisciplinary collaborations among early-career researchers and seasoned faculty members. All Penn State faculty, including tenure and non-tenure line, are encouraged to submit short proposals that have a strong connection to the ICDS mission and are focused on one or more of the core research focuses of the institute: artificial intelligence, quantum, computational or data sciences or digital twins.

The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research (GFMR), in partnership with the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), created the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowships in Aging Research to encourage and further the careers of postdoctoral fellows who are conducting research in the basic biology of aging, as well as translating advances in basic research from the laboratory to the clinic. The award is intended to provide significant research and training support to permit these postdoctoral fellows to become established in the field of aging.

Applications are sought for the Center for Biodevices (CfB) Seed Grant Program to support productive collaborations among engineers, scientists, and clinicians. Applications should focus on biodevice innovations that improve human health, agricultural resiliency and/or environmental sustainability. Seed awards are offered at three funding levels, spark, ignite and launch, to support projects along a continuum from early technology inception through device translation.

Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI) has announced “Teach-a-thon,” a competition celebrating innovative teaching practices in response to the rise of large language models and generative AI. The virtual event is open to all Penn State faculty, including collaborative teaching teams.

The BioStabilization Systems (BoSS) program aims to make the seemingly impossible problem of room temperature biologics possible by pioneering new technologies to produce, store, and ship cells at room temperature, without any need for refrigeration. The program will eliminate deep freeze requirements, paving the way for a new era of efficient and resilient manufacturing and distribution of biologic drugs.

BTO is soliciting proposals that leverage biological properties and processes to revolutionize our ability to protect the nation’s warfighters. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.

DARPA is initiating a long-term, open call for novel technology solutions to support the agency in advancing research, development, prototyping, experimentation, and adoption of disruptive, DARPA-relevant research and technology solutions. BTO is accepting submissions under the following topic areas:

Save the dates for these exciting Spring 2026 events:

Seminar Series:

Polyester and cotton fabrics fill today’s wardrobes. But environmental concerns such as water use and microplastics pollution have revived interest in alternative textiles. In the search for sustainable fabrics, researchers at Penn State turned to beer—or rather, the yeast used in its brewing.

To make fibers, the researchers borrow a technique that textile companies use today to make the popular biobased polymer lyocell from wood pulp. This involves mixing the protein powder along with cellulose in the solvent N-methyl morpholine N-oxide before extruding the hot solution from a 100 µm-wide spinneret tip into chilled water. Hydrogen bonding between the cellulose and proteins give the fibers their structure and strength. The researchers then twist the fibers into yarn that’s as soft as wool.

Congratulations to Abby Ranio, assistant to the director at Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences on being selected to the Spring 2026 co-hort for the Penn State Emerging Leaders (PSEL) program!

The PSEL program focuses on identifying and developing the attributes of effective leadership. Emerging Leaders are typically early career professionals looking to develop their leadership skills or current leaders seeking to raise their performance or make a change. Through a series of instructor-led seminars, assessments, and self-directed learning activities, participants will develop their personal Leadership Philosophy Statement based on their unique experience, perspective, skills, and goals and establish a Leadership Development Plan.

Laurel Seemiller, a postdoctoral fellow in biology, has been named one of The Transmitter’s 25 Rising Stars in Neuroscience. Seemiller is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Nikki Crowley, director of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute at University Park, Huck Chair in Neural Engineering and associate professor of biology and of biomedical engineering.

As the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences continues to strengthen corporate and industry partnerships, we’re proud to spotlight the incredible work of our colleagues at PennTAP. This year, PennTAP celebrates 60 years of empowering Pennsylvania businesses through innovation, expertise, and collaboration—helping companies thrive while driving economic growth across the Commonwealth.

The second annual Huck Institutes T32 Training Summit brought together more than 100 scholars, mentors, and program leaders to network, share research, and strengthen mentor-mentee relationships. The event emphasized that developing successful researchers goes beyond science, focusing on interpersonal skills, communication, and building mutually beneficial mentorships.

The OSVPR Office of Research Business Development has created a new suite of resources: Researcher to Rockstar: Mastering Self-Marketing for Academic Researchers. This series is designed to help you elevate your professional presence, communicate your value, and translate your work into broader impact. Whether you’re just beginning your research career or leading a thriving program, these tools will help you:

Schedule a consultation and learn more about these exciting services for Penn State researchers here.

Two Penn State teams are finalists for the People’s Choice Award in The Science Coalition’s Student Video Challenge! Voting is open through December 17—let’s rally behind our students!