September 2025
“Instrumentation and Innovation”
This month, we are highlighting our core facilities, which house more than $50 million of state of the art instrumentation and are managed by a team of scientists who provide unparalleled expert support for interdisciplinary research. Later this month, join us for our Core Facilities Open House event, and consider submitting an application to our "Life at All Scales" seed grant program.
Thanks to everyone who suggested a new name for this newsletter. The tallies are counted, and the overwhelming majority voted for “Keep Up with Huck” as the official new name. Those who participated in the naming competition will be getting some delicious Center for Pollinator Research Honey delivered straight to their door.
Core Topics
Andrew Patterson thrives on asking big questions that push science beyond the boundaries of a single lab. To pursue them, he relies on collaboration, cutting-edge technology and the expertise found in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences’ core facilities — shared laboratories that make transformative discoveries possible across Penn State and beyond.
In this new role, he will champion the resources that he said have helped to define his career. He will guide the strategic direction of Huck’s shared laboratories, working closely with their directors and faculty advocates to raise visibility, expand faculty use, support cutting-edge technology and foster collaboration on complex, multi-investigator projects.
“My hope is to lead by example. Our work is highly collaborative and uses many of these resources. I want to demonstrate how valuable they are to faculty success, to Huck’s mission, and to the University as a whole.”
Patterson’s own interdisciplinary research program spans the fields of molecular toxicology and microbiome science and uses metabolomics, bioinformatics, X-ray crystallography and microscopy tools — all with a goal of understanding how exposure to chemicals affects human health. Nearly all this work has relied on Huck’s core facilities.
“Penn State’s core facilities enable scientists to conduct research that would be impossible to do alone due to the high cost of the equipment and expertise. Not only do these facilities support Penn State’s faculty members, but they also help to train students for impactful careers and support industry partnerships that aim to translate research findings into products and services that benefit the public.”
Looking ahead, Patterson said he hopes to encourage more faculty to take advantage of these shared resources and to explore ways to better integrate the data they produce.
The grant is open to Penn State faculty members — tenured, tenure track or fixed term — who are Huck co-hires, members of Huck institutes or centers, or faculty of Huck Interdisciplinary Graduate Degree programs. Applicants must hold an appointment of half-time or greater at University Park or any Penn State Commonwealth Campus, including the College of Medicine, and have not previously conducted research in the MRI Core Facility. Recipients will be given 20 hours of consulting time and up to 40 hours of instrumentation time.
“Our goal is for researchers who have never used this facility previously to use this funding to explore how they can incorporate this powerful technology into their research. We hope that these seed funds will allow investigators to collect data that can be the foundation for externally funded research.”
Proposals are due Sept. 30.
Thomas Neuberger, director of Penn State’s High-Field MRI Facility, is the co-author of a new paper recently published in The Journal of Plant Physiology that highlights the advances being made to use novel, non-invasive MRI techniques to better understand organic processes in plants.
Some recently developed MRI techniques have allowed researchers to non-invasively visualize metabolic processes and delicate plant structures in action, such as lipid imaging during seed development and aging, studies of plant development under stress conditions such as drought, the characterization of plant diseases, pest monitoring, and tracking nutrient transport. Another promising, rapidly emerging field is the use of low-field portable systems suitable for imaging plants in-situ.
“At our facility—and in cooperation with our partners—we have developed a technique to quantitatively image lipid distributions within intact seeds on a pixel-by-pixel basis. This means we can detect how lipid content and distribution change following genetic modification or crossbreeding—all without harming the seed. Currently, no other imaging method provides this level of non-destructive, spatially resolved biochemical insight.”
Neuberger underscores a vital practical application addressing one of humanity’s most fundamental needs: food security.
Research Professor Cheryl Keller has been named the new director of the Genomics Core Facility in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Previously the director of the Genomics Research Incubator — a collaboration between Huck and the Eberly College of Science — she steps into a role made available by Craig Praul’s promotion to director of Core Facilities last year.
"Cheryl possesses a wealth of experience in analyzing genomic data for a broad array of research questions and models. Her existing relationships with facility staff and University researchers mean that she has long been a valuable part of the research ecosystem at the Huck, and we are delighted she has agreed to take on the role of the director for the Genomics Core.”
Keller has a long association with Penn State: she obtained her doctoral degree in biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology from the University in 1999 and has worked in a number of postdoctoral and research-related roles for multiple labs, starting out with research utilizing genetic and molecular approaches to gain insight into embryonic muscle development in "Drosophila" before transitioning to neuroscience, where she explored potential mechanisms of GABAA receptor clustering in mice systems using a variety of genetic, molecular and cellular biology methods.
Read on to hear from the previous Genomics Core director, Craig Praul, as well as Keller’s own thoughts on her new role.
Graduate Education
Two chemistry grad students will participate in novel internships in Core Facilities this fall, supported by the Huck and the Materials Research Institute.
Jessica Thompson, advised by Danielle Reifsnyder Hickey, will work with the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility, jointly supported by Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and The Materials Research Institute's Materials Characterization Lab. Amanda Gramm, a member of Ganesh Anand’s lab, will work with the Huck’s Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility.
“These are advanced grad students who have passed their comprehensive exam and have a close working relationship with the core facilities. They will spend 20 hours per week working in the core. They will gain additional experience in that core's technology and applications while supporting the core by working on projects other than their own research.”
Hear what Jessica and Amanda hope to learn and contribute with this internship.
OSVPR
The guidelines provide a framework to ensure appropriate recognition of all individuals who contribute to scholarly work, including papers, posters, reports, presentations, and other academic outputs. Thoughtful consideration should always be given to acknowledging the contributions of core facility personnel and collaborators at all stages of research dissemination.
Review the guidelines and read the rest of the announcement here.
A petition launched by Penn State invites the University community to support continued federal investment in research that plays a vital role in life-changing solutions, powering economic growth across the commonwealth and beyond, and driving transformational discovery. The petition, which has already garnered more than 4,500 signatures, aims to engage University employees, students, alumni and friends to raise awareness of the impact that federally funded research has on the daily lives of all Pennsylvanians.
Below is a note sent by Andrew Read, Senior Vice President for Research at Penn State, reminding colleagues of the importance to sign and support the University’s research.
Dear Colleagues,
We’re at a critical juncture for federally funded research.
To demonstrate strong, visible support for Penn State’s research mission, Strategic Communications and Government & Community Relations have launched a petition to highlight what’s at stake as federal research is paused, delayed, and even cancelled.
We’ve messaged you about this before but now time is of the essence as petition signatures will be utilized in communication with Members of Congress shortly, and it’s critical they see how many of us stand behind this important work.
Put simply: this is our moment to step up.
Penn State research fuels progress in health, energy, security, and beyond—and it’s made possible by federal investment. We all know the impact. Now we need to show it. Let’s be loud. Let’s be unified.
As leaders across the University, our support sparks momentum and signals the strength of our commitment.
If you have already taken action, thank you for your support; now share the petition with your colleagues, family, neighbors and friends. For those who haven’t, signing takes less than a minute. Sign and share the petition today at psu.edu/supportresearch.
Upcoming Events
Join us to explore cutting-edge technologies that can advance your research. Plus, enjoy free food and a chance to win door prizes!
Open to all students, staff, and faculty in the life sciences. Registration is not required.
When: September 24, 12-2PM
Where: 3rd floor bridge, Huck Life Sciences Building
The Center for Chemical Ecology is hosting a research showcase for students and postdocs to share recent results in poster or 3-minute flash talk format, followed by a seminar from leading chemical ecologist Dr. Jennifer Thaler (Cornell University).
We welcome all chemical ecology-related research, irrespective of department!
When: September 12, 9:30AM - 1:30PM
Where: 118 Ag Science & Industry (ASI), 101 ASI, 5th Floor ASI
Building Communities to Solve Alzheimer’s: Monthly Thematic Seminar Series
Each month, we’ll explore a focused theme, highlight related funding opportunities, and hear from colleagues across disciplines who are advancing Alzheimer’s research.
When: Dates will be announced mid-late September
Where: Virtual
For real-time event information and to submit your own, check out our Google Calendar.
Media
📸 Photo of the Month
Photo credit: Damini Nair, Undergraduate Student in The Crowley Lab
Description: Damini’s work focuses on the effects of oral hormonal contraceptives on ovarian function and drinking behavior. This image is of a paraffin processed mouse ovary collected to observe ovarian structures.
Capture method: The ovary is fixed after collection, paraffin processed, embedded, and sectioned before staining with hematoxylin and eosin. Stained slides are then imaged to look at follicles, corpora lutea, and other ovarian structures.
Equipment used: The ovary was paraffin processed, embedded, sectioned, and stained, with training and assistance from Yunzhen Zheng, at the Huck Microscopy Core Facility using the Leica TP1020 paraffin processor, Shandon Finesse Paraffin Microtome, and the Leica AutostainerST5010 XL. Stained slides were then scanned using the MoticEasyScan slide scanner at the Stenhouse Lab (Department of Animal Science).
Thanks to Damini for sending us this photo. If you have a photo you would like featured, shoot us an email at [email protected] and include the above information.
Community
SCASD Closure Calendar (Outlook file)
This Outlook calendar file includes all State College Area School District (SCASD) closures and early dismissals for the upcoming academic year.
This information can be helpful for planning activities and events across the academic year, since these closures can influence caregivers in our community. While some colleagues have children in adjacent districts, SCASD is a logical reference point since it is where our University is located.
Many thanks to Jared Ali, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Endowed Chair of Chemical Ecology, for creating and sharing this calendar with the research community.
Huck in the News
Huck research attracts media attention from around the world. Here are some highlights from the past month:
Nuclear war would cripple Earth's food supply [Earth.com]
Firefly sightings increase, but experts warn of global insect decline [WJAC]
New graphene-based sensor can help diagnose diabetes and prediabetes [Graphene-info]
Bacteria strains infecting cattle and humans are highly similar [Times of India]
Key traits identified in predicting disease emergence in new populations [The University Network]
Hidden messengers tell plants when to eat and breathe [Earth.com]
Do you have an important or impactful story to share? Have something to celebrate? Let us know by emailing [email protected].
