Pulse #45

Anton Nekrutenko Named Huck Chair in Genomics

Anton Nekrutenko, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, has been appointed as the first Dorothy Foher Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Genomics.

Penn State Biologist David Toews Receives 2024 NSF CAREER Award

David Toews, assistant professor of biology, has been honored with a Faculty Early Career Development award from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Biology Postdoc Laurel Seemiller Awarded NIH Fellowship

Laurel Seemiller, a postdoctoral scholar in biology at Penn State, has been awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

New Device Positions Penn State at the Forefront of University Research Reactors

The Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center recently received a small angle neutron scattering device, a $9.8 million equipment donation from Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin in Germany. The arrival of the equipment makes Penn State the first and only U.S. university research reactor to have SANS capability, according to RSEC researchers.

3D-printed Skin Closes Wounds and Contains Hair Follicle Precursors

Researchers who recently harnessed fat cells and supporting structures from clinically procured human tissue to precisely correct injuries in rats believe the advancement could have implications for reconstructive facial surgery and even hair growth treatments for humans.

Combining Novel Biomaterial and Microsurgery Might Enable Faster Tissue Recovery

For soft tissue to recover and regrow, it needs blood vessels to grow to deliver oxygen and nutrients. To speed up the formation and patterning of new blood vessels, Penn State researchers have combined a novel biomaterial with a microsurgical approach used in reconstructive surgery, enabling improved recovery of soft tissue.

PlantVillage Announces New Initiative for Child Welfare

The PlantVillage project, building off a series of past successful initiatives in climate change and food security, recently announced its intention to take on yet another critical global issue: child welfare. The organization recently unveiled the Village Youth Fund, a charitable foundation aimed at preventing child marriage in the pastoralist communities of Northern Kenya.

GPS Nanoparticle Platform Precisely Delivers Therapeutic Payload to Cancer Cells

Penn State researchers found that a newly developed “GPS nanoparticle” injected intravenously can home in on cancer cells to deliver a genetic punch to the protein implicated in tumor growth and spread. This technique could potentially offer a more precise and effective treatment for notoriously hard-to-treat basal-like breast cancers.