Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

10/28/2026

Joe Louis, head of Penn State’s Department of Plant Science, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Plant Stress Biology. His research focuses on how plants respond to stress and defend themselves against insects, work that could help support more resilient crops and sustainable agriculture

Joe Louis, head of Penn State's Department of Plant Science, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Plant Stress Biology.

10/27/2026

In the future, your Halloween candy could owe a big thanks to Penn State researchers. 🍫

Faculty members Siela Maximova and Mark Guiltinan, co-directors of Penn State's Program in the Molecular Biology of Cocoa, have developed a disease-tolerant cacao plant that could help protect chocolate production from black pod disease and other growing threats. Guiltinan also directs the Penn State Plant Institute, part of the Huck Institutes, which supported this research.

Additional Huck scientists involved in the project include Istvan Albert, Research Professor of Bioinformatics, and Aswathy Sebastian, bioinformatics analyst.

After decades of research, Penn State scientists have developed a new disease-tolerant variety of cacao — and they said it has the potential to fundamentally change the chocolate industry, which is increasingly under pressure from the environmental stressors threatening cacao production globally.

10/26/2026

Hey Huck community! This Halloween, we want to see your cucurbitid creativity. Send your best pumpkin carving and decorating photos to [email protected] with the email subject "Pumpkin Contest," and we'll feature you on our social media, with our community voting on their favorites. Prizes, including our new Huck-branded cooler, will be awarded to the winners!

10/26/2026

The One Health Microbiome Center recently hosted Tristan Caro, postdoctoral scholar in geobiology at Caltech, to give a talk titled "A Microbial Observer Effect? Confronting Microbiome Rate and Phenotype Measurements 'In The Wild.'”

10/23/2026

How can technology help stop foodborne illness outbreaks?

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In a Q&A with Penn State News, University researchers Jasna Kovac, Huck Chair in Microbiomes in Food Safety, and Edward Dudley, director of Penn State's E. coli Reference Center, explain how they are using tools like whole-genome sequencing and wastewater monitoring to track pathogens, identify sources and improve food safety.

Experts from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences discussed how technology can be used to track outbreaks and pathogens, as well as the work happening at Penn State to help keep the food supply safe.

10/22/2026

Genome detectives in action 🧬🔎

Penn State students are helping sequence the genome of a harmful plant pathogen, gaining valuable hands-on research experience while contributing to important scientific work.

Read more:

Graduate students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences contributed to the first complete genome sequence of a harmful plant pathogen from an ornamental Prunus host through an active-learning activity in a plant disease diagnosis course.

10/21/2026

Penn State researchers have developed a new dual-action imaging tool that lets them watch viral RNA move inside live infected cells in real time. The study, published in Nature Communications, focused on Zika and chikungunya and also identified host proteins the viruses depend on to survive. 🔬🦠

Researchers from Penn State have developed a new dual-action imaging technique that allows them to film how the genetic material inside Zika and chikungunya viruses — which can cause severe disease in humans — moves and replicates inside live infected cells, a key step for developing strategies ...

10/20/2026

Jill Hamilton has been named associate director of the Penn State Plant Institute, part of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Hamilton is an associate professor of ecosystem science and management and director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, where her work focuses on the genomic basis of climate adaptation, conservation, and restoration genetics. 🌱🌳🌲

Jill Hamilton, associate professor of ecosystem science and management, Joseph E. Ibberson Chair in Silviculture Research for Pennsylvania, and director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, has been named associate director of the Penn State Plant Institute, part of the Huck Institutes....

10/19/2026

The Huck was recently honored to welcome J. Jeffrey Fox, who—with his wife Ann Marie Fox—were named 2025 Penn State Philanthropists of the Year for their commitment to graduate education, including the largest gift in the history of the Fox Graduate School, which was renamed in their honor.

Learn more about the generosity and support of the Foxes here: https://www.psu.edu/news/development-and-alumni-relations/story/j-jeffrey-and-ann-marie-fox-honored-penn-states

10/16/2026

Big science, big potential. Penn State engineers are part of a $20 million liver bioprinting project working toward better treatments for liver disease. This collaborative effort brings together expertise in engineering, medicine, and biotechnology to tackle a major health challenge. 🔬🧬

Xiaojun “Lance” Lian, associate professor of biomedical engineering and of biology at Penn State, will contribute to a nearly $20 million project, funded as part of the Genesis Mission initiative, that seeks to create biocompatible liver tissue for transplants using bioprinting.