Penn State Department of Biology

We celebrated the start of 2025 with dinner and bowling! 🎳✨
Grateful for the wonderful community that makes Penn State Biology such a great place to learn, work, and grow.

Join us today!

Can Animal Super-Agers Teach Us Their Secrets? Some animals seem to defy the rules of aging. Understanding how they do it could help us live longer, healthier lives.

PSU Biology’s Manny Vásquez discusses how animals like bats and whales hold clues to slowing aging — from cancer resistance to exceptional longevity.
Check out the segment to learn how comparative biology could shape the future of human health.
🔗 sciencefriday.com/segments/animal-fountain-of-youth/

#GradSchool #PennStateBiology #Ecology #Evolution #MolecularBiology #LifeSciences

🎓 Thinking about grad school?
Join the vibrant research community at Penn State Biology! 🌿🔬
We’re accepting applications on a rolling review basis through Dec 10, 2025 for Fall 2026 admission.

Learn more & apply 👉 science.psu.edu/bio/grad/how...

✨ This week, grad students held the Eberly Research Showcase – “From Molecules to Galaxies”, bringing together researchers across all departments for a day of inspiring, cross-disciplinary science.
Huge thanks to everyone who presented, organized, and attended! 💙

👏 Please join us in congratulating Daniel, Hong, Laura, and Laurel on these exceptional accomplishments!
#PennStateScience #Biology #HighlyCitedResearchers #SimonsFoundation #Neuroscience #RisingStars

🔹 Laurel Seemiller, postdoc in the Crowley Lab, was selected as one of The Transmitter’s 25 Rising Stars in Neuroscience. Her work on adolescent binge drinking is supported by an F32 NRSA fellowship from NIAAA.

🔹 PhD student Laura Schuck has been named a finalist for the prestigious Simons Foundation Graduate Fellowship in Ecology & Evolution, one of the top national honors for early-career researchers.

🔹 Clarivate’s 2025 Highly Cited Researchers List includes two of our faculty — Daniel Cosgrove and Hong Ma (listed under a different PA affiliation). This distinction recognizes scientists whose published work ranks in the top 1% worldwide. Truly outstanding!

🎉 Big week for Penn State Biology! 🎉
We’re thrilled to celebrate three major achievements across our department:

De la Fuente’s team uses AI to design entirely new antibiotics—shifting the paradigm in drug discovery.
🗓 Date: Dec 5
📍 Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library (In-person & online)
🚨 Registration required.
#AI #Antibiotics #Microbiome #PennState #HuckInstitutes

Join us at Penn State University via the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences + One Health Microbiome Center seminar series.
Why it matters: - Antimicrobial resistance claimed over 1 million lives in 2019 and is a top global health threat.

🚀 Big news! On December 5, we’re thrilled to welcome AI-biologist legend César de la Fuente to campus for a lecture on using machine learning to discover the next generation of antibiotics.

🏅 Award recipients:
• 5 yrs: Yuting Bai, Ana Butler, Irina Tishina
• 15 yrs: Paula Ralph
• 25 yrs: Edward Wagner
• Biology Staff Award: Mindy Vail
• Research Staff Award: Huiqing Zeng
#PennStateBiology #WeAre #StaffAppreciation

👏 Thank you for everything you do—our research, teaching, and outreach wouldn’t be possible without you!
🧪 Costume highlights: • Advising team as “The Weather” ☁️🌪️• Office staff as Mad Scientist & Mice 🧫🐭 (winners of Scariest Costume!)

🎉 Congratulations to our incredible Biology staff!
Last week, the College celebrated the annual Staff Appreciation Awards & Lunch, and several of our team members were recognized for their outstanding service.

Proof that you don’t have to live by the ocean to be inspired to study it.
#PennStateBiology #MarineScience #CoralReefs #Ecology #STEM #Research

A fun fact: Dr. Majoris grew up in western Pennsylvania—far from the ocean! 🌾
After a summer at Penn State’s Governor’s School, he set up a saltwater aquarium in his basement. When the fish began breeding, it sparked a lifelong fascination with marine life. 🐠💙

His advice for students drawn to marine science:
💬 “Pursue the questions that truly fascinate you. Marine research can be unpredictable and demanding, but genuine curiosity will carry you through.”

He’s excited to join Penn State Biology’s vibrant community — collaborating with colleagues who study life from genes to ecosystems, and bringing a marine perspective to conversations on ecology, evolution, and behavior. 🔬🌎

“What excites me most,” he says, “is uncovering how such small creatures make such big journeys—and realizing that these invisible movements are what keep coral reef ecosystems thriving.” 🌿✨

Like Nemo, most reef fishes start life drifting through vast waters.
Dr. Majoris explores how early life traits — like swimming ability and behavior — shape where young fish go and how reef populations stay connected. 🐟🌏

🐠 Meet Dr. John Majoris, one of the newest faculty members in Penn State Biology!
His lab studies the “real-life Finding Nemo” — how tiny reef fish larvae navigate the open ocean to find a reef to call home. 🌊👇🧵

#PennState #Sustainability #Pollinators #NativePlants #LivingLabs #StudentResearch #CampusLife

👏 A big shout-out to all the students, faculty (especially Denise Woodward), staff, and partners who made this happen. This is exactly the kind of project that shows how ecology and sustainability don’t just live in textbooks — they live here, now.

They enhance the aesthetics and visitor experience of the golf course, while reducing maintenance costs.
The project lays groundwork for future sustainability initiatives and possibly an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification.

💡 Why this matters:
These native gardens support pollinators and biodiversity on campus grounds.
They provide a living-lab experience for students connecting classroom theory with real-world application.

Plus: QR codes placed in the gardens allow visitors to learn about the project and the student team behind it.

From tall, unmanaged grasses to vibrant beds buzzing with bees, butterflies, and even the occasional bunny and squirrel — this is what real sustainability in action looks like.