Leadership
Because the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences brings together units that span dozens of departments across Penn State, its administrative team relies on input from a broad range of stakeholders across the University.
Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
The director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences provides overall leadership for one of Penn State’s most interdisciplinary research communities. Reporting to the senior vice president for research, the director works with the Huck Executive Team to guide day-to-day operations, shape policy and strategy, and help position the institutes for emerging opportunities in the life sciences. In a consortium that spans dozens of departments across the University, the director also brings together perspectives from faculty, staff, and research leaders to strengthen collaboration across Penn State. Christina Grozinger, who has led the Huck Institutes since 2025, brings to the role deep experience as a Penn State faculty member and former director of two Huck research units.
Huck Executive Team
Day-to-day operations are guided by the Huck Executive Team, a six-member group that meets weekly to support strategic direction and operational decision-making.
Patrick Drew
- Associate Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
- Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, of Neurosurgery, of Biology, and of Biomedical Engineering
Optical imaging of brain dynamics during sleep and behavior; Role of blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid movement in. . .
Christina Grozinger
- Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
- Publius Vergilius Maro Professor and Huck Scholar of Entomology
Genomics of social behavior and health in bees
Camelia Kantor
- Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives
- Research Professor
Camelia Kantor is a highly interdisciplinary geospatial researcher and integrator. Before joining Huck, her prior work. . .
Emily Martell
- Managing Director
Responsible for Huck business administration and operations management
Dipanjan Pan
- Huck Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems
- Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine
David Puts
- Huck Associate Director for Graduate Education
- Professor of Anthropology
Understanding both the endocrine mechanisms underlying human sexual differentiation and the evolution of these mechanisms,. . .
Kitchen Cabinet
The Kitchen Cabinet, an informal group of approximately 30 life sciences research leaders from across Penn State, meets monthly to advise the Executive Team and provide broad institutional perspective.
Michael Axtell
- Professor of Biology
- Louis and Hedwig Sternberg Chair in Plant Biology
Discovery and characterization of plant microRNAs and siRNAs. Functions of microRNAs and siRNAs in the evolution of plant. . .
Amie Boal
- Professor of Chemistry and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The structural differences between members of large metalloenzyme superfamilies that share common features but promote. . .
Orfeu Buxton
- Elizabeth Fenton Susman Professor of Biobehavioral Health
The causes of chronic sleep deficiency in the workplace, home, and society; the health consequences of chronic sleep. . .
Micah Clark
- Research Professor & Senior Scientist for Autonomy, AI, and Cognitive Science, Applied Research Laboratory
Erin Connolly
- Professor and Head of Plant Science
Molecular mechanisms of micronutrient transport. Iron uptake and compartmentalization. Metal ion homeostasis
Donna Fick
- Elouise Ross Eberly Professor
- Director of the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
John Hayes
- Professor of Food Science
- Director, Sensory Evaluation Center
Perception of taste, smell and chemesthesis; eating behavior; individual differences in sensation and food preferences; COVID. . .
Vasant Honavar
- Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and AI
- Professor and Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology
Statistical machine learning algorithms for predictive modeling; modeling and inference of biological networks;. . .
Teh-hui Kao
- Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Molecular, biochemical, and structural bases of the S-RNase-based self-incompatibility system in flowering plants. F-box. . .
Gustavo Nader
- Dorothy Foher and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Professor of Kinesiology
Ribosome biogenesis and cellular growth control. Transcription and epigenetic regulation of ribosomal RNA genes.
Dipanjan Pan
- Huck Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems
- Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine
George Perry
- Professor of Anthropology and Biology
Anthropological genomics, paleogenomics, human body size evolution, parasite evolution, and evolutionary medicine.
Justin Pritchard
- Huck Early Career Entrepreneurial Professorship
- Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Using systems and synthetic biology approaches to understand and control drug resistance.
Jason Rasgon
- Professor of Entomology and Disease Epidemiology
Integrating population biology, ecology, molecular tools and theory to address fundamental and applied questions related to. . .
Justin Silverman
- Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Statistical methods for the analysis of biomedical data (or any other interesting data/questions)
Vishal Singh
- Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology and Microbiome
Denise Solomon
- Head and Liberal Arts Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
Erika Swift
- Executive Director, Center for Medical Innovation
- Professor of Practice, Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Harrisburg
Guy Townsend
- Associate Professor of Molecular & Precision Medicine
My laboratory investigates mechanisms facilitating bacterial colonization of the mammalian intestine to understand how and. . .
Kimberly Van Haitsma
- Professor
- Associate Director, Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence