News

Core facilities director brings more than technical advice to research

Directors of the core facilities at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences are more than expert technicians — they are also researchers in their own right. And though their unique contributions are not always consistently recognized within the broader community, faculty researchers who work in the core facilities are well aware of these unsung heroes' many impressive insights.

Penn State chemistry alum Kathleen Leamy

Penn State Chemistry Alum Recognized with Young Scientists Award

Kathleen Leamy has been awarded the 2019 Gordon Hammes Scholar Award, based on a 2018 article she co-authored with the Huck Institutes' Neela Yennawar and Phillip Bevilacqua.

Partnership announced between Commonwealth Campuses and shared facilities

The Office of the Vice President for Research at Penn State has announced the launch of a new program to support increased usage of shared core facilities and services by faculty at the Commonwealth Campuses.

Macromolecular X-ray Crystallography and Automated Biological Calorimetry Facilities Newsletter Summer 2015

Auto-ITC 200 gets a system upgrade VP-Cap DSC has a new heater Next free training sessions for auto ITC, DSC and CD is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2015

Acoustic tweezers device expands the range of X-ray crystallography

A device for precisely positioning small objects using acoustic waves has now been used to position fragile protein crystals a few micrometers or less in size in the path of a crystallography X-ray beam.

Announcing major equipment acquisitions at the Huck Institutes

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, in conjunction with the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Provost, are pleased to announce several major equipment acquisitions that will further strengthen the research capabilities of their Core Facilities at University Park.

Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) Workshop well received by attendees

The X-Ray Crystallography Facility held a Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) workshop on August 20th, 2013, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews from attendees.

Protein Crystallization Workshop receives high marks from attendees

The X-Ray Crystallography Facility's recent workshop was well-attended and well-received.

Scientists capture first-ever atomic view of key genetic processes

Using a 3-D visualization method called X-ray crystallography, Song Tan, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology has built the first-ever image of a protein interacting with the nucleosome -- DNA packed tightly into space-saving bundles organized around a protein core. The research, performed at the Penn State Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation of the Huck Institutes, is expected to aid future investigations into diseases such as cancer.

Ancient gene family linked to the future of epileptic seizures

A potassium-channel gene belonging to an ancient gene family more than 542 million years old is opening new avenues in epilepsy research, and may one day allow researchers to develop more effective drugs with fewer side effects for the treatment of epileptic seizures.