Molecular Cellular And Integrative Biosciences News | Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences

Feb 02, 2026

Bayer University Mentoring Program now includes pharmaceutical track

Following the first successful cohort of graduate and postdoctoral scholars in the Bayer Crop Science 2025 University Mentoring Program (B4U), Bayer has expanded the initiative at Penn State to include the Bayer Pharmaceuticals 2026 B4U Program. The expansion, which targets those interested in careers in the pharmaceutical industry, reflects Penn State and Bayer's shared commitment to preparing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers for impactful careers at the intersection of academia, industry and innovation.

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Feb 02, 2026

Liver metabolism of an essential amino acid may play a key role in gut health

Many biological processes exhibit daytime differences governed by rhythmic exposure to sunlight, termed circadian rhythms. Researchers at Penn State recently found, in mice, that a protein critical to intestinal barrier function — helping the gut absorb nutrients while blocking harmful pathogens — is rhythmically controlled by nighttime liver metabolism of the molecule tryptophan.

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Jan 22, 2026

Penn State students take top honors in video challenge on the value of research

A team of students working in Andrew Patterson's lab used their experience in research and storytelling to advocate for federally funded research and take top prizes in the Science Coalition’s 2025 Alyse Gray Parker Memorial Student Video Challenge

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Jan 16, 2026

Investigating the microbiome’s role in intestinal disorder in pregnancy

Jessica Grembi, an assistant professor of pharmacology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received a $500,000 grant from the Gates Foundation to investigate the role of the microbiome in environmental enteropathy — a condition characterized by inflammation of the small intestine that affects nutrient absorption.

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Jan 07, 2026

Medical, doctoral student earns NIH fellowship

Victoria Nudell, a doctoral and medical student in the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Biosciences Graduate Program and the Medical Scientist Training Program at the College of Medicine, has received a highly competitive fellowship from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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A new high-throughput study that used publicly available data shows that E. coli proteins containing a structure called a non-covalent lasso entanglement (NCLE) are more likely to misfold and, if they are essential to the bacteria’s survival, more likely to be repaired by chaperones — the cell’s quality control machinery. Image shows that misfolded (outlined in red) essential proteins (bottom) containing NCLEs are more likely to be repaired (outlined in green) by cellular chaperones (dark grey) than non-essential proteins (top). Credit: Ian Sitarik/O’Brien Lab / Penn State. Creative Commons

Dec 17, 2025

For certain life-essential proteins in E. coli, repair is more likely

Proteins need to fold into specific shapes to perform their functions in cells, but they occasionally misfold, which can prevent them from properly functioning and even lead to disease. A new study by researchers at Penn State found that, in E. coli, proteins containing a widespread structural 3D pattern, known as a motif, are more likely to misfold than proteins that lack it.

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Researchers at Penn State found that two proteins thought to operate in harmony to regulate the genetic information-carrying messenger molecules called mRNA actually work in opposition: one protein destabilizes mRNA while the other steadies it. Credit: wildpixel/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Dec 17, 2025

Opposing forces in cells could hold clues to treating disease

A newly revealed molecular tug-of-war may have implications for better understanding how a multitude of diseases and disorders — including cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and immune disorders — originate, as well as how to potentially treat them, according to researchers at Penn State.

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Jessica Grembi and Nazifa Tabassum visited Bangladesh this summer as part of the ongoing research project. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Dec 15, 2025

Investigating the microbiome’s role in intestinal disorder in pregnancy

Jessica Grembi, an assistant professor of pharmacology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received a $500,000 grant from the Gates Foundation to investigate the role of the microbiome in environmental enteropathy — a condition characterized by inflammation of the small intestine that affects nutrient absorption.

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Dec 11, 2025

Mentorship and communication take center stage at training summit

Huck Institutes’ annual T32 summit underscores benefits of professional development alongside scientific training.

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Francisco Dini-Andreote and Andrew Patterson are both faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Dec 09, 2025

Two College of Ag Sciences faculty earn spots on highly cited researchers list

Francisco Dini-Andreote and Andrew Patterson in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are among the most highly cited researchers in 2025, according to the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group.

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