News

NIH grants $2.8M to develop tools for study of mosquito-microbe interactions

To improve scientific understanding of the pathogens involved with mosquito-borne diseases and begin addressing these challenges, the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease recently awarded a pair of grants collectively worth more than $2.8 million to Jason Rasgon, professor of entomology and of disease epidemiology and Huck Chair in Disease Epidemiology and Biotechnology.

Community-engaged research unit awards seed grants

The Penn State Social Science Research Institute’s Community-Engaged Research, Action and Partnerships (CERAP) unit recently awarded six seed grants to support interdisciplinary community-engaged research. According to CERAP co-director and professor of biobehavioral health, Lori Francis, the funding will help develop new or strengthen existing community-engaged research partnerships.

Molecular entomologist Jason Rasgon named AAAS Fellow

Jason L. Rasgon, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Endowed Chair in Disease Epidemiology and Biotechnology at Penn State, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

$1.6M to fund international study on built environment, malaria

A team of researchers from Penn State and Warwick University has been awarded a $1.6 million international Belmont Forum’s Collaborative Research Action project by the U.S. National Science Foundation and UK Research and Innovation’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Led by Penn State researchers, the project will explore how building design, infrastructure and development decisions can help reduce malaria risk worldwide.

Immune system proteins involved in severe parasitic disease identified

New insights into the mechanisms that cause more severe cases of schistosomiasis — a disease caused by parasitic worms and second only to malaria in terms of potential harm — have been revealed by researchers at Penn State.

Four faculty members representing the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Eberly College of Science and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Credit: Curtis Chan / Penn State. Creative Commons

Four Penn State faculty elected AAAS Fellows

Four Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from agriculture to the biological sciences, geology and physics have been elected to the latest cohort of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

New research lends insight into the regulatory control of gene expression in the deadliest of the malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, and provides opportunities for the development of new therapeutic approaches against the disease. PfSnf2L, in red, is an essential malaria parasite protein for developing from the asexual ring to the sexual transmission stage — shown at top with the arrow illustrating the trajectory of various stages of sexual development. When the PfSnf2L enzyme is inhibited by the small molecule, NH125, in green, this leads to disordered DNA packaging. Changes in DNA packaging with active — the white line — and inactive PfSnf2L enzyme — the blue line — are depicted. When the DNA packaging is disrupted, the necessary information for parasite development can no longer be read out and the malaria parasites die thereby blocking transmission. Credit: Längst and Kannan Venugopal/Marti laboratory. All Rights Reserved.

Disrupting parasite gene regulation reveals new malaria intervention strategy

Malaria's deadliest parasite relies on precise gene regulation to survive. A new multinational study, including Penn State scientists, reveals key insights into these control mechanisms.

Credit: Anne Marie Vardo-Zalik. All Rights Reserved.

York professor helps students engage in ecology research in California

Associate Professor of Biology Anne Vardo-Zalik travels to the Hopland region of California every two years to conduct ecology research.

College of Ag Sciences recognizes faculty, staff for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the 2023 Research Awards Ceremony, held Nov. 1 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Manuel Llinás named as the Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology

Manuel Llinás, distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry in the Penn State Eberly College of Science, has been named the Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology.