Funding and Awards

Blue and green color swirls.

One Health Microbiome Center Awards and Grants

OHMC Industry Internship at QIAGEN

Applications accepted until Feb 1, 2026. Email Grace Deitzler with questions.

See full application call for more details.

Are you a graduate student with a passion for microbiome sciences, biotechnology, and a desire to explore a career in industry? The One Health Microbiome Center is excited to announce an exceptional opportunity for graduate candidates to apply for an industry internship with QIAGEN, a leading global provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, and academic research.

Interns will (i) gain hands-on experience in a leading biotechnology company, (ii) work on cutting-edge projects in the field of molecular diagnostics, testing, and assays, (iii) Collaborate with industry experts and scientists, and (iv) develop valuable skills and knowledge relevant to a future career in microbiome biotechnology, relevant to all sectors.

Internship Details:

  • When: Summer 2026 (6-8 weeks)
  • Where: QIAGEN R&D facility in Hilden, Germany
  • What: Interns will learn about the broader R&D pipeline, as well as work on specific products or technologies in a lab setting. This work may have the potential to lead to a co-authored publication.
  • How: Salary/stipends should continue to come from the student’s PI or other standard sources (fellowships) during the student's visit. QIAGEN will provide travel and lodging, for the duration of the internship.

Biotechnological & Integrative Opportunities in Microbiome Sciences (BIOMS)

Applications for 2025-26 are closed. 2026-27 applications will open in May 2026.

The Biotechnological & Integrative Opportunities in Microbiome Sciences (BIOMS) Training Program is an NIH-funded predoctoral training program dedicated to training graduate students in the microbiome sciences and its biotechnological underpinnings. BIOMS is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to advance microbiome biotechnology, research, and education through a One Health lens. BIOMS will cultivate an understanding of fundamental concepts in microbiome sciences through requirements spanning coursework, monthly workshops, weekly seminars, and professional development experiences including a biotech internship, mentorship from industry scientists, and workshops focused on science communication.


See the past call for applications on the Huck training grants website.

Shared Resource Grants

Proposals for 2025 are now closed, please keep an eye out for next year's proposal call.

This funding supports new directions of scholarship in the microbiome sciences and provides shared resources that will make a significant impact on the research and educational endeavors of our Penn State community. Multi-PI proposals and cross-departmental collaborations are encouraged to maximize impacts.

Eligible requests include: supplies, reagents, equipment, software, database subscriptions, and other technologies. Funds cannot be used for salaries or travel. The OHMC will maintain primary ownership of awarded resources, but awardees are expected to house and manage basic usage.

Download proposal instructions here.

Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellowships (IIF)

Proposals for 2025 are now closed, please keep an eye out for next year's proposal call.

See IIF application instructions to apply

Awards for up to $5,000 that support short-term training experiences in the laboratory of another center faculty member or external colleague, with the goals of expanding the creative capabilities of the community and facilitating collaborative discovery among Microbiome Center members, with an emphasis on connecting traditionally “siloed” units.

  • "RB-TnSeq-Guided Discovery of Salmonella Genes Critical for Growth in Hydroponic Farming” — Auja Bywater, doctoral student in food sciences advised by Jasna Kovac, associate professor of food science
  • “Investigating potential evolutionary signals within the oral microbiome” — Christine Ta, doctoral candidate in anthropology and microbiome science advised by Laura Weyrich, associate professor of anthropology and bioethics
  • “Effect of Dietary Fiber-Mediated Alterations of Intestinal Bile Acid Pool on Mucosal Healing” — Sangshan "Sunshine" Tian, doctoral candidate in nutritional sciences advised by Vishal Singh, associate professor of nutritional physiology and microbiome
  • “Exploring the role of the mucus microbiome in slug-plant interactions” — Shannon Ryan, doctoral student in ecology advised by John Tooker, professor of entomology
  • “Toward Elucidation of Immunoglobulin A (IgA) - Microbe Interactions in the Small Intestine” — Pablo Ochoa-Andersen, research technician in the laboratory of Jessica Grembi, assistant professor of pharmacology
  • “Multi-Omics Integration to Decode Microbial Drivers of Carbon Cycling in Tropical Andean Peatlands” — Daniela Betancurt Anzola, doctoral candidate in biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology advised by Estelle Couradeau, assistant professor of soils and environmental microbiology

  • "Rapid analysis of stone microbiota by single-cell biosensors"

    • Chriss Siew Mei Chin, Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering, advised by Dr. Pak Kin Wong, Professor of Biomedical Engineering

  • "Molecular antimicrobial and insecticide resistance profiling in arthropod disease vectors and their microbiomes"

    • Dr. James Mutunga, Assistant Professor of Biology (Penn State - Harrisburg), co-PI Dr. Erika Ganda, Associate Professor of Food Animal Microbiomes

  • "Development of a Biopolymer-Enabled Anti-Antibiotic Drug to Prevent Vancomycin Resistance Evolution"

    • Dr. Roya Koshani, Postdoctoral Scholar in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, advised by Dr. Amir Sheikhi, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

  • "No more bioinformatics drama: learning DRAM2, a pipeline aimed at integrating multi-omics datasets''

    • Ryan Trexler, Dual-title PhD Candidate in Ecology and Biogeochemistry, advised by Dr. Estelle Couradeau, Assistant Professor of Soils and Environmental Microbiology

  • "The relationship between digestive and foodborne disease: using an in vivo DSS model to study how Salmonella Typhimurium exploits gut microbial dysbiosis"

    • Samantha Seibel, PhD student in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences, advised by Dr. Erika Ganda, Associate Professor of Food Animal Microbiomes

  • "The role of symbiont terpenoid biosynthesis in host development''

    • Vivian Li, PhD student in Biology, and Dr. Rúal González-Pech, Postdoctoral Scholar in Biology, advised by Dr. Monica Medina, Professor of Biology

  • "Harnessing synthetic biology to study adaptive evolution of nitrogen-fixing bacteria"

  • "Assessing the Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines on Respiratory Tract Microbiota in Mice"

  • "Microfossil analysis of ancient dental calculus of the Elmina population, Ghana"

  • "Prediction of Phage Susceptibility of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Using Machine Learning"

  • "Development of a Granular Hydrogel-Enabled Gut-on-a-Chip Platform for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research''

    • Sina Kherabadi, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering, advised by Dr. Amir Sheikhi, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.

  • "Creating an Integrative Multi-Omics Model for Predicting Drug Metabolism"
  • "Microfluidic Chips to Assess the Motility Abilities of Bundle Forming Cyanobacteria from Biocrusts"
  • "Co-culturing of Host and Microbial Cells for Elucidation of Host-Microbiome Interactions"
  • "Bridging the Gap Between Soil Microbial Communities and Soil Gas Emissions"
    • Jose Raul Roman, Postdoctoral Researcher advised by Estelle Couradeau, Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Science and Management.
  • "Mitigation Strategies of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) via Microalgal consortia for sustainable wastewater reuse"
    • Waleed El Sayed, Research Associate advised by Meng Wang, Assistant Professor in Environmental Systems Engineering.
  • "Can Fermented Food Microbiomes Be Leveraged for Food Safety and Nutrition Security?"

Annual Award Series

2025 award nominations are now closed, please keep an eye out for 2026 nominations next year.

All members of the One Health Microbiome Center are eligible to submit nominations for awards that recognize the unique and significant strengths of our community. Nominations are reviewed by a committee composed of faculty and trainees.

  • Trainees Awards (undergrads, grads, postdocs)
    • Carolee Bull Leadership Award - Recognizes trainees that demonstrate exceptional leadership, service, and initiative – serving as a peer role model.
    • Nonconformist Award - Recognizes individuals who think outside the box, take risks, and push boundaries – building innovative novel solutions or paths to success.
  • Faculty Awards (tenure & non-tenure tracks)
    • Driving Success Award - Recognizes faculty who champion mentee and peer academic success and personal growth – providing guidance, support, and encouragement.
    • Rising Star Research Award - Recognizes early-career faculty with exceptional independent achievement in grant funding, scientific breakthroughs, mentoring, and/or leadership.
  • Awards for all ranks (techs, admins, trainees, & faculty)
    • Community Engagement Award - Recognizes individuals dedicated to communicating and engaging with broad audiences (e.g., community stakeholders, policy makers, youth, etc.).
    • Creative Award - Recognizes individuals who communicate/apply complex scientific concepts in an engaging or artful way – making science more accessible/interesting to a wide audience.

The Microbiome Medal Award

The Microbiome Medal award established in 2025 by the One Health Microbiome Center honors a singular scholar or group of scholars who nobly extend excellence, acumen, and ingenuity in research, mentorship, and service to the global field of microbiome science. Microbiome Medal scholars do not just advance knowledge and training, they enrich humanity and improve the lives of many people, including those they may never meet. They motivate and accelerate the next generation of microbiome scientists. Laureates are honored at an annual multi-day visit to the One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State in a public lecture that celebrates and inspires creative, intellectual, and nurturing impacts of the scientific endeavor. Equal emphasis in evaluation is placed on the categories of research, mentorship, and service.

The nomination process requires the following materials that will be treated confidentially and evaluated by the One Health Microbiome Center leadership.

- Full CV of the nominee
- 1-3 page nomination letter; multiple letters from different sources are welcome
- No more than one letter of support can be written from the same primary institution as the nominee

Nominations may be sent to microbiomecenter@psu.edu with the subject line "Microbiome Medal Nomination".

bacteria growing on petri dishes

  • Samantha Seibel, PhD student in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences (MCIBS)
    • Samantha’s research focuses developing workflows to capture bacterial resistomes (complete set of antimicrobial resistance genes in a population), understanding the impacts of antibiotic usage on Salmonella Dublin (bovine-adapted pathogen) virulence, and the connection between gut microbial dysbiosis and inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Naomi Huntley, PhD student in Biology
    • Naomi's research focuses on which host cell types are associated with microbiome traits and causal relationships between host genetic variants, microbiome traits, and disease outcomes.

Read the press release here.

Video highlight of the Interns' experiences:

  • Ashley Ohstrom, dual title PhD students in food science and microbiome sciences
    • Ashley’s research focuses on fermented food microbiomes, specifically how the microbiome of sourdough bread could improve bread quality and shelf life, potentially mitigating gluten sensitivities and celiac disease through protein modification.
  • Jamie Spychalla, PhD student in plant pathology and environmental microbiology
    • Jamie’s research focuses on developing microbiome-focused management plans to better control major grapevine diseases like Botrytis bunch rot and sour rot, which cause significant economic loss for both wine grape and table grape growers worldwide.
Bacteria growing on a petri dish.

Find other internal and external funding on the Senior Vice President for Research website.