Christina Grozinger

Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences; Publius Vergilius Maro Professor and Huck Scholar of Entomology

Christina Grozinger

Research Summary

Genomics of social behavior and health in bees

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Landscape transcriptomics as a tool for addressing global change effects across diverse species

J Keagy, Chloe Drummond, Kadeem Gilbert, C Grozinger, J Hamilton, H Hines, J Lasky, Cheryl Logan, Ruairidh Sawers, T Wagner, Molecular Ecology Resources

Intragenomic conflict associated with extreme phenotypic plasticity in queen-worker caste determination in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Sean T. Bresnahan, Shaun Mahony, Kate Anton, Brock Harpur, Christina M. Grozinger, 2025, Genome Biology

The intensity of the transcriptional response varies across infection with distinct viral strains in an insect host

Allyson M. Ray, Anja Tehel, Jason Laurence Rasgon, Robert J. Paxton, Christina M. Grozinger, 2025, BMC Genomics

Evaluating the usability and utility of a spatial decision support system for pollinator ecology

Lily Houtman, Anthony C. Robinson, Dave McLaughlin, Christina M. Grozinger, 2025, Ecological Informatics

Short-term heat exposure at sublethal temperatures reduces sperm quality in males of a solitary bee species, Osmia cornifrons

Jaya Sravanthi Mokkapati, Johanna Hehl, Lars Straub, Christina M. Grozinger, Natalie Boyle, 2025, Apidologie

Leveraging Transcriptional Signatures of Diverse Stressors for Bumble Bee Conservation

Gabriela M. Quinlan, Heather M. Hines, Christina M. Grozinger, 2025, Molecular Ecology

Correction to: Examining parent-of-origin effects on transcription and RNA methylation in mediating aggressive behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera) (BMC Genomics, (2023), 24, 1, (315), 10.1186/s12864-023-09411-4)

Sean T. Bresnahan, Ellen Lee, Lindsay Clark, Rong Ma, Michael Markey, Juliana Rangel, Christina M. Grozinger, Hongmei Li-Byarlay, 2024, BMC Genomics

Honey bees and bumble bees react differently to nitrogen-induced increases in floral resources

Junpeng Mu, Peiyue Che, Dawei Li, Juanli Chen, Chuan Zhao, Christina M. Grozinger, 2024, Environmental Entomology on p. 1111-1119

Estimating genus-specific effects of non-native honey bees and urbanization on wild bee communities: A case study in Maryland, United States

Gabriela M. Quinlan, Jeffrey W. Doser, Melanie A. Kammerer, Christina M. Grozinger, 2024, Science of the Total Environment

Foraging bee species differentially prioritize quantity and quality of floral rewards

Jaya Sravanthi Mokkapati, Michael Hill, Natalie K. Boyle, Pierre Ouvrard, Adrien Sicard, Christina M. Grozinger, 2024, PNAS Nexus

Most-Cited Papers

Bee nutrition and floral resource restoration

Anthony Vaudo, John F. Tooker, Christina M. Grozinger, Harland M. Patch, 2015, Current Opinion in Insect Science on p. 133--141

Macronutrient ratios in pollen shape bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) foraging strategies and floral preferences

Anthony D. Vaudo, Harland M. Patch, David A. Mortensen, John F. Tooker, Christina M. Grozinger, 2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. E4035-E4042

Bee viruses: Ecology, pathogenicity, and impacts

Christina M. Grozinger, Michelle Flenniken, 2019, Annual Review of Entomology on p. 205--226

Pollen protein: Lipid macronutrient ratios may guide broad patterns of bee species floral preferences

Anthony Vaudo, John Tooker, Harland M. Patch, David J. Biddinger, Michael Coccia, Makaylee Crone, Mark Fiely, Jacob Francis, Heather M. Hines, Mackenzie Hodges, Stephanie Jackson, Denis Michez, Junpeng Mu, Laura Russo, Maliheh Safari, Erin Treanore, Maryse Vanderplanck, E Yip, Anne Leonard, Christina M. Grozinger, 2020, Insects on p. 132

Overwintering honey bees: biology and management

Mehmet Ali Döke, Maryann Frazier, Christina M. Grozinger, 2015, Current Opinion in Insect Science on p. 185-193

Pesticides and pollinators: A socioecological synthesis

Douglas B. Sponsler, Christina M. Grozinger, Claudia Hitaj, Maj Rundlöf, Cristina Botías, Aimee Code, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Andony P. Melathopoulos, David J. Smith, Sainath Suryanarayanan, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Neal M. Williams, Minghua Zhang, Margaret R. Douglas, 2019, Science of the Total Environment on p. 1012-1027

Parallel Epigenomic and Transcriptomic Responses to Viral Infection in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

David A. Galbraith, Xingyu Yang, Elina Lastro Niño, Soojin Yi, Christina Grozinger, 2015, PLoS Pathogens on p. 1-24

Unity in defence: Honeybee workers exhibit conserved molecular responses to diverse pathogens

Vincent Doublet, Yvonne Poeschl, Andreas Gogol-Döring, Cédric Alaux, Desiderato Annoscia, Christian Aurori, Seth M. Barribeau, Oscar C. Bedoya-Reina, Mark J.F. Brown, James C. Bull, Michelle L. Flenniken, David A. Galbraith, Elke Genersch, Sebastian Gisder, Ivo Grosse, Holly L. Holt, Dan Hultmark, H. Michael G. Lattorff, Yves Le Conte, Fabio Manfredini, Dino P. McMahon, Robin F.A. Moritz, Francesco Nazzi, Elina L. Niño, Katja Nowick, Ronald P. van Rij, Robert J. Paxton, Christina M. Grozinger, 2017, BMC Genomics on p. 1--17

County-level analysis reveals a rapidly shifting landscape of insecticide hazard to honey bees (Apis mellifera) on US farmland

Margaret R. Douglas, Douglas B. Sponsler, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Christina M. Grozinger, 2020, Scientific Reports

Bumble bees regulate their intake of essential protein and lipid pollen macronutrients

A. D. Vaudo, D. Stabler, H. M. Patch, J. F. Tooker, C. M. Grozinger, G. A. Wright, 2016, Journal of Experimental Biology on p. 3962--3970

News Articles Featuring Christina Grozinger

Jul 15, 2025

Optical tweezers help elevate single-molecule research at Penn State

The instrument, supported by a new NIH infrastructure grant, uses laser light to ‘tweeze’ tiny objects like DNA molecules and proteins.

Full Article

Jul 07, 2025

‘Scialog’ grant to study how rising ocean temperatures affect fish behavior

A wildlife behavioral ecologist at Penn State is part of a multi-institution team that received funding from Scialog: Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, a international three-year initiative that aims to spark new science exploring neurobiological responses to rapidly changing environments.

Full Article

Jun 30, 2025

Huck Chair builds regenerative medicine bridge from lab to surgical suite

With support from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Dino Ravnic advances translational research through cross-campus partnerships.

Full Article

Jun 28, 2025

Hidden microclimates attract bees and boost farm yields

Climate usually conjures images of vast regions and decades-long change, but it also shifts over a few miles in a single afternoon. A team of researchers led by Pennsylvania State University has shown that these microclimates can nudge bees toward particular patches of a field and, in doing so, make or break yields of wild blueberries.

Full Article

Jun 27, 2025

Warmer Spots Within Fields Have More Blooms And More Bees

Climate can vary across large areas of land, but it also can vary within much smaller areas such as farms. A new study by researchers at Penn State examined whether these microclimates — the climate of a very small or restricted area — affect pollination by both wild and managed bees and resulting wild blueberry yields.

Full Article

Jun 24, 2025

Warmer spots within fields have more blooms and more bees

Climate can vary across large areas of land, but it also can vary within much smaller areas such as farms. A new study by researchers at Penn State examined whether these microclimates — the climate of a very small or restricted area — affect pollination by both wild and managed bees and resulting wild blueberry yields.

Full Article

Jun 23, 2025

Kao steps down as plant biology graduate program chair

Teh-hui Kao, distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has stepped down as chair of the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program (IGDP) in Plant Biology after 26 years in the role.

Full Article

Jun 20, 2025

How a genetic tug-of-war decides the fate of a honey bee

Despite having identical genetic instructions, female honey bee larvae can develop into either long-lived reproductive queens or short-lived sterile workers who help rear their sisters rather than laying their own eggs. Now, an interdisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State has uncovered the molecular mechanisms that control how the conflict between genes inherited from the father and the mother determine the larva’s fate.

Full Article

Jun 04, 2025

Huck Chair in Nanomedicine plans to take research from bench to bedside

As biomedical challenges grow more complex, Penn State’s Dipanjan Pan is pioneering a multifaceted approach to nanomedicine that spans basic research, clinical translation and entrepreneurial deployment.

Full Article

May 29, 2025

Biology professor, Huck associate operations director to retire

After a decade of service to the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and a distinguished academic career spanning four decades, James Marden, professor of biology and associate director of operations, will retire from Penn State at the end of June.

Full Article

Apr 29, 2025

Heather Hines named interim director of the Center for Pollinator Research and the Insect Biodiversity Center

Heather Hines, Associate Professor of Biology and Entomology, has been named Interim Director of the Center for Pollinator Research (CPR) and the Insect Biodiversity Center (IBC). Hines is succeeding Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

Full Article

Apr 24, 2025

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee on insect declines

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America.

Full Article

Apr 14, 2025

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee to study insect declines in North America

Huck Institutes director Christina Grozinger has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Status of Insects in North America.

Full Article

Mar 25, 2025

Translator for biomedical research aims to speed up patient care

$12.8M, five-year project brings together multiple institutions to improve and expand NIH Biomedical Data Translator

Full Article

Mar 17, 2025

Stage set for final round of Three Minute Thesis competition on March 29

Graduate students at Penn State will put their communication skills to the test in the final round of the University’s second annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The event, hosted by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, and will be livestreamed from the Nittany Lion Inn. The competition is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.

Full Article

Mar 11, 2025

Penn State Scientists Use AI to Study Bee Population Decline

A study led by Penn State researchers has introduced landscape transcriptomics, a novel method for analyzing gene expression patterns, to understand the stressors impacting bumble bees.

Full Article

Mar 10, 2025

Analyzing genetic ‘signatures’ may give insight into what stresses wild bees

A new method of examining gene expression patterns called landscape transcriptomics may help pinpoint what causes bumble bees stress and could eventually give insight into why bee populations are declining overall.

Full Article

Jan 17, 2025

Christina Grozinger to lead Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences as director

Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research, has been named the new director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State.

Full Article

Jan 06, 2025

Quantity over quality? Different bees are attracted to different floral traits

When it comes to deciding where they’re going to get their next meal, different species of bees may be attracted to different flower traits, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State and published in PNAS Nexus.

Full Article

Oct 07, 2024

Adding fall blooming plants may help both managed and wild bees in cities

Recent findings will help identify the groups of bees that may be most at-risk and aid in creating conservation strategies, according to researchers.

Full Article

Jul 08, 2024

Study: Fireflies at risk due to climate change, urban development

Catching fireflies is an iconic summer experience for many people living in North America, but the flickering beetles are on the decline. New research has identified factors that may be contributing to declining populations.

Full Article

Jun 03, 2024

Combining pest treatments may be key to helping honey bees survive the winter

Winters can be tough on managed honey bee colonies, with beekeepers in the United States reporting that one-third of their colonies die each winter. A new study by Penn State researchers has found that using not one but multiple pest treatments may help bees make it to spring.

Full Article

May 22, 2024

It’s Okay To Mow In May, But To Help Pollinators, Add Native Plants

Manicured lawns produce a monoculture, making it hard for bees to find food.

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May 15, 2024

It’s OK to mow in May − the best way to help pollinators is by adding native plants

It’s a simple idea: Stop mowing your lawn in the month of May to let flowers in the lawn, such as dandelions and clover, grow and support bees and other pollinators.

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May 14, 2024

Penn State researchers help shine light on firefly populations in the eastern U.S.

Fireflies can bring magic to summer nights — blinking in yards and putting on light shows in fields. But a study by a team that includes researchers from Penn State found that while fireflies' overall populations did not decline, climate change and loss of habitat do have an impact on the winged beetles.

Full Article