UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Donna Korzick stepped into the role of director of graduate training initiatives at the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences in 2021, she brought a clear vision: support trainees, empower faculty and raise the bar for graduate education across the life sciences. Three years later, that vision is helping to reshape the graduate student training landscape at the Huck and the entire Penn State ecosystem.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure faculty aren’t navigating these complicated grant systems alone,” said Korzick, who is also a professor of physiology and kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Development. “Our goal is to provide support that’s practical, consistent and centered on student success.”
Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), T32 training grants are highly competitive awards that fund programs designed to support the next generation of biomedical researchers. In her role, Korzick mentors faculty across disciplines as they build, submit and manage these programs. She also oversees broader efforts to integrate training resources and mentoring best practices across the Huck-affiliated graduate programs.
One of Korzick’s first priorities, she said, was creating a post-award infrastructure that simplified life for principal investigators.
“Faculty should be focused on mentoring, not figuring out spreadsheets or navigating reporting systems,” she said. “We built a process that takes the burden off their plate.”
That process includes close collaboration with Jean Pierce, assistant training grant administrator in the Huck graduate education office, and Connie Smith, a project manager with Penn State’s Strategic Interdisciplinary Research Office. Together, the team meets weekly to manage budgets, tracking systems and reporting — freeing up faculty to focus on science and students.
“We’ve created a structure that is repeatable and scalable, so we can support both new programs and long-standing ones,” Korzick said.
In addition to system-level improvements, Korzick said she has made it a priority to mentor faculty who are writing T32 proposals for the first time, many of whom may not realize they’re eligible or equipped.
“Sometimes it’s just about helping them believe they can do it,” she said. “They have the vision and the science. We help with the structure and the NIH-specific requirements.”
Since 2021, the Huck has seen steady growth in T32 grant activity, including successful renewals and strong scores for new submissions. Korzick’s mentorship has played a key role in that progress, including a recent T32 award to the BIOMS (Biomedical Integrated Omics and Mechanisms) program, which was made possible through the support of the Huck Institutes’ T32 training grants team.
“My goal is to offer both technical expertise and a deep understanding of what it takes to build a compelling training program,” Korzick said. “It is satisfying to see that work come to fruition in a way that will provide support to the next generation of microbiome sciences researchers.”
The scale of Korzick’s work is significant, according to Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. In recent years, Korzick has helped guide and support multiple T32 programs affiliated with the Huck Institutes, including Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge (B2D2K); Computation, Bioinformatics, and Statistics (CBIOS); Eukaryotic Gene Regulation (EGR); Physiological Adaptations to Stress (PAS); Integrative Analysis of Metabolic Phenotypes (IAMP); and the newly awarded BIOMS program. Collectively, these programs have supported over 100 of predoctoral trainees across more than six graduate programs and four colleges. The PAS program alone supports over 33 students with $2.75 million in NIH funding.
According to Grozinger, these T32 programs bring millions of dollars in competitive federal funding to Penn State and represent some of the most collaborative and forward-looking training environments in the country. More information is available at Huck’s training grants website.
“Graduate education has always been a priority of the Huck Institutes, and Donna has built on that foundation with remarkable impact,” Grozinger said. “Her ability to guide complex training programs while fostering a student-centered culture has expanded opportunities for trainees and elevated what’s possible for faculty mentors.”
Korzick said she is also committed to elevating the overall graduate experience for life sciences trainees, whether or not they are formally appointed to a T32 program.
“Training grants benefit everyone,” she said. “In addition to the science, they drive things like mentor training, career development and student support systems that lift the whole community.”
Korzick helped implement courses on entrepreneurship, team science and professional development, with flexible tracks that allow students to explore diverse career paths. Individual development plans (IDPs) are now widely used across the Huck Institutes, helping students map out their goals and chart a course for achieving them.
Last fall, Korzick launched the inaugural Huck Institutes T32 Summit: A Gathering of Trainees and Mentors, an event designed to build community among trainees and mentors while addressing critical topics like resiliency in science.
“Our keynote speaker, Sharon Milgram from NIH, talked about mental health, burnout and how to thrive in research,” Korzick said. “It was powerful to see students and mentors in the same room, hearing the same message.”
With more T32 proposals in development and a growing commitment to student-centered training, Korzick said she sees even more potential ahead.
“There’s a real opportunity here to change the culture of graduate education,” she said. “If we can give students the structure, support and confidence they need then we’re preparing them not just to succeed, but to lead.”
For Korzick, the motivation is simple.
“This is about people,” she said. “Helping a student find their path, or supporting a faculty member in mentoring them, that’s the most rewarding work I can do.”