UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has launched its 2025-26 seed grant program, issuing a call for proposals from Huck-affiliated researchers across the University. Huck seed grants aim to foster innovative, interdisciplinary and collaborative life sciences research.
While other topics in life sciences will also be considered, the seven new thematic priorities listed below will receive preferential consideration by the review panel. Full descriptions are available here.
“Researchers across the Huck Institutes are tackling fundamental questions in the life sciences and solving global challenges,” said Huck Institutes Director Christina Grozinger. “Our research themes are designed to help our scientists break down disciplinary silos, leverage new technologies, and explore ‘moonshot’ ideas that have the potential to transform how we do science and how we live.”
Single investigator grants will be funded at a maximum of $30,000. Multi-investigator proposals across multiple departments and/or colleges will be eligible to receive supplemental funding of up to $50,000 for up to $80,000 in total funding.
Proposal submission details are available here. Submissions will be accepted until 5 p.m. ET on July 15.
Interdisciplinary research themes:
Future Foods
Ensuring access to nutritious food in a changing world requires an integrated approach across genetics, microbiology, animal and plant biology, agroecology, and human nutrition. Huck researchers are pioneering strategies to support the production of healthy and diverse foods, including leveraging emerging technologies and controlled environment agriculture, and studying how diet influences human health from metabolomics to movement. The aim is to empower farmers with better tools and families with science-based information that support health across the lifespan.
Health for Life
The health of plants, animals and humans is shaped by exposures throughout life — from microbes and contaminants to diet and social conditions. These exposures can have lasting effects on immunity, cognition and metabolism, even across generations. Huck researchers are developing holistic strategies that improve life-long health by working with stakeholders across the biological, environmental and socio-cultural spectrum.
Emergent Intelligence in Organisms
Organisms — from microbes to humans — show remarkable abilities to sense, remember and adapt. Intelligence emerges through networks of genes, cells and neural systems, even in organisms without brains. Huck investigators are exploring how organisms integrate signals and past experiences to make decisions, aiming to understand cognition, promote brain health, and inspire bio-informed computing and artificial intelligence (AI) design.
Engineering Resilient Ecosystems
Healthy ecosystems rely on complex interactions among organisms and their environment. Stressors like pollution, disease, and invasive species can disrupt these systems. Huck researchers are using a wide range of tools, from genomics to civil engineering, to protect and restore ecosystems — on farms, in forests and in cities — through partnerships with conservationists, agencies and communities.
Cross-cutting research themes:
Translational Science & Public Impact
Huck scientists are transforming biological insights into real-world tools and strategies. They are accelerating vaccine and drug development, driving innovations in sustainable biotechnologies, and improving disease forecasting with integrated data. This work promotes science-informed public policy and delivers practical solutions — from improving crop resilience to preventing ecosystem collapse — benefiting people and the planet.
Life at All Scales
Huck researchers are exploring biology from molecules to ecosystems — how proteins and RNA control gene expression, how viruses enter cells and how species are distributed across landscapes. These teams develop AI-driven sensors to detect physiological changes and environmental shifts. These tools enhance our ability to monitor health and biodiversity, revealing vital connections across living systems.
AI to Action
Today’s data-rich world enables unprecedented insights across the life sciences. Huck researchers integrate large-scale data — from genomics to wearable tech — to uncover mechanisms behind biological and societal challenges. Huck researchers are turning complex data into actionable strategies to address fundamental processes and global issues, from cell biology to public health.