Mentorship and communication take center stage at training summit

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Developing successful researchers goes beyond the science placing additional emphasis on developing interpersonal skills and establishing positive mentor-mentee relationships. The second Annual Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences T32 Training Summit brought together over 100 scholars, mentors and program leaders to network, learn about establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial mentorships and provided graduate students an opportunity to share their research.

The event, which took place on Dec. 4 at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub, specifically focused on those involved in the T32 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program. This program provides Penn State doctoral students with the opportunity to conduct mentored research in one of six programs: Eukaryotic Gene Regulation; Integrative Analysis of Metabolic Phenotypes, Molecular Machines Mechanism and Structure; Physiological Adaptions to Stress; Biotechnological and Integrative Opportunities in Microbiome Sciences; and Cross-Disciplinary Neural Engineering.

Michael Verderame, senior associate dean of the J. Jeffry and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School was the recipient of a T32 NIH training grant during his second year of graduate school and personally understands the importance of a good mentor.

“A good adviser who is also a great mentor is important,” Verderame said. “This is somebody who understands you and your career goals. They help you to be successful with not just your doctorate requirements, but long-term career goals and launching your careers.”

Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, shared stories of how graduates of the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs are taking what they’ve learned and are making large scale contributions through their work at nonprofits, helping farms to help manage crops and continuing their research across academia.

“You are the engines of innovation at our institute and across the world. Innovation is easier when you have a community to work with and a broad professional network of mentors,” Grozinger said.

The keynote and workshop were facilitated by Philip Clifford, professor emeritus and associate dean of research in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago. Clifford champions career and professional development for early career researchers through his involvement in professional organizations, particularly the National Postdoctoral Association and the National Research Mentoring Network.

“I love seeing a room where we’re talking about mentoring and the careers of the next generation of scientists,” Clifford said. Going beyond the lab, Clifford’s keynote and workshop, titled “Working Smarter: Synchronizing Research Expectations,” delved into the interpersonal workings of establishing rapport, establishing expectations and preparing new graduate students for different way to work and learn.

Faculty mentors and mentees shared their expectations amongst the group, highlighting common themes including investing personally, being committed to research, taking ownership of work, exploring professional opportunities, open communication and a plethora of additional considerations.

The overarching guidance is to establish clear guidelines, workflows, processes and lines of communication from day one, providing an enhanced and positive experience for all involved.

After the workshop, students in the T32 training grant programs presented their research:

• Ryan Faddis, doctoral student in the Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology Graduate Program 
  • T32 program: Eukaryotic Gene Regulation
  • Advised by Marina Feric, assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Presentation: "Mitochondrial genome redistribution induces hyper-polarity"
• Jessi Gaydos, doctoral student in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
  • T32 program: Biotechnological and Integrative Opportunities in Microbiome Sciences
  • Advised by Guy Townsend, associate professor, Department of Molecular and Precision Medicine
  • Presentation: "The gut microbial role in an environmental Parkinson’s disease animal model"
• Tyler Rivera, doctoral student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program
  • T32 program: Cross-Disciplinary Neural Engineering
  • Advised by Bruce Gluckman, professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
  • Presentation: "Investigating sleep architecture alterations in mice across aging"
• Ria Tyree, doctoral student in the Integrative and Biomedical Physiology Graduate Program
  • T32 program: Physiological Adaptations to Stress
  • Advised by Claire Stenhouse, assistant professor, Department of Animal Science
  • Presentation: "From barns to babies; What cattle can tell us about prenatal phosphate regulation"

Donna Korzick, director of graduate training initiatives at Huck, works with faculty across disciplines as they build, submit and manage programs. She also oversees broader efforts to integrate training resources and mentoring best practices across the Huck-affiliated graduate programs.

“If we can give students the structure, support, mentorship and confidence they need we’re preparing them not just to succeed but to lead,” Korzick said.

Graduate students across Penn State who are interested in participating in the T32 training grant program can find more information here. Applications for the fall 2026 cohort open in spring 2026.