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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Join us tomorrow for our Biology Seminar Come a little early to chat and enjoy coffee and cookies 🎙️ Speaker: Jesse Lasky, Professor, Penn State 🌿 Title: Environmental adaptation in plant populations 🕛 Time: 12:00–1:00 PM 📍 Location: 8 Müller Lab We hope to see you there!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Join us tomorrow for our first Biology Seminar of the semester! 🎉 Come a little early to chat with colleagues and enjoy some coffee and cookies before the seminar. ☕🍪 We hope to see you there!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

At the lake, the team inflated backpack kayaks, paddled to the deepest point—65 feet—and collected four sediment cores. Then came the 5-mile hike back out. They were on the move from 4 AM until 11 PM. 🚣🏔️ 4/6

📸 A critically endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog in the foreground as the team prepares inflatable kayaks for sediment core sampling. Photo: Anton Sorokin @Anuranton

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Getting those cores was no small task. One day started at 4 AM with a drive into Yosemite, followed by a 4-mile hike, another mile of bushwhacking, and 50-lb backpacks—all before the sampling even began. 🥾 3/6

📸 Hiking all the gear back from the field sites. Photo: Anton Sorokin @Anuranton

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The goal: reconstruct the history of pathogen invasion using freshwater sediment cores. Lake sediments preserve DNA shed by aquatic organisms in chronological layers—creating a natural archive of host-pathogen interactions through time. 🧬 2/6

📸 A sediment core collected from the bottom of an alpine lake in Sierra National Forest. Photo: Anton Sorokin @Anuranton

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🧵 Fieldwork Highlight: From 4 AM starts to 50-lb backpacks, this team headed deep into California’s Sierra Nevada to uncover the hidden history of an amphibian pathogen. 🏔️🐸 Their destination? Backcountry lakes in Yosemite National Park and Sierra National Forest. 1/6

📸 A critically endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog on the shore of an alpine lake at the base of Mt. Humphreys in Sierra National Forest. Photo: Anton Sorokin @Anuranton

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

You’re Invited! Welcome Social: Meet, Mingle, & Connect! �� Join BMMB, HGSAC, and Biology for a Meet & Mingle event as we welcome our new and incoming graduate students to the community!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

📅 Save the date, Biology community! Our Biology Seminars are back this semester: 🗓️ Tuesdays ⏰ 12:00 PM 📍 Mueller Room 8 We’ll share reminders and seminar details here and by email each week. Here’s our schedule so far — mark your calendars! 👇

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Can skin bacteria save a frog's life? 🐸 New research from PhD fellow Laura Schuck & the Becker Lab @PennState moves science closer to proving that the skin microbiome is a frontline defense against deadly infection. Out now in @AnimalMicrobiome 👇

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

This summer, Biology graduate researchers John Majoris and Macy Littell visited a clownfish laboratory at Boston University! 🐠

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Biology Seminar on Tuesday, April 28th This is the final seminar in this semester's series; we hope to see you there! Seminar Details Speaker: Jeremy Lichstein, Professor, University of Florida Title: Forest Dynamics in a Changing World Time: 12:00–1:00 PM Location: 8 Müller Lab

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

🚨 Biology Seminar this Tuesday! Join us for a powerful talk by Christopher Medina-Kirchner (Harvard Medical School): “Agony and Ecstasy: A Scientist’s Path from Incarceration to MDMA Research” 🗓️ April 14 ⏰ 12–1 PM 📍 8 Müller Lab

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Join us tomorrow for our seminar: Speaker: Jubao Duan, Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago Title: From GWAS to disease biology: neurogenomics in human iPSC models Time: 12:00–1:00 PM Location: 8 Müller Lab

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

🧪 Lab Tech Spotlight 🐸 From Wildlife & Fisheries Science to amphibian microbiomes — here’s a glimpse into my path and what I do in the Becker Lab 🧵

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Join us tomorrow! Arrive earlier for cookies and coffee, bring your mug!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Dr. Timothy Currier, Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine is scheduled to present a seminar on Wednesday, February 18 at 12:00 – 1:00 PM W203 Millennium Science Complex titled: “Deciphering the synaptic constraints on visual processing.”

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Join us next week for amazing seminars: Dr. Kelsey Tyssowski, a Research Associate at Harvard University is scheduled to present a seminar on Monday, February 16 at 12:00 – 1:00 PM in W203 Millennium Science Complex titled: “The neural basis of the evolution of dexterity in deer mice.”

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Come join us today at this special seminar

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Come join us for the seminar today! Hot coffee, tea and cookies offered prior to the seminar!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

We celebrated the start of 2025 with dinner and bowling! 🎳✨ Grateful for the wonderful community that makes Penn State Biology such a great place to learn, work, and grow.

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

✨ This week, grad students held the Eberly Research Showcase – “From Molecules to Galaxies”, bringing together researchers across all departments for a day of inspiring, cross-disciplinary science. Huge thanks to everyone who presented, organized, and attended! 💙

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

🎉 Congratulations to our incredible Biology staff! Last week, the College celebrated the annual Staff Appreciation Awards & Lunch, and several of our team members were recognized for their outstanding service.

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

🐠 Meet Dr. John Majoris, one of the newest faculty members in Penn State Biology! His lab studies the “real-life Finding Nemo” — how tiny reef fish larvae navigate the open ocean to find a reef to call home. 🌊👇🧵

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

🐝🌿 Students from the course BIOL449 teamed up with Penn State Golf Courses and the Living Labs initiative at Penn State University to transform three neglected planting beds into native, pollinator-friendly gardens.

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is partnering with World in Conversation to launch a new initiative that brings our college community together to engage in meaningful conversations where multiple viewpoints are present.

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Their final project is a testament to their hard work—give it a look and join us in celebrating their achievement!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Every year our graduating senior undergrads are given the opportunity to write a personal note to a faculty member that inspired them. Biology had 27 this year!

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Last Friday was the annual Biology Dept Bake Off. The Huber lab reclaimed the rolling pin for the win this year. Thanks to the climate and diversity committee for putting the event together and for everyone that participated.

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Our faculty is so proud of all our amazing graduates — congratulations on this huge achievement! 🎓🎉

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

New field tale feat. Shannon Buttimer, PhD candidate on Becker lab! "While we were running transects to sample amphibians in São Paulo, Brazil, we were staying in field housing that situated along an unpaved, very rocky and muddy road...🧵

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Penn State Department of Biology @psubiodept.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Fieldwork Tales 🐸🌿 Feat. Carol Lambertini - Postdoc at Becker lab "On a night with ideal conditions for sampling, we set out in search of frogs when we came across a rather unusual call... 🧵

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