One Health Microbiome Center launches new video series

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC) announced the launch of a new video series highlighting the center's state-of-the-art resources, research capabilities and collaborative efforts in microbiome sciences. Directed, filmed and edited by OHMC’s research technologist Dina Constantinides, this series aims to shed light on the tools and support available that allow the University to address the full extent of their microbiome science and education. 

The OHMC, housed in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, focused on interdisciplinary excellence and is the University’s largest life science center with more than 125 faculty and 550 total members. Its mission is to optimize, advance and disseminate long-lasting knowledge and applications — including those that improve human, agricultural and environmental health — on the microorganisms that dominate life on Earth.

The first two videos produced for the series each provide a closer look at the OHMC’s resources. The first introduces Jordan Bisanz, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and the OHMC’s Microbiome Research Collaboratory, a cutting-edge facility partially sponsored by QIAGEN. This collaboratory offers equipment, reagents and tools necessary for processing microbiome samples for sequencing, a key step in microbiome science.

The second video in the series focuses on the OHMC’s access to an allocation on ROAR Collab, which provides members with access to an impressive 120 cores of high-throughput computing power. Led by David Koslocki, associate professor of computer sciences and engineering and biology, the video highlights the OHMC’s free access to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database. This resource can enhance researchers' abilities to analyze sequencing data and generate new insights.

“Collaborative innovation and multidisciplinary approaches are in the center’s DNA. The challenges we seek to solve are massive in scale, and this video series is a small showcase of the resources and spirit that are at the heart of our mission,” said Seth Bordenstein, the OHMC’s director and Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Endowed Chair in Microbiome Sciences. “By bringing these tools and capabilities to the forefront, we seek to inspire and support the research community in making new discoveries.”

According to Constantinides, beyond educating potential users on available resources, the videos also highlight those already making use of them. 

“Through this video series, we aim not only to showcase the incredible resources at the center, but also to give a voice to the scientists behind the research and utilities, making their work more accessible and impactful,” added Dina Constantinides.

The OHMC plans to continue this video series, exploring outreach initiatives, community-building activities and specific research topics . Students, faculty, government agencies, academic institutions and companies interested in working with the center can explore its website.