BMB Weekly #24: June 16, 2023

 

Congratulations to the 2023 BMB Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) First Place Award Winners! Poster Presentation Student Presenter: Dayna Olson  Mentor: Josh Vermaas  Title: Lipid Specificity of the Drought Stress Signaling Protein PLAFP  Poster Presentation Student Presenter: Roksana Riddle  Mentors: Daniel Ducat, Michaela TerAvest, Masako Harada, Bjoern Hamberger  Title: Modifying Pseudomonas Syringae Phage as a Model for Plant Pathogen Biocontrol  Poster Presentation Student Presenter: Tuan "Kiet" Trinh  Mentor: Hyojin Kim  Title: Structural and Biochemical Analysis of SGT2-GET 4/5 Complex That Plays a Critical Role in Tail-Anchored Protein Biogenesis Poster Presentation Student Presenters: Sunyoung You, Sejla Sinanovic  Mentor: Jiying Ling  Title: FirstStep2Health: Effects on Reducing Parents' Perceived Stress and Improving Coping Poster Presentation Student Presenter: Ram Sanath Kumar  Mentors: Christopher Waters, Kaylee Wilburn  Title: Identifying CBASS Phage Defense Activation in Vibrio cholerae El Tor Oral Presentation Student Presenters: Michael Ngatio, Isabella Rodrigues  Mentor: Jinxing Li  Title: Application of Hydrogels to Treat Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism  Oral Presentation Student Presenter: Harrison Nabors  Mentor: Dohun Pyeon  Title: Characterization of CDKN2A/p76 as a Tumor-Specific Promoter

 

 

The speaker list for the Fall 2023 BMB Colloquium Series will be available soon.

 

Diego Granados-Villanueva and Bianca Serda will talk about their research, plans for future research, and/or journal article of interest, with plenty of time for questions and answers. Please join us for pizza and drinks, and a chance to hear what your peers are up to. We will meet outside at the picnic tables in the garden, or BCH 208 if inclement weather.

Are you registered for the Postdoc Academy's course, "The Postdoc Academy: Building Skills for a Successful Career" through the edX platform? If so, Drs. Rique Campa and Tony Nunez from the Graduate School are hosting weekly Postdoc Academy Learning Sessions (PALS) to help all participants (e.g., postdocs, senior graduate students, early career faculty, etc) navigate the course and discuss course content with the goal of assisting participants complete the 7-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). No registration or fee is required.

Do you have questions regarding formatting your thesis or dissertation? Stop in during one of our help sessions to talk to Graduate School staff about any specific formatting questions you may have. These are walk-in sessions. No registration is required. Learn more here.

Join us in the heart of Michigan, East Lansing for the 62nd annual meeting of the Phytochemical Society of North America (PSNA) at Michigan State University. The meeting will be held at the Kellogg Conference Center on July 16-20, 2023. This long-standing conference brings together researchers with interest in the chemistry and biochemistry of plant natural products, their Synthetic Biology and their effects on plant and animal physiology and pathology, and their agricultural, pharmacological, and industrial utilization. Learn more and register here. 

 

The STEAMpower Project is looking for graduate student fellows and faculty/staff-led teams that are interested in exploring the intersection of STEM and the arts/humanities. The theme for this year’s projects is sustainability. Graduate Fellows will earn $4,000 for participation during the academic year 2023-24, and Faculty/Staff-led Teams can access up to $20,000 for their interdisciplinary project over 2023-24. Learn more and apply here. 

 

International graduate students for the upcoming Fall 2023 semester will need to complete various tasks and attend events prior to the start of the semester. A list of these action items can be found here.

Graduate students interested in volunteering this summer can apply to assist in the Stoneleigh Hospice House. Volunteer positions at Stoneleigh Residence include working with patients and families. There are also opportunities to help with non-patient care such as lawn and garden care, light housekeeping, maintenance, and other duties. Learn more and apply to volunteer here.

The ITA Program is currently scheduling advising appointments for international graduate teaching assistants interested in taking ITA support courses in Fall 2023. Learn more here.

To help field questions, Global Safety has developed a guide with recommended steps and resources. This is available as a PDF and on the Global Safety website at www.globalsafety.msu.edu/positive-COVID-19. The first step is to call ISOS for guidance.

 

Research Associate, Fixed Term — Quinn Lab   

This project involves study of the metabolome and microbiome of corals in Hawaii, USA during their response to thermal stress. The scholar will work on both live coral in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and controlled biochemical and microbiological studies of their symbiotic algae at MSU. The project involves complex analysis of metabolomics data coupled with molecular biology and genetic manipulation of culturable marine algae. Skills required for the position are broad and include mass spectrometry, microbiology, molecular biology and genetic techniques, as well as marine biology and field sampling experience. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

Research Associate, Fixed Term — Lohman Lab

This position offers a unique opportunity for early-career scientists to collaborate with experts, drive scientific discoveries, and publish impactful research papers. The successful candidate will perform chemical biology and structural biology experiments, analyze data, and work with a team to advance our understanding of biological processes and guide drug discovery. Mentoring graduate and undergraduate students will also be a part of this role. Strong expertise in structural biology, enzymology, and a passion for scientific exploration are essential. This postdoc position provides an excellent platform for career development in a stimulating and innovative research environment. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link. 

One research associate (post-doc) position is available in the lab of Dr. Tommy Vo. This research position is to develop new biochemical methods for high-throughput in vivo mapping of localized protein interactomes in the fission yeast S. pombe. The work will employ genetic, genomic, molecular, microscopic and biochemical approaches to understand how proteins engage with different complexes within the cell. Overall, the associate can expect to develop excellence in three key areas: research, mentoring, and scientific communication. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

Research Associate, Fixed Term — He Lab

The successful candidate will have a solid background in cellular/molecular biology and developmental biology. Experience in neurobiology, disease mouse models, mouse behavioral analysis, and/or high-throughput sequencing experiments and bioinformatics analyses are a plus. Duties include: maintain mouse colonies, perform mouse behavioral analysis, perform mouse genetic analysis, histological analysis, and molecular analysis, collect data and analyze data, and write manuscripts. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

 

Doherty, J. H., Cerchiara, J. A., Scott, E. E., Jescovitch, L. N., McFarland, J. L., Haudek, K. C., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2023). Oaks to
         arteries: the Physiology Core Concept of flow down gradients supports transfer of student reasoning. Advances in physiology
         education, 47(2), 282–295. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00155.2022

Doherty, J. H., Scott, E. E., Cerchiara, J. A., Jescovitch, L. N., McFarland, J. L., Haudek, K. C., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2023). What a
         Difference in Pressure Makes! A Framework Describing Undergraduate Students' Reasoning about Bulk Flow Down Pressure
         Gradients. CBE life sciences education, 22(2), ar23. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-01-0003

Feng, H., Jiang, J., & Wei, G. W. (2023). Machine-learning repurposing of DrugBank compounds for opioid use disorder. Computers
         in biology and medicine, 160, 106921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.106921

Kulke, M., Weraduwage, S. M., Sharkey, T. D., & Vermaas, J. V. (2023). Nanoscale simulation of the thylakoid membrane response to
         extreme temperatures. Plant, cell & environment, 10.1111/pce.14609. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.14609

Lanier, E. R., Andersen, T. B., & Hamberger, B. (2023). Plant terpene specialized metabolism: complex networks or simple linear
         pathways?. The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology, 114(5), 1178–1201. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16177

McClain, A. M., & Sharkey, T. D. (2023). Rapid CO2 changes cause oscillations in photosynthesis that implicate PSI acceptor-side
         limitations. Journal of experimental botany, 74(10), 3163–3173. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad084

Nynca, A., Swigonska, S., Ruszkowska, M., Sadowska, A., Orlowska, K., Molcan, T., Myszczynski, K., Otrocka-Domagala, I., Paździor-
         Czapula, K., Kurowicka, B., Petroff, B. K., & Ciereszko, R. E. (2023). Tamoxifen decreases ovarian toxicity without compromising
         cancer treatment in a rat model of mammary cancer. BMC genomics, 24(1), 325. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09423-0

Schmiege, S. C., Sharkey, T. D., Walker, B., Hammer, J., & Way, D. A. (2023). Laisk measurements in the non-steady-state: tests in
         plants exposed to warming and variable CO2 concentrations. Plant physiology, kiad305. Advance online publication.
         https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad305

Takahashi, H., Marsolais, F., Cuypers, A., & Kopriva, S. (2023). Sulfur metabolism: actions for plant resilience and environmental
         adaptation. Journal of experimental botany, 74(11), 3271–3275. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad164

Voss, P. G., & Wang, J. L. (2023). Liquid-liquid phase separation: Galectin-3 in nuclear speckles and ribonucleoprotein complexes. 
         Experimental cell research, 427(1), 113571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexcr.2023.113571

 

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 56, No.24