BMB Weekly #5: February 3, 2023

 

MSU Researchers Uncover New Potential for Ancient Mint Plants Björn Hamberger, associate professor and James K. Billman Jr., M.D., Endowed Professor was recently featured in an MSU Today article along with his graduate students, Abigail Bryson and Emily Lanier. Read the full article to see how they traced the evolution of mint genomes for potential future applications that range from medicines to pesticides to antimicrobials.

 

 

Ariel Furst from Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be presenting "Taking inspiration from Nature: Bio-inspired systems for sustainability and clean energy."

To join us on Zoom, click this link. Password: bmbseminar

The Spring BMB Seminar Series will run through the end of April. The complete schedule is available on the BMB Spring Seminar Series website. If you are interested in meeting with any of these speakers please email Leslie Williams, glady@msu.edu. Many speakers are planning to visit in-person. A zoom option will continue to be offered for all seminars.

 

The Exchange is the weekly Tuesday morning event for graduate students. Please join us for the following:
Journal Club: Dr. Ariel Furst, MIT (Michaela TerAvest)
Bio-electrochemistry

Volunteers: Liz Harper, Amberly Crawford, Allen Treviso

Join us for coffee & conversation at The Broad Art Museum on Wed. Feb. 8th!  You'll be able to hang out, visit with friends and make new connections, while enjoying coffee & treats.  Then feel free to explore the exhibits afterward on a self-guided tour (stay as long as you like!).  This popular meet-up will continue throughout spring semester, along with fun chances to meet up at various locations on and off campus to socialize with fellow graduate & professional students. Cheers!

WOCI is excited to inform you about our workshop series on Surviving Comprehensive Exams. Our workshops feature both graduate students who recently passed comps and faculty who have both taken comps and given them. Our panelists also come from colleges around campus.

This workshop is designed to help graduate students who are preparing for comps. We strongly encourage 1st and 2nd year PhD students to attend this in hopes that we can help them demystify the comps process well before they are scheduled to take these exams. We also encourage early career faculty who have never given a comps exam to join us as well. They can hear from experienced faculty members about how they facilitate oral exams and prospectus defenses. Learn more here. 

This conference helps MSU educators to share approaches, tools, and techniques that support teaching and learning. Educators are invited to submit presentation proposals on select teaching & learning topics across a wide array of formats, including synchronous digital sessions. Learn more here. 

You can register NOW to attend the 2023 COGS Annual Graduate Academic Conference on Saturday February 18, 2023, 9am-5pm  at the MSU Union! This year it's bigger and better than ever!  All attendees and presenters can participate in workshops, activities and keynote luncheon, etc., as well as view an array of excellent student presentations, including the popular Three Minute Thesis competition!  Make a plan to attend the conference even if you're not presenting this year! The full conference schedule will be posted soon. Details, registration and updates can be found here. 

COGS presents: A Night Under The Stars! Discover the wonders of Abrams Planetarium, located in the center of MSU’s campus, with a special showing just for graduate and professional students, and their accompanied guests. The planetarium hosts a wide range of public programming throughout the year for all ages. This is your chance to check it out for FREE! 

Featured show: Living in Balance: Anishinaabe Star Knowledge highlights Anishinaabe stories of constellations and moons in relation to contemporary insights about environmental changes. Teachings shared by Native Skywatchers Carl Gawboy, William Wilson, and Dr. Annette S. Lee are narrated by Aarin Dokum with Anishinaabemowin translations by Alphonse Pitawanakwat set to art by Elizabeth LaPensée.

Show time is approximately 1 hour and starts at 7pm. Event is free of charge. No pre-registration is required, but admittance will be first-come, first-served if capacity (140) is reached. Event is exclusively for MSU Graduate & Professional Students (and their accompanied guests).

The purpose of the Summit is to discuss and develop recommendations to present to Michigan State University's administration on what must be done throughout campus to achieve equity for Black faculty, staff, and students (undergraduate and graduate/professional) by the year 2030. This town hall will begin on Thursday, February 23 at 7 p.m. in the Kellogg Center Auditorium and continue with a plenary breakout session on Friday, February 24, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Henry Center. Learn more here. 

 

If you work at MSU, you know how important student employees are to the success of your department and the university. Do you know a student who consistently goes above and beyond in their work? Supervisors have the chance to recognize these exemplary Spartans by nominating them for the Student Employee of the Year award by February 10, 2023. Find more details and the nomination form on the Department of Student Life website.

The Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University will annually award multiple undergraduate and graduate fellowships under the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship program funded by the U.S. Department of Education for students pursuing the study of Asian languages and Asia area studies at MSU. Learn more here. 

Danone North America (“Danone”), is excited to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 Danone North America Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotics Fellowship Grant. In its 11th year, Danone will award two $25,000 grants to graduate students interested in exploring the gut microbiome, probiotics and yogurt to better understand how they help support and maintain human health and wellness. Learn more and apply here. 

The Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program offers scientists and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines unique opportunities to conduct research in a wide range of topics relevant to the Intelligence Community. The research is conducted by the Postdocs, while working in partnership with a Research Advisor and collaborating with an advisor from the Intelligence Community. Learn more and apply here. 

Michigan State University graduate students, who are performing research related to the sustainability of fish, wildlife, or water resources using an integrated or joint approach that links humans with their natural environment, are encouraged to apply for the William W. and Evelyn M. Taylor Endowed Fellowship for International Engagement in Coupled Humans and Natural Systems fellowship. Learn more here. 

The primary goals of this program are to provide opportunities for a diverse group of students to have mentored teaching experiences and gain familiarity with materials on teaching and assessment techniques during this academic year long program. This is for doctoral students with interests in teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education who are enrolled in programs associated with the Colleges of Natural Science, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Engineering, Social Science, Human Medicine, Nursing, Osteopathic Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine. Learn more here. 

The Fulbright-Hays Act was designed to contribute to the development and improvement of the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the US. This competitive grant program enables PhD candidates to do dissertation research abroad for 6 to 12 months. Awards typically provide airfare, maintenance allowance, research-related expenses, and more. Learn more here. 

 

CAPS Connect consists of in-person confidential meetings (up to 20 mins in length) that are intended to provide students with brief and accessible support/advice. These meetings are scheduled online in advance, up to an hour before the appointment time. CAPS Connect might be helpful for the student who is a little wary of counseling due to stigma or cultural expectations/values. It is a nice way to meet a mental health professional without committing to anything. If a student already knows they need counseling/psychiatric services, it is best for them to sign up for an initial consultation with CAPS online (https://caps.msu.edu/schedule/) rather than use CAPS Connect.

Our CAPS clinician is Abigail Waller https://caps.msu.edu/general_info/profiles/AbigailWaller.html - the CAPS Connect meetings will be held in-person only, in 1312 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Bldg – (Physics and Astronomy student affairs office) every Monday from 9:00a – 11:00a, except the last Monday of each month. 

You will need to schedule a meeting @ https://caps.msu.edu/services/CAPSConnect.html or via the QR code that will be on the office door.

The ITA Program is currently scheduling advising appointments for international graduate teaching assistants interested in taking ITA support courses in Spring 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.

 

We are looking for a talented recent graduate to work as a Research Technologist in the laboratory of Dr. Sue Rhee.  Our lab is generally interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation to environmental stresses. Our work involves phenotypic analysis and molecular studies on mutants, generation of transgenic lines (from cloning to selection of transformed plants) including knockout mutants (using the CRISPR technology) as well as proteomic (Westerns, CoIP, Mass Spectrometry) and cell biology (microscopy [e.g. SEM and confocal]) studies. We are about to embark on biochemical and biophysical characterizations of novel proteins, in which the Research Technologist would be a key member. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

This Communications Manager I position is a dual reporting position that supports two core departments in the MSU College of Natural Science (NatSci): the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (50%) and the Department of Chemistry (50%). The position is a part of the NatSci Communications infrastructure, with a primary reporting relationship within the departments and a secondary reporting relationship to the NatSci Senior Communications and Marketing Director. Key responsibilities for this position include identifying, researching, producing and editing releases and feature materials for on-line communications, media, and publications. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

The Electric Fish Laboratory at Michigan State University (efish.integrativebiology.msu.edu) is looking to fill an immediate opening for the position of Research Technician.  This position is an opportunity to join a growing team of evolutionary biologists focused on understanding the genomic basis of trait evolution in weakly electric fish. The successful applicant will be chiefly responsible for conducting experiments in our molecular biology laboratory and training undergraduate research assistants to conduct independent experiments in collaboration with the principal investigator. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

The MSU Center for Community and Economic Development is seeking qualified student applicants (graduate or undergraduate) to assist with the development of equity assessment tools which will help practitioners, organizations, and communities understand their movement towards equitable community development and equitable economic development. Learn more and apply here. 

The Kaguni lab at Michigan State University seeks a talented and highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to determine the cryo-EM structure of a protein-DNA complex formed in the process of replication initiation using Escherichia coli as a model system (https://bmb.natsci.msu.edu/directory-pages/faculty/jon-m-kaguni/current-research.aspx). The individual will also obtain training in nucleic acid enzymology, and molecular genetics. The postdoc is expected to participate in seminars, journal clubs, weekly lab meetings, and prepare and submit manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

The Kroos lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University is seeking a postdoctoral research associate to work on mechanisms of signaling and gene regulation in bacteria. A highly motivated individual is sought to conduct biochemical, genetic, and microscopic experiments on mechanisms of signaling and gene regulation in Bacillus subtilis and Myxococcus xanthus. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link. 

The Research Associate will be using molecular modeling and molecular simulation to investigate ligand binding and release processes. Analysis of these transition paths will yield valuable information to further collaborative drug design projects. Duties include: conducting and analyzing molecular simulations, communicating research in conference presentations and manuscripts, and serving as a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link. 

 

Chaturvedi, S. S., Thomas, M. G., Jaber Sathik Rifayee, S. B., White, W., Wildey, J., Warner, C., Schofield, C. J., Hu, J., Hausinger, R. P.,
         Karabencheva-Christova, T. G., & Christov, C. (2023). Dioxygen Binding is Controlled by the Protein Environment in Non-Heme Fe(II)
         and 2-Oxoglutarate Oxygenases - A Study on Histone Demethylase PHF8 and an Ethylene Forming Enzyme. Chemistry (Weinheim
         an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 10.1002/chem.202300138. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202300138

Chen, D., Liu, J., Wu, J., Wei, G. W., Pan, F., & Yau, S. T. (2023). Path Topology in Molecular and Materials Sciences. The journal of
         physical chemistry letters, 954–964. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03706

Feng, H., & Wei, G. W. (2023). Virtual screening of DrugBank database for hERG blockers using topological Laplacian-assisted AI models. 
         Computers in biology and medicine, 153, 106491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106491

Fu, X., Gregory, L. M., Weise, S. E., & Walker, B. J. (2023). Integrated flux and pool size analysis in plant central metabolism reveals unique
         roles of glycine and serine during photorespiration. Nature plants, 9(1), 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01294-9

Hayes, N., Merkurjev, E., & Wei, G. W. (2023). Integrating transformer and autoencoder techniques with spectral graph algorithms for the
         prediction of scarcely labeled molecular data. Computers in biology and medicine, 153, 106479.
         https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106479

Kokarakis, E. J., Rillema, R., Ducat, D. C., & Sakkos, J. K. (2023). Developing Cyanobacterial Quorum Sensing Toolkits: Toward
         Interspecies Coordination in Mixed Autotroph/Heterotroph Communities. ACS synthetic biology, 12(1), 265–276.
         https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00527

Liu, R., Hirn, M., & Krishnan, A. (2023). Accurately modeling biased random walks on weighted networks using node2vec. 
         Bioinformatics (Oxford, England), btad047. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btad047

Lundquist P. K. (2023). Chromoplast differentiation: a central role for plastoglobule lipid droplets comes into focus. The New phytologist,
         10.1111/nph.18700. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18700

Raicu, A. M., Fay, J. C., Rohner, N., Zeitlinger, J., & Arnosti, D. N. (2023). Off the deep end: What can deep learning do for the gene
         expression field?. The Journal of biological chemistry, 299(1), 102760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102760

Sarkar, D., Kulke, M., & Vermaas, J. V. (2023). LongBondEliminator: A Molecular Simulation Tool to Remove Ring Penetrations in
         Biomolecular Simulation Systems. Biomolecules, 13(1), 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13010107

Sharkey T. D. (2023). The discovery of rubisco. Journal of experimental botany, 74(2), 510–519. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac254

Sun, M., Zhang, C., Sui, D., Yang, C., Pyeon, D., Huang, X., & Hu, J. (2023). Rational Design and Synthesis of D-galactosyl Lysophospholipids
         as Selective Substrates and non-ATP-competitive Inhibitors of Phosphatidylinositol Phosphate Kinases. Chemistry (Weinheim an der
         Bergstrasse, Germany), 29(2), e202202083. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202202083

Zhang, Y., Jiang, Y., Gao, K., Sui, D., Yu, P., Su, M., Wei, G. W., & Hu, J. (2023). Structural insights into the elevator-type transport mechanism
         of a bacterial ZIP metal transporter. Nature communications, 14(1), 385. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36048-4

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 56, No. 5