BMB Weekly #2: January 12, 2024

 

MSU’s Mass Spectrometry and Metabolomics Core completes $2.2 million renovation The Mass Spectrometry and Metabolomics Core located in the College of Natural Science’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, completed nearly $2.2 million in renovations. The renovations represent a full overhaul of 3,400 square feet of laboratory, with an emphasis on improving day-to-day operations and building upon the facility’s already storied presence in MSU’s research and education. The completion of renovations also coincides with the arrival of new instruments, better-equipping researchers across campus to probe questions in chemistry and life sciences. Read the full story here.

 

 

Vardan Karamyan from Oakland University will be presenting "Enzyme agonists and their therapeutic potential: example of peptidase neurolysin".

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

The Spring BMB Seminar Series will run through April 18, 2024. 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.

 

 

As part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative celebration, you are invited to attend the 2024 MLK Scholarship and Community Unity Dinner! Event takes place at Kellogg Center and is free but fills up, so don't miss the chance to share in this exciting annual event. Families welcome! Learn more and RSVP here.

The MSU AGEP Learning Community is an informal environment where students from varying disciplines can gather, share their research in a 10-minute presentation, or discover that their graduate toils are not unusual. Those in attendance are privy to information regarding fellowships, career opportunities, even summer internships, pertaining to the group. Learn more and register here.

This workshop will focus on approaches to interdisciplinary collaborative processes. Workshop participants will gain familiarity with theories and methodologies central to interdisciplinary collaborative process; practice activities that can support collaborative communication, learning, integration, and problem solving; and reflect on how these practices can inform their own work. While this workshop is Part 2 in CIRCLE’s workshop series, participation in Part 1 is not a prerequisite. This is a standalone event. Learn more and register here.

Let’s start out the semester by getting social! Stop by the Lansing Shuffle and meet up with COGS and your fellow graduate & professional students. Find us in the Board Room and we’ll have some free appetizers, conversation and fun to share! You’ll have plenty of time to explore the space as well as the diverse food and beverage offerings too if you wish. Learn more here.

Hosted by the WorkLife Office, this session delves into the Surgeon General’s report on the pervasive issues of loneliness and isolation. We will discuss the impact of these challenges on mental and physical health, emphasizing their relevance in academic and workplace settings. Participants will learn about effective strategies and best practices to address these concerns, enhancing community and connectedness within their environments. This session aims to equip attendees from diverse roles with the knowledge and tools to effectively confront and mitigate the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in their communities. Learn more and register here.

In this two-day NIH-focused webinar designed for faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and administrative staff who have some exposure to writing grant applications, Write Winning Grants comprehensively covers practical and conceptual aspects essential to the proposal-writing process. Learn more and register here.

This 6-week group provides doctoral students with a supportive, structured environment that helps mitigate the sense of isolation and frustration that often accompany the dissertation process. It also creates opportunities for peer accountability to help each other stay on track. A weekly discussion topic allows participants to share experiences and resources that help address some of the most common barriers to progress (e.g., low motivation, time management, stress/burnout). This group is open only to PhD students who are actively working on their dissertation. Learn more and register here.

 

This award is given to graduate and professional students who have clearly demonstrated leadership in their respective disciplines and/or professional societies at the local, state, regional, national, or international levels while a student at MSU. Nominators/recommendations should come from a faculty member (at MSU or in the disciplinary society) with knowledge of the student’s leadership activities and who is familiar with the impacts of their leadership activities. Learn more and make a nomination here.

This award is given to graduate and professional students who:

1. Embody and clearly demonstrate DEI work through addressing, challenging, or dismantling forms of discrimination, sexism, racism, and prejudice in or through their program, unit, or department at MSU; or by creating a more equitable environment in or through their program, unit, or department at MSU.
2. Clearly demonstrate what work they did and the extent of that work, demonstrate the outcomes of that work, and display their commitment to furthering DEI in or through their program, unit, or department at MSU.

Learn more and make a nomination here.

This fellowship will be awarded to students at graduate levels. Applicants will have graduated from a US public high school and demonstrated academic excellence in their undergraduate studies.

Applicants may be pursuing a degree in the following disciplines:

• Education: preference to be given to those who currently teach S.T.E.M subjects (i.e. classroom teachers returning for a Masters or PhD)
• Healthcare: this includes students in healthcare related fields, i.e., medical, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and public health.
• Engineering: students who are pursuing an advanced degree in bioengineering.

Learn more and apply here.

 

The Graduate School provides a variety of services that are available to graduate students, including career consultation, well-being resources, teaching assistant and diversity programs, and much more. We encourage new graduate students to follow this link to view a collection of these services.

COGS has partnered with MSU Group Fitness to host twice-weekly fitness classes this Spring semester! No experience needed. Drop-ins welcome. For January, we'll have Cycling class at IM-West on Tuesdays and Pilates on Wednesdays, all from 2-3PM. Learn more here.

The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety has released an online Active Violence Incident Awareness Training program that is available for students, faculty, and staff. This training includes a presentation explaining how to respond during an active violence situation. Throughout the training, knowledge checkpoint questions will appear on screen to evaluate participants’ understanding of the content. In addition, a video is in development, which will be included in the training at a later time. Learn more here.

Eligible to undergraduates, graduates, and professional students enrolled in Fall/Spring semester and without a dining plan. Fruits, soups, pasta, rice, protein, cereal, bread, and fresh produce available year-round! To learn more about visiting the MSU Foodbank, or to donate, visit here.

 

The First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program at Binghamton University invites applications for a three-year renewable, full time Research Assistant Professor (also known as the Research Educator) position, to begin August 2024. This is a unique 10-month non-tenure track faculty position that directly combines teaching and research. This position is for Biomedical Chemistry (open to individuals with appropriate background in biochemistry, molecular biology, chemistry and/or pharmacology). Candidates must have completed PhD degree before starting. Learn more and apply here.

Quinn Laboratory in collaboration with the Coral Resilience Lab (PI: Drury) at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology are looking for a postdoctoral scholar to study the microbiome and metabolome of coral reefs. This project is a fully funded position from the National Science Foundation under its Organismal Response to Climate Change program that aims to understand the biochemistry and microbiology of coral bleaching. Recent research from our group has shown that unique lipids in the coral’s dinoflagellate symbiont reflect its tolerance to thermal stress. This project will integrate multi-omics analysis in the Quinn Lab with field sampling experiments in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi to further understand the dynamics of coral biochemical and microbiological response to temperature stress. Methods used will include mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and high-throughput nucleic acid sequencing. Experiments are designed to mimic future climate conditions and include direct restoration of reefs in Hawaii as part of the program. The position is based in East Lansing but will include field trips and experiments in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

Seeking a student employee to assist with clerical/office tasks in the Rhee research lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.  The student will support the PI, research associates and specialists, and office staff. Visit Handshake to learn about this opportunity with Rhee Lab. Contact cassin@msu.edu for inquiries.

Two academic-year tenure-track assistant professor positions in Plant Biology are available at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. We invite applications from outstanding basic or translational scientists interested in contributing to the advancement of fundamental or applied plant biology research. Individuals who study biochemical processes in plants, particularly those who are using computational tools in their research, are encouraged to apply. Exceptional candidates working in non-plant systems but with an interest in collaborating with the broader plant community will also be considered. A successful applicant with these interests will be offered a position in the Department of Biochemistry. We also seek candidates addressing important questions in plant biology; for example, scientists with a focus on plant responses to changing environment or climate, or those who use computational tools and predictive modeling of fundamental processes, are particularly encouraged to apply. Individuals who use molecular, biochemical, genomic, and cell biological approaches in model plant and/or crop systems will be considered for this position. A successful applicant with these interests will be offered a position in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Learn more and apply here.

 

Chen, J., Kuhn, L. A., & Raschka, S. (2024). Techniques for Developing Reliable Machine Learning Classifiers Applied to Understanding
         and Predicting Protein:Protein Interaction Hot Spots. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2714, 235–268.
         https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3441-7_14

Ford, K. C., & TerAvest, M. A. (2023). The electron transport chain of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 can operate bidirectionally to enable
        microbial electrosynthesis. Applied and environmental microbiology, e0138723. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01387-23

Heo, L., & Feig, M. (2024). One bead per residue can describe all-atom protein structures. Structure (London, England : 1993), 32(1), 97–111.e6.
         https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2023.10.013

Hoh, D., Froehlich, J. E., & Kramer, D. M. (2023). Redox regulation in chloroplast thylakoid lumen: The pmf changes everything, again. Plant,
         cell & environment, 10.1111/pce.14789. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.14789

Hossain, M. M., Sultana, F., Khan, S., Nayeema, J., Mostafa, M., Ferdus, H., Tran, L. P., & Mostofa, M. G. (2024). Carrageenans as biostimulants
         and bio-elicitors: plant growth and defense responses. Stress biology, 4(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44154-023-00143-9

Kulke, M., Kurtz, E., Boren, D. M., Olson, D. M., Koenig, A. M., Hoffmann-Benning, S., & Vermaas, J. V. (2024). PLAT domain protein 1 (PLAT1/PLAFP)
         binds to the Arabidopsis thaliana plasma membrane and inserts a lipid. Plant science : an international journal of experimental plant biology, 338, 111900.              https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111900

Li, L., Lai, F., Hu, X., Liu, B., Lu, X., Lin, Z., Liu, L., Xiang, Y., Frum, T., Halbisen, M. A., Chen, F., Fan, Q., Ralston, A., & Xie, W. (2023). Multifaceted
         SOX2-chromatin interaction underpins pluripotency progression in early embryos. Science (New York, N.Y.), 382(6676), eadi5516
         https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi5516

Mancuso, C. A., Johnson, K. A., Liu, R., & Krishnan, A. (2024). Joint representation of molecular networks from multiple species improves gene
         classification. PLoS computational biology, 20(1), e1011773. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011773

Marathe, S., Grotewold, E., & Otegui, M. S. (2024). Should I stay or should I go? Trafficking of plant extra-nuclear transcription factors. The
         Plant cell, koad277. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad277

Martin, C., Guzior, D. V., Gonzalez, C. T., Okros, M., Mielke, J., Padillo, L., Querido, G., Gil, M., Thomas, R., McClelland, M., Conrad, D., Widder,
         S., & Quinn, R. A. (2023). Longitudinal microbial and molecular dynamics in the cystic fibrosis lung after Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor therapy.
         Respiratory research, 24(1), 317. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-023-02630-z

 

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 57, No.2