BMB Weekly #21: May 31, 2024

 

"MSU plant science community inspires future scientists at 2024 Science Festival" Featuring Josh Vermaas and Duncan Boren. Read the full article here. "MPS graduate students participate in 2024 EnergyTech competition" Featuring McKay Whiteman, İlayda Korkmaz, Duncan Boren, and Luke Sharpe. Read the full article here.

 

 

 

This four-day event highlights the technologies that enhance teaching and learning and promote student success. In addition to demos from partner vendors, MSU educators and support staff will present and discuss the use of educational technology available at MSU. Learn more and register here.

Happy summer semester! We wanted to invite you to connect with us for a fun, summer version of our Coffee & Connection! Weather permitting, we'll enjoy a hot beverage, treats and conversation on the patio behind the building. We'll head downstairs to the lounge if indoor cover is needed. Either way, we hope you'll join us! Learn more here.

Warren Sink and Yousi Fu 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.

Discussions will be framed around a main presentation given by Dr. Greg Swain, or by other individuals from key units across campus. The purpose for these workshops is to help students better understand the importance of responsible behavior, learn about proper research and creative activity practices, and connect to important regulatory and information offices across the MSU campus. Each topic, as listed below, is paralleled by a CITI lesson such that a student could pair an online module with a discussion session. Learn more and register here.

Here is another writing workshop opportunity offered by Prof. David Lowry, who will be leading a four-week workshop on demystifying the academic job application process this June. The overall goal of the workshop will be to gain a better understanding of how to approach writing all the components of an academic job package. We will read through successful applications and then break down what works well and what does not work well piece by piece. All four workshop meetings will take place on Fridays at 2-3pm Eastern Time. The first meeting of the workshop will be an organizational meeting that will also focus on Cover Letter writing. Please come prepared by reading a few sample cover letters from the repository of application package examples. Learn more here and register at this website. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to David Lowry (dlowry@msu.edu). 

Attend the 4th annual MSU Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration on Friday, June 14, 2024, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. This year's theme is Acknowledging the Journey: Freedom, Resilience, Empowerment and Liberation. The commemoration features the multi-faceted musician and host Rodney Page, gospel music by Gregory D and Company, jazz music by the MSU College of Music, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Phoenix Miranda and more. Learn more and register here.

Learn how to implement evidence-based teaching strategies in your university classroom as well as effective methods for assessing teaching and learning. Learn more and register here.

 

The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation supports early postdoctoral research training in all basic biomedical sciences. The goals of the foundation is to increase the number of imaginative, well-trained and dedicated medical scientists. The Foundation grants financial support of sufficient duration to help further the careers of young individuals engaged in biological or medical research. Please note- this opportunity will only accept one application per laboratory during each award cycle. They will accept applications from different laboratories/supervisors at the same institution. Learn more and apply here.

The Graduate Employees Union and Michigan State University agreed to add 500 additional tuition credits to the tuition waiver benefit for teaching assistants. This additional benefit will be in place for May 2024 - May 2028. The Fall tuition pool is available to students appointed as teaching assistants in Fall 2024. Learn more and apply here.

 

If you are looking for workshops on teaching and learning, please consider attending virtual summer workshops offered by MSU’s Colleges’ Online Learning Academy. To see which workshops are offered (and which ones fulfill competencies for the Certification in College Teaching), please follow the link below. Workshops are facilitated by faculty who engage in scholarship and research around digital teaching & learning in MSU’s Enhanced Digital Learning Initiative. Learn more and register here.

Whether students are feeling overwhelmed due to academic, social, or personal pressures or just need to connect, Togetherall is available 24/7 to remind them they are not alone. This free, anonymous, waitlist free, peer-to-peer mental health support community is monitored and moderated 24/7 by licensed clinicians and empowers students to give and receive support for a full range of concerns. Many students do not seek out campus in-person/virtual mental health treatment. Togetherall provides an alternative option for students seeking mental health support, offering an additional resource for students who are looking for an outlet to share and process their emotions. 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.

 

A post-doctoral research associate position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Tim Zacharewski at Michigan State University. The Zacharewski lab examines the role of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation in the development and progression of fatty liver disease and other complex metabolic disorders. In vivo and in vitro mouse models, as well as primary human hepatocytes and/or inducible pluripotent stem cells will be used to study the effects of TCDD and related AhR ligands on hepatic gene expression, metabolic flux, oxidative stress, and immune surveillance. The selected candidate will be expected to conduct research as part of a larger team, supervise/train undergraduate and graduate students, prepare research manuscripts, and present their results at scientific meetings. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

The Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology (IPMB), Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan invites applications for tenure-track faculty positions at the Assistant Research Fellow level (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in the research areas of plants and plant-related microbes. Successful candidates should have research records complementary to the current IPMB research capacities or have the potential to launch a new research direction. Preference will be given, but not limited to applicants with research experience in computational biology or sustainability. Learn more and apply here. Contact Dr. Chih-Horng Kuo for additional information.

Dr. Xiaosa (Jack) Xu Lab in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of California, Davis is seeking a highly motivated and independent individual who is interested in pursuing an academic career in plant developmental genetics and single-cell genomics research. The postdoctoral scholar who secures this position will use cutting-edge single-cell genomics, spatial transcriptomics, and genome editing approaches to identify and characterize key genes in plant development and evolution, and inform crop improvement. The successful applicant will be responsible for conducting single-cell genomics and spatial transcriptomics experiments and data analysis, followed by genome editing validation. The applicant will work closely with a team in the Xu lab, as well as with collaborators at UC Davis and other institutions. They will have the opportunity to mentor graduate and undergraduate students, participate in the preparation and writing of manuscripts and grants. The candidate will also have opportunities to attend workshops/courses as required by ongoing and future research projects, such as the Frontiers and Techniques in Plant Science course at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Contact Dr. Xiaosa Xu for further information. Learn more about this listing by following this link.

 

Fiesel, P. D., Kerwin, R. E., Jones, A. D., & Last, R. L. (2024). Trading acyls and swapping sugars: metabolic innovations in Solanum trichomes. Plant physiology, kiae279. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiae279

Janson, G., & Feig, M. (2024). Transferable deep generative modeling of intrinsically disordered protein conformations. PLoS computational biology, 20(5), e1012144. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012144

Jin, H., & Merz, K. M., Jr (2024). LigandDiff: de Novo Ligand Design for 3D Transition Metal Complexes with Diffusion Models. Journal of chemical theory and computation, 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00232. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00232

Kruger, R. E., Frum, T., Brumm, A. S., Hickey, S. L., Niakan, K. K., Aziz, F., Shammami, M. A., Roberts, J. G., & Ralston, A. (2024). Smad4 is essential for epiblast scaling and morphogenesis after implantation, but nonessential prior to implantation in mouse. Development (Cambridge, England), dev.202377. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.202377

Shahriari, M., Jafari, M., Doustdar, F., & Mehrnejad, F. (2024). Comparative study of the interactions between C60 fullerene and SARS-CoV-2, HIV, eukaryotic, and bacterial model membranes: Insights into antimicrobial strategies with C60-peptide hybrids. International journal of biological macromolecules, 132399. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132399

Tejera-Nieves, M., Seong, D. Y., Reist, L., & Walker, B. J. (2024). The Dynamic Assimilation Technique measures photosynthetic CO2 response curves with similar fidelity to steady-state approaches in half the time. Journal of experimental botany, 75(10), 2819–2828. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae057

Zhang, Y., Kaiser, E., Dutta, S., Sharkey, T. D., Marcelis, L. F. M., & Li, T. (2024). Short-term salt stress reduces photosynthetic oscillations under triose phosphate utilization limitation in tomato. Journal of experimental botany, 75(10), 2994–3008. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae089

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 57, No.21