BMB Weekly #37: September 20, 2024

 

Hsu receives NIH, NSF awards for genetic studies Read the full article here.

 

 

Zachary Burton from Michigan State University will be presenting "Origin of life: Evolution of tRNA and the genetic code".

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

The Fall BMB Seminar Series will run through December 5, 2024. The complete schedule is available on the BMB Fall 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 Office of Research & Innovation is hosting a series of webinars and other events that may interest researchers. Please follow the below links for more information.

September:

• 9/26: Applying for Foundation Funding: Learn from Success Stories

October:

• 10/4: CIRCLE Interdisciplinary Collaboration Workshop
• 10/11: Pursuing Funding in the Humanities and Humanities-related Social Sciences

November:

• 11/15: CIRCLE Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Workshop

Learn more here.

In this session, we will highlight some of the programs and opportunities that are available to you as an MSU graduate student and introduce you to a framework to help you think about how to identify your career goals and design your graduate experience so that you can achieve them. Presented by Associate Dean Rique Campa, Dr. Julie Rojewski-Wilson, and Dr. Stefanie Baier. Learn more and register here.

Join us for MPS speaker Jerry Cohen from The University of Minnesota. The seminar will be held at 4:00PM in room BCH 101.

Jerry’s talk is titled “Tryptophan, indole and auxin: How systems biology shows promise for discovery”. We would like to invite graduate students and postdocs to join the speaker for a lunch and discussion on Monday, September 23. Lunch will be provided at 12:00PM in PBL 168. This is a great opportunity to meet our outside speaker in an informal environment. If you would like to participate in the luncheon, please RSVP to Keri Morris at morrisk@msu.edu with any dietary restrictions by Friday September 20, 2024 at noon. All students and post docs who are interested in this week’s seminar topic are welcome to attend. You do not need to be in the MPS program or affiliated with an MPS faculty member.

Join us for a fun and informative look at the bounty of resources offered on 2-West, MSU Main Library! We’ll start at the Digital Scholarship Lab and meet our hosts. We’ll then get an up-close, interactive tour of the following stations: 360 Room & Virtual Reality (VR) Room at the DSL, the Digital Multimedia Center, Makecentral– Book Publishing, Poster Printing, Passport Services, and the Makerspace– 3D Printing, Laser cutting, Lending Tech, and more! Afterwards, feel free to explore any of the labs or areas on your own, or make a 1-1 appointment for consultation with Library staff if you like! Learn more and register here.

Participants will create academic timelines for their PhD work at MSU and discuss technologies and habits that can help them stay on task. Participants will also discuss how to manage the stress that often pervades the life of PhD students and share strategies for overcoming writer’s block and procrastination. Additionally, discussion about selecting and working with committees will provide a space for sharing about and learning how to communicate with faculty members about participants’ research and writing. Learn more and register here.

This virtual event is a unique chance for MS/PhD students and postdocs to connect with academic and research institutions hiring for tenure-track, non-tenure-track, research, teaching, and adjunct faculty, as well as staff research, lecturer, and postdoc positions. It’s a fantastic platform for those looking to continue their careers within academia. This is a free event for all MS/PhD/Postdocs within the BIG10 and all 18 Big Ten Institutions are added! Learn more and register here.

 

This fellowship is awarded in honor of Dr. Karen Klomparens, Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Graduate Education at MSU from 1997 until 2014, in honor of her unwavering commitment to graduate education. Applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program at MSU, completed their comprehensive examinations, and successfully defended their dissertation. Learn more and apply here.

Dr. Hans Kende was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of plant science, widely known for his work on the biosynthesis and mode of action of plant hormones. Hans had a strong sense of community and was a vigorous promoter of plant biology at MSU, as well as at national and international levels. He was recognized worldwide as a statesman in plant science. When Hans passed away on September 26, 2006, his former students, colleagues, friends and family members were moved to find a way to honor him and his legacy at MSU. Thus, the Hans Kende Memorial Award in Plant Sciences was created. Its mission is to recognize a recent graduate for an excellent dissertation in the plant sciences. The awardee will be invited to present their research at the Molecular Plant Sciences (MPS) Fall Seminar Series. This year, the award will be made during the December 2 seminar of the MPS 2024 Fall Seminar Series and will include a cash stipend and a memento.

The candidates must be nominated by a faculty member within their area of study. The nomination packet should consist of a nominating letter, curriculum vitae of the nominee, an abstract of the dissertation, either a copy of the dissertation or publications derived from it, and any supplemental material deemed appropriate by the person making the nomination. Nominations are due to Keri Morris (morrisk@msu.edu) 106 Plant Biology Building, no later than October 10, 2024. Questions may be directed to the Chair of the PRL Personnel Affairs Committee, Jianping Hu (huji@msu.edu). More information can be found here.

Please consider nominating your best Biochemistry student for the 2024 BMB Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. This award is presented to a Biochemistry senior who has demonstrated the highest excellence in scholarship and research activities. Students are not required to be working in a Biochemistry lab to qualify for this award. The nomination form is available here and more information can be found at the BMB Awards website. For any questions, please contact Mary Villarreal (Awards.BMB@msu.edu) or Bob Hausinger (hausinge@msu.edu).

 

The CIRTL (Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning) Network has released offerings for Fall 2024. These workshops and courses will help attendees with their writing, interview prep, and more. 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.

The MSU Student Food Bank is a resource available to students and scholars who may be experiencing food insecurity. The Food Bank provides free food and other essential items to those in need within our MSU community. Learn more here.

 

The Jacob laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is looking for a laboratory technician to assist with mouse colony management and ongoing research projects performed by undergraduate and graduate students. The candidates’ duties will include management of transgenic mouse colonies such as daily monitoring and census, breeding, weaning and genotyping. Experimental duties include weighing, tumor measurements, DNA electro-vaccination, bleeding, substance administration, immune monitoring and tissue collection. The successful candidate will also assist with general lab management such as maintaining supplies and reagents and coordinating with Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) during inspections and for disposal of hazardous waste. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

Postdoctoral researcher (Research Associate) positions funded by NSF and NIH are available in Dr. Polly Hsu’s laboratory at Michigan State University (Hsu lab, https://sites.google.com/view/polly-hsu-lab) to investigate translational regulation in Arabidopsis and crops. Candidates interested in RNA biology and translational regulation are encouraged to apply.

Description of duties:

• 90% Research -- design, perform, and document experiments, ex. generate/characterize Arabidopsis mutants and transgenic plants, large-scale DNA/RNA/protein-extraction, PCR, qRT-PCR, western blot, RNA-seq/Ribo-seq library constructions, and prepare manuscripts for publication.
• 10% Assist in lab organization and training new lab members (e.g., safety officer duties, assisting in training future Lab members on basic procedures).

Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

The laboratory of Dr. Polly Hsu at Michigan State University has an opening for a Research Technologist to investigate translational landscape and gene regulation in Arabidopsis and crops. The candidate will be involved in multiple projects using techniques in plant molecular biology. To learn more about the lab: https://sites.google.com/view/polly-hsu-lab.

 Duties include:

• Perform and document project-specific experiments, e.g. generating/identifying/characterizing higher-order mutants and transgenic plants in Arabidopsis, DNA/RNA/protein-extraction, PCR, qRT-PCR, protoplast isolation, luciferase assays, western blot, and basic imaging analysis such as operating dissection microscope and light microscope.
• Prepare lab reagents.
• Assist in lab organization -- ordering supplies, organize/update chemical inventory and lab materials, calibrating and providing regular maintenance for lab equipment, establishing lab common protocols and assisting in training future lab members.

Learn more about this MSU Careers posting and apply at this link.

The Hope College Chemistry Department invites applications for a tenure-track position to begin in Fall 2025. We anticipate filling at the Assistant Professor level, but candidates at all ranks are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be able to teach lectures and labs in either the Analytical or Physical Chemistry programs as well as the General Chemistry program. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in chemistry or a related field; postdoctoral experience is strongly preferred. The development of a strong, externally-funded, experimental physical, analytical, materials, or multidisciplinary chemistry research program involving undergraduates is expected. Start-up funds will be provided. Please submit application materials to Dr. Brent P. Krueger, Search Committee Chair, via jobs.hope.edu. Learn more about this opportunity here.

 

Jin, H., & Merz, K. M., Jr (2024). Partial to Total Generation of 3D Transition-Metal Complexes. Journal of chemical theory and computation, 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00775. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00775

Bramble, M. S., Fourcassié, V., Vashist, N., Roux-Dalvai, F., Zhou, Y., Bumoko, G., Kasendue, M. L., Spencer, D., Musasa Hanshi-Hatuhu, H., Kambale-Mastaki, V., Manalo, R. V. M., Mohammed, A., McIlwain, D. R., Cunningham, G., Summar, M., Boivin, M. J., Caldovic, L., Vilain, E., Mumba-Ngoyi, D., Tshala-Katumbay, D., … Droit, A. (2024). Glutathione peroxidase 3 is a potential biomarker for konzo. Nature communications, 15(1), 7811. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52136-5

Schlecht, N. J., Lanier, E. R., Andersen, T. B., Brose, J., Holmes, D., & Hamberger, B. R. (2024). CYP76BK1 orthologs catalyze furan and lactone ring formation in clerodane diterpenoids across the mint family. The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology, 10.1111/tpj.17031. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17031

Ling, J., Chen, S., & Marina, M. (2024). Coping strategies mediated the relationship between perceived stress and hair cortisol among socioeconomically marginalized parents. Health psychology and behavioral medicine, 12(1), 2399211. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2024.2399211

 

To provide feedback or submit content, please email bmb.web@msu.edu. Don't forget to follow us on social media!

College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 57, No.37