BMB Weekly #46: November 22, 2024

 

Congratulations to BMB 2024 Undergraduate Awardees Professor Richard L. Anderson Endowed Undergraduate Research Prize To a Biochemistry major for excellence in scholarship, to support pursuit of an undergraduate research project. Ryn Van Winkle Mentor: Dr. Bjoern Hamberger Dr. James K. Billman, Jr., Undergraduate Research Award To a Biochemistry major for excellence in scholarship, to support pursuit of an undergraduate research project. Alphan Alpaydin Mentor: Dr. Morteza Mahmoudi Maya Pearce Mentor: Dr. Tommy Vo     Nayeema Siraj Mentor: Dr. Masako Harada Michael Burdick Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Scholarship To a Biochemistry major for excellence in scholarship and for support of education to embark on productive and successful careers in science. Ashtyn Hinz Pamela J. Fraker Undergraduate Scholarship To a Biochemistry major who has demonstrated the capacity to achieve educational and professional goals, the motivation to achieve these goals, and the initiative to seek opportunities to further their progress. Tahia Binta-Salim Moore-Billman Scholarship in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology To a Biochemistry major for excellence in scholarship, to support pursuit of an undergraduate research project. Dakshesh Ravi Mentor: Dr. Jeremy Lohman Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award To a Senior Biochemistry Major for the Greatest Excellence in Scholarship and Research Mihn Anh Dang Mentor: Dr. Eric Hegg Megha Suresh Mentor: Dr. David Arnosti BMB Undergraduate Research Fellowship Given to a junior or senior for excellence in scholarship, to support pursuit of an undergraduate research project in Biochemistry. Matthew Barr Mentor: Dr. Maks Chruszcz Ana Ivanov Mentor: Dr. Ryan Sweeder Travis Yang Mentor: Dr. David Douches

 

 

Anthony Parenti from Moonlight Bio will be presenting "Non-obvious: Navigating the path from the lab bench to patent law".

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.

 

Join us for MPS speaker Matthew Brooks from USDA-ARS. The seminar will be held at 4:00PM in room BCH 101.

Matthew’s talk is titled “Regulatory networks coordinating nitrogen use and photosynthesis in a changing climate”. We would like to invite graduate students and postdocs to join the speaker for a lunch and discussion on Monday, November 25. 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 November 22, 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.

To attend the lecture on Zoom, click here. Passcode: 028299

Intentionally integrating several key ingredients including Care, Appreciation, Kindness, and Empathy (CAKE) in our classrooms and work environments can foster true connection and wellbeing and can create an engaging, equitable, effective, and holistic environment. In this workshop, we will share some strategies from CAKE practices that come out of socio-emotional learning resources and mindfulness literature and practices, and that can be integrated into our personal, educational and workplace contexts. Learn more and register here.

An endowment was established with contributions received in the memory of Dr. Hans Kende. Through agreement with the Kende family and representatives of the Plant Research Laboratory and Michigan State University, funds from this endowment provide an annual award for the best doctoral dissertation in the plant sciences at MSU during the preceding two years. The awardee receives a monetary award and is invited to return to MSU to present a seminar during the fall Molecular Plant Sciences Seminar Series. Thesis topics have included any level of biological organization in plants, ranging from molecules to ecosystems. Learn more and attend the lecture here.

Drop by Foster Coffee Co. for our next Coffee & Connection. Enjoy a hot beverage, & treats (on us!) and network with your peers. Full semester schedule is on our website! Can't wait to see you! Learn more here.

Write Winning Grants comprehensively covers practical and conceptual aspects essential to the proposal-writing process. Learn how to tailor your content to relevant agencies, develop strategies for each section of the application, and to articulate your proposal in a way that makes reviewers want to read it. The Graduate School and COGS will pay $75 of the $95 fee for a limited number of doctoral students to attend. To have the Graduate School/COGS pay the $75 registration fee, please complete the registration form by Wednesday, December 11. Learn more and register here.

 

Nominations are being accepted for the 2025 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award competition. This Teaching Award is very competitive, so we are looking for exceptional PhD and Master’s students with great demonstration of teaching competence and knowledge of pedagogy, innovative teaching/instructional design, effective mentoring skills, and commitment to teaching professional development. Learn more here.

 

A 2-credit “Metals in Biology” special topics course will be taught by Bob Hausinger, Eric Hegg, and other guest lecturers during Spring of 2025. The course will cover the roles of metals in biological systems, including metalloenzymes, metallocenter biosynthesis, metal transport, metal toxicity, and metalloregulation. Student presentations will be an important emphasis in this class. Undergraduate students must obtain permission to enroll from Dr. Hausinger (hausinge@msu.edu) and submit the online Biochemistry course override request form. The class will meet in room 502 Biochemistry at 9:10 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This one credit seminar course will examine the mechanistic role of the immune system in disease conditions. Spring 2025 the course will be focusing on the role of the immune system in inflammatory diseases, including cancer, obesity, and neuro-immunology. Different topics will be discussed through student presentations of key journal articles and seminars by distinguished guest speakers. The contribution of key immunoregulatory networks and associated molecular mechanisms will be covered. The impact of these mechanisms on the development of therapeutics and clinical applications will also be discussed. Learn more about this MSU course offering here.

Looking for a meaningful way to give back during the holidays- or anytime? The MSU Student Food Bank supports over 300 individuals and families every week who are facing food insecurity. Contact us at foodbank@msu.edu for more information or to get started on your own drive! Let's make a difference together!

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.

 

This is a temporary or an on-call position. Provides professional support. Responsibilities may include general business, science, medical, agricultural or other professional support functions. Term: Temps can work two (2) nine (9) month terms with a week break in service in between and at the end of the second term terminate for three (3) months or switch to an on-call. On-Call allowed to work 1039 hours in any twelve (12) month period. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting here.

Three Cornell Interdisciplinary Education Research (CIDER) postdoc positions have been announced. The CIDER postdocs will have at least two research mentors who span disciplines, allowing them to approach questions about student learning and experiences across disciplinary boundaries and use techniques and approaches from multiple fields. The CIDER postdocs will also engage in a comprehensive professional development program that includes research mentoring and development, network building, leadership, teaching opportunities, and career planning. Learn more and apply here.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology invites applications and nominations for a tenured or tenure-track faculty position at the Associate or Full Professor level to serve as Co-Director of the nascent Center for Cancer Health Equity Research (CCHER). CCHER is a developing initiative in partnership with the Colleges of Human Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine and the Henry Ford Health System, with a mission to advance cancer health equity through innovative research, collaboration, and community engagement.

We seek an experienced and motivated leader with an established research program in cancer biology, cancer health disparities, or related fields, who is committed to playing a key role in shaping the Center's future and contributing to a growing initiative that addresses cancer disparities in underserved populations. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting here.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University (MSU) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. We seek an innovative scientist who will establish an outstanding, independent research program in cancer biochemistry, focusing on biochemical mechanisms underlying cancer development, progression, and treatment.

Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

• Cancer Metabolism
• Signal Transduction Pathways
• Epigenetics and Gene Regulation
• DNA Damage and Repair Mechanisms
• Protein-Protein Interactions
• Biochemical Approaches to Cancer Therapeutics

Learn more about this MSU Careers posting here.

 

 

Hoang, Y., Franklin, J., Dufour, Y. S., & Kroos, L. (2024). Short-range C-signaling restricts cheating behavior during Myxococcus xanthus development. mBio, 15(11), e0244024. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02440-24

Liu, Y., Liu, Y., Zhu, Y., Hu, D., Nie, H., Xie, Y., Sun, R., He, J., Zhang, H., & Lu, F. (2024). KDM2A and KDM2B protect a subset of CpG Islands from DNA methylation. Journal of genetics and genomics = Yi chuan xue bao, S1673-8527(24)00286-8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgg.2024.10.012

Wu, H., Guzior, D. V., Martin, C., Neugebauer, K. A., Rzepka, M. M., Lumeng, J. C., Quinn, R. A., & de Los Campos, G. (2024). Longitudinal analyses of infants' microbiome and metabolome reveal microbes and metabolites with seemingly coordinated dynamics. Communications biology, 7(1), 1506. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07015-6

Zhang, Y., Jafari, M., Zhang, T., Sui, D., Sagresti, L., Merz, K. M., Jr, & Hu, J. (2024). Molecular insights into substrate translocation in an elevator-type metal transporter. Nature communications, 15(1), 9665. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54048-w

 

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.46