BMB Weekly #47: November 29, 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.

 

This upcoming Monday’s MPS Seminar is the Hans Kende Award Seminar. This year’s recipient is Danielle Hoffman. The title of her seminar is “Physiological and Seed Germination Responses of the Cover Crop Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) to Drought and Osmotic Stress”. The seminar is being offered both in person & via Zoom.

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.

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.

 

The newly forming Institute for Plant-Human Interface (IPHI) at Northeastern University is currently conducting a faculty search for Assistant Professor Positions the field of plant-human interface, broadly defined. They particularly encourage candidates who are completing their PhD or are in the early stages of their postdoctoral training to apply through the INVEST Program, an initiative designed to provide strong support for exceptional early-career scientists in pursuing an academic career. Outstanding senior candidates will also be considered.

Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to: plant RNA biology, plant biochemistry, plant inter-species interactions, food chemistry and food allergy, pharmaceutical biomanufacturing, metabolic engineering, climate change, and sustainable foods.

Learn more and apply here.

Duties include general laboratory maintenance, DNA plasmid preparation, and genotyping. Desired qualifications include experience with bacterial cultures and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Animal handling is a plus.

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. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting 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.

 

 

Lee, Y. S., Braun, E. L., & Grotewold, E. (2024). Evolutionary trajectory of transcription factors and selection of targets for metabolic engineering. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 379(1914), 20230367. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0367

Wozniak, S., & Feig, M. (2024). Diffusion and Viscosity in Mixed Protein Solutions. The journal of physical chemistry. B, 128(47), 11676–11693. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c06877

Hawkins, C., Xue, B., Farida, Y., Wyatt, G., Zerbe, P., & Rhee, S. Y. (2024). Plant Metabolic Network 16: expansion of underrepresented plant groups and experimentally supported enzyme data. Nucleic acids research, gkae991. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkae991

Ellison, E. L., Zhou, P., Chu, Y. H., Hermanson, P., Gomez-Cano, L., Myers, Z. A., Abnave, A., Gray, J., Hirsch, C. N., Grotewold, E., & Springer, N. M. (2024). Transcriptome profiling of maize transcription factor mutants to probe gene regulatory network predictions. G3 (Bethesda, Md.), jkae274. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkae274

Mikhova, M., Goff, N. J., Janovič, T., Heyza, J. R., Meek, K., & Schmidt, J. C. (2024). Single-molecule imaging reveals the kinetics of non-homologous end-joining in living cells. Nature communications, 15(1), 10159. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54545-y

Roze, L. V., Antoniak, A., Sarkar, D., Liepman, A. H., Tejera-Nieves, M., Vermaas, J. V., & Walker, B. J. (2024). Increasing thermostability of the key photorespiratory enzyme glycerate 3-kinase by structure-based recombination. Plant biotechnology journal, 10.1111/pbi.14508. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14508

Wang, Q., Wang, Q., Qi, Z., Moeller, W., Wysocki, V. H., & Sun, L. (2024). Native Proteomics by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 63(48), e202408370. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202408370

Cleveland, C. W., 3rd, Davis, B. W., Khatri, K., Pomés, A., Chapman, M. D., & Brackett, N. F. (2024). Genetic diversity of the major cat allergen, Fel d 1. PNAS nexus, 3(11), pgae447. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae447

Al-Hilfi, A., Li, Z., Merz, K. M., Jr, & Walker, K. D. (2024). Mg2+-Ion Dependence Revealed for a BAHD 13-O-β-Aminoacyltransferase from Taxus Plants. JACS Au, 4(11), 4249–4262. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.4c00577

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 57, No.47