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BMB Weekly #48: December 6, 2024

Vol. 57, No.48Horizontal banner with MSU helmet displaying College of Natural Science Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology


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Noteworthy News


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

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Seminars


Coming Soon: Spring Colloquium Series

The speaker list for the Spring 2025 BMB Colloquium Series will be available soon.

 

 

Mark Your Calendar


Lunch with the Dean
December 9, 2024  12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Chittenden Hall 110
Attention: Graduate Students

Join Dean Pero Dagbovie for lunch and conversation in Chittenden Hall. Connect about career and school journeys, gain understanding of The Graduate School programs that empower graduate student success and engage in candid discussions about university and student life. Learn more here.


Plant Cell Identity Webinar: Acquisition of Cell Identities
December 10, 2024  12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Zoom

Plant Cell Atlas (PCA) is a center-grant affiliated with the Michigan State Univerty Plant Resilience Institute (PRI).

PCA is excited to announce the Plant Cell Identity Webinar Series! This series of talks brings together experts around the world to discuss the wonders of plant cell identity. From working out how cells develop their identity to uncovering how cell states change through development and from stress, these webinars will cover how plant cell types and states are defined quantitatively and qualitatively using single-cell and spatial omics approaches. Learn more and register here.


RECR Workshop: Record Keeping, Data Management, and Sharing Information
December 10, 2024  6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Zoom
Attention: Graduate Students

At the heart of what you do as a scholar is to produce data and or other creative products. The gathering, use of and ownership of data and creative products are critical to understand. This session will discuss the diversity of what data can be, and who controls, owns and can share such data. We will also discuss practical means to protect your data and creative products. Learn more and register here.


ETD Fall 2024 Final Deadline
December 11, 2024  5:00 p.m.
Attention: Graduate Students

Each semester has a final deadline where documents have been accepted and delivered for publishing, all required paperwork has been turned in, all milestones have been completed, and all degree audits have been completed. Your document must be accepted and delivered to the publisher, ProQuest, by 5:00PM ET on the final deadline date. Learn more here.


2025 Write Winning Grants Webinar
January 10, 2024 and January 17, 2024
Registration Deadline: December 16, 2024
Discount Registration Deadline: December 11, 2024
Attention: Faculty, Postdocs, Graduate Students, Staff

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.


Virtual WORKSHOP: Quarterly Estimated Tax for Fellowship Recipients
January 13, 2024
Discount Registration Deadline: December 15, 2024
Attention: Graduate Students, Professional Students

COGS has partnered with Dr. Emily Roberts and Personal Finance for PhDs to offer this workshop for students on fellowships to learn how to manage quarterly taxes. A limited number of registrations will be available at a discounted cost through 12/15/24 (or until filled), for MSU graduate & professional students. The discounted cost is $10 and is available to the first 60, currently enrolled MSU Graduate or Professional Students to Register on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more here.

 

Awards, Grants and Fellowships


Call for Nominations: 2025 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award
Nomination Deadline: January 2, 2025
Attention: Deans, Department Chairs, Graduate Students

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.

 

Announcements


Course Announcement: Spring 2025 BMB 961/MMG 803/CMB 800 - Metals in Biology
Tuesdays and Thursdays — 9:10 a.m.
BCH 502

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.


Course Announcement: Spring 2025 PSL 950/PHM 980 - Immune Based Mechanisms of Disease
Thursdays — 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.

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.


2024 MSU Student Holiday Food Drive

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!


MSU Food Bank

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.

 

Job Postings


Assistant Professor Positions — Northeastern University, Institute for Plant-Human Interface
Applications Close: December 15, 2025
Attention: Doctoral Students, Postdocs

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.


Co-Director-Management — Center for Cancer Health Equity Research
Applications Close: January 15, 2025

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.


Assistant Professor, Tenure Track — Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Application Review Begins: January 15, 2025

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.

 

 

Recent Publications

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.48