BMB Weekly #10: March 7, 2025

 

On February 26th the Biochemistry Club continued their tradition of science outreach with a visit to East Lansing's Glencairn Elementary. Biochemistry students inspired the crowd with hands-on demonstrations showing that plants use the energy in light to take up carbon dioxide. Sean Weise and John Henige in Dr. Kuo’s lab are currently working to bring a Science Night to Lansing Public Schools. If you want to be involved, please contact Sean Weise: weisesea@msu.edu.

 

 

Jason Peters from University of Wisconsin - Madison will be presenting "CRISPR versus antibiotic resistance and climate change".

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

The Spring BMB Seminar Series will run through April 24, 2025. The complete schedule is available on the BMB Spring 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 David Mendoza from the University of Missouri. The seminar will be held at 4:00 p.m. in room PLB 247.

David's talk is titled “Plant nutrition through time and space”. We would like to invite graduate students and postdocs to join the speaker for a lunch and discussion on Monday, March 10. Lunch will be provided at 12:00PM in PBL 247. 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, March 7, 2025 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.

Attend this seminar on Zoom. Passcode: 028299

This webinar is designed for Plan A Master’s students and all Doctoral students who intend to graduate this semester. During this workshop students will receive information regarding the following:

• How to format their thesis or dissertation correctly
• How to successfully submit their thesis or dissertation via ProQuest
• How to successfully submit required paperwork, complete their Graduate School degree requirements, and receive their diploma

Learn more and register here.

Learn about vital campus resources through informal, expert discussions, providing insights, Q&A opportunities, and practical guidance for student success and well-being. This session features Kim Steed-Page, Director of the MSU Student Parent Resource Center and her team. If you are a student who is also juggling responsibilities as a parent, this session is for you! Click here to register.

Join via Zoom (log in with your MSU Net ID).

Are you having a hard time getting things off your to do list? Would you benefit from a dedicated space and being around others to find motivation and productivity? If so, please join us in a structured community space for supporting goal achievement. We will start at 9:30 with a brief time of connecting and sharing goals. We will then have two sessions of about 60 minutes where everyone will work on their individual goals with a 10-minute break in between. You can come for one or both sessions or just stop in at any point. We will offer a hybrid option upon request. Please reach out to Clara Graucob, GROW GA, for more information at graucobc@msu.edu. Whether it’s your dissertation, classwork, emails, a crafting project, or brushing up your CV, let’s help each other help each other Get Stuff Done! No RSVP needed. Learn more here.

This workshop will introduce the use of SPSS through both the point-and-click menus and syntax (programming language). The workshop is designed for beginners to SPSS and for intermediate users. No programming knowledge and/or experience is expected. We will begin with an overview of the SPSS interface, including data entry, types of variables, and an overview of how to import data from other software (e.g., Excel). We will then cover examples of data manipulation and data cleaning procedures, as well as examples of descriptives and data analysis, including t-tests, ANOVA, and regression. Learn more and register here.

College students, celebrate Pi(e) Day with the MSU Museum on March 14! Join us for a night dedicated to math, science, and of course, delicious pies—both pizza and dessert! Embrace Women’s History Month by honoring women in STEM while enjoying activities that bring together tasty treats and mathematical marvels. Tickets are free but limited- reserve your spot! Learn more here.

TEDxMSU is a vibrant, non-profit initiative led by the spirited students of Michigan State University. Our organization represents a dynamic synergy of MSU's brightest minds – students, faculty, alumni – and the pulsating East Lansing community. Our annual conference features interdisciplinary talks with the purpose of promoting inquiry and critical discussion, as well as a diverse array of performances and an interactive marketplace. Experience the power of ideas at TEDxMSU – where we don’t just share ideas; we set them into motion. Learn more here.

 

We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 MSU/USDA Summer Research Experience (SRE) Program! This 10-week program, running from June 2nd – August 8, is designed for MS and PhD students interested in tackling complex challenges in agriculture, geospatial analysis, and disease ecology. Participants will work collaboratively with a team of Mississippi State University faculty in a high-performance computing environment, gaining hands-on research experience while collaborating on real-world challenges. Learn more here and apply at this link.

Embark on a journey to the forefront of scientific research with the Future Scientist Exchange Program (FuSEP), proudly launched by USTC. Here, you’ll find yourself among excellent young scientists, all converging to tackle global challenges with the support of USTC’s world-leading laboratories, cutting-edge research facilities, and top-tier research teams. If you’re yearning for a transformative summer training experience, seize this opportunity: apply now for the 2025 FuSEP Summer Research and elevate your scientific career!

Program Highlights:

• Enjoy five enriching weeks at USTC
• Conduct research in state-of-the-art labs
• Attend fun lectures on diverse topics
• Immerse in the rich local Chinese cultural activities
• Visit advanced research and industrial facilities
• Participate in activities that are all conducted in English

Project lists and more information can be found on our website. Feel free to contact us for any further information or details via incoming@ustc.edu.cn or visiting@ustc.edu.cn.

The FAST Program is for doctoral students with interests in teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education who are enrolled in programs associated with the Colleges of Natural Science, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Engineering, Social Science, Nursing, Osteopathic Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine or whose college or department has an approved Certification in College Teaching Program. The primary goals of the FAST Fellowship Program are to provide opportunities for doctoral students to have mentored teaching experiences, develop and conduct a teaching-as-research project, and gain familiarity with materials on teaching and assessment techniques. Learn more and apply here.

 

Hot off the press! The second University Health and Wellbeing Annual Report is now available! Explore the latest insights on how health and wellbeing was advanced on campus and delivered positive impact for the Spartan community in 2024.

The Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) is looking for student volunteers! Learn about great volunteer engagement opportunities here.

Apply now to be a member of a student hearing board. Graduate & Professional students needed! Hearing board members play a critical and valuable role in ensuring that those involved in allegations that a student violated experience a fair process, while also being both supported and held accountable (if found responsible). Learn more and apply 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 Biological Sciences (BioSci) Program is seeking 1-2 fixed term faculty members to join the BioSci Program teaching team. The successful candidate will serve as an instructor for introductory biology lecture and lab courses designed to actively engage life-science majors in three-dimensional learning. Depending on the needs of the program and the expertise of the candidate, they may teach in cellular and molecular or organismal biology courses. Review of applications will begin on March 20, 2025, and will continue until the position is filled. Questions regarding the position may be directed to Dr. Katie Krueger, BioSci Program Assistant Director and Chair of the Search Committee (krueg172@msu.edu). Learn more about this MSU Careers posting here.

 

Bose, S., Kilinc, C., & Dickson, A. (2025). Markov State Models with Weighted Ensemble Simulation: How to Eliminate the Trajectory Merging Bias. Journal of chemical theory and computation, 21(4), 1805–1816. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c01141

Gatreddi, S., Urdiain-Arraiza, J., Desguin, B., Hausinger, R. P., & Hu, J. (2025). Structural Basis for the Catalysis and Substrate Specificity of a LarA Racemase with a Broad Substrate Spectrum. ACS catalysis, 15(4), 2857–2866. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.4c07804

Jussupow, A., Bartley, D., Lapidus, L. J., & Feig, M. (2025). COCOMO2: A Coarse-Grained Model for Interacting Folded and Disordered Proteins. Journal of chemical theory and computation, 21(4), 2095–2107. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c01460

Keng, M., & Merz, K. M., Jr (2025). In Silico Characterization of Glycan Ions from IM-MS Collision Cross Section. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, 10.1021/jasms.4c00370. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.4c00370

Lei, L., & Burton, Z. F. (2025). Chemical Evolution of Life on Earth. Genes, 16(2), 220. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16020220

Roshanzadeh, A., Medeiros, H. C. D., Herrera, C. K., Malhado, C., Tomich, A. W., Fisher, S. P., Lovera, S. O., Bates, M., Lavallo, V., Lunt, R. R., & Lunt, S. Y. (2025). Next-Generation Photosensitizers: Cyanine-Carborane Salts for Superior Photodynamic Therapy of Metastatic Cancer. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 64(9), e202419759. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202419759

Sahu, S., Bhardwaj, P., Singh, G., Bhalla, A., & Arya, S. K. (2025). A pioneering review on Ganoderma lucidum-derived leather: taking a step towards a cruelty-free leather manufacturing. Environmental science and pollution research international, 10.1007/s11356-025-36130-y. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-025-36130-y

Steensma, A. K., Kaste, J. A. M., Heo, J., Orr, D. J., Sung, C. L., Shachar-Hill, Y., & Walker, B. J. (2025). Modeling with uncertainty quantification reveals the essentials of a non-canonical algal carbon-concentrating mechanism. Plant physiology, 197(2), kiae629. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiae629

Subramanian, S., Kerns, H. R., Braverman, S. G., & Doore, S. M. (2025). The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers. Communications biology, 8(1), 222. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07668-x

Vieira Wyzykowski, A. B., Niazi, F. F., & Dickson, A. (2025). AGDIFF: Attention-Enhanced Diffusion for Molecular Geometry Prediction. Journal of chemical information and modeling, 65(4), 1798–1811. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.4c01896

Walters, J., Fisher, R., Sharkey, T. D., Isaacs, R., & Santiago, J. P. (2025). Extreme heat affects blueberry pollen nutrition, bee health, and plant reproduction. Scientific reports, 15(1), 6249. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90676-y

Zhu, S., Song, Z., Tapayan, A. S., Singh, K., Wang, K. W., Chien Hagar, H. T., Zhang, J., Kim, H., Thepsuwan, P., Kuo, M. H., Zhang, K., & Nguyen, H. M. (2025). Effects of Heparan Sulfate Trisaccharide Containing Oleanolic Acid in Attenuating Hyperphosphorylated Tau-Induced Cell Dysfunction Associated with Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 68(3), 3356–3372. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c02563

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 58, No.10