BMB Weekly #23: June 6, 2025

 

Erich Grotewold named MSU Research Foundation Professor   Grotewold's research has profound implications for improving crop yields, plant health and agricultural sustainability, underscoring his belief that plants can be the solution to many of the world's biggest problems. Read the full article here.

 

 

 

 

Publication of a scholarly work makes you an author - and that’s both exciting and a responsibility. This session will be dedicated to understanding the definitions and disagreements about what constitutes an author, how conflicts are resolved, how to avoid such conflicts, and where/to whom to go for help about authorship issues.

Plagiarism - stealing the work of another - is an increasing problem in the scholarly community. At MSU, this ranks as the #1 allegation of research misconduct. This session will also aim to help you understand what plagiarism is, how to test for it within your own work, how to discuss plagiarism, and where to go for advice on plagiarism. Learn more and register here.

Join us for a relaxing yoga session centered around a gentle Vinyasa flow with intentional breathing. Bring your own Yoga mat if you have one. We also have a few yoga mats for you to borrow. E-mail GRADTeaching@msu.edu if you need one. Learn more here.

PCA is excited to host 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.

Attend the 5th annual MSU Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration at the Michigan State University Multicultural Center. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. Join us for dinner, served on a first-come, first-served basis. Please hand your meal ticket, which you will receive upon check-in on the event day, to a volunteer to access the buffet line.

This year's theme is A Juneteenth Renaissance: Bridging Freedom's Legacy and Tomorrow's Vision. The commemoration features the multi-faceted musician and MSU alum Rodney Page as the emcee and more.

Students, staff, faculty, alums and local community members are encouraged to save the date for the celebration. There are activities for all ages. This event will not be livestreamed. For additional information, please visit the MSU Juneteenth website.

The MSU AGEP Learning Community is an informal environment where students from varying disciplines can gather, share their research in a 10-minute presentation, or discover that their graduate toils are not unusual. Those in attendance are privy to information regarding fellowships, career opportunities, even summer internships, pertaining to the group. Learn more and register here.

Let's see a Summer Circle Theater Production together! Meet at the Dairy Store at 6 p.m. for a free scoop of ice cream on us, and then walk over to the amphitheater for a showing of "I and You". More details on the show can be found at the MSU Department of Theater website. Learn more here.

The MSU Plant Science Community is pleased to share the details of our community event for MSU attendees of ASPB’s Plant Biology 2025 conference in Milwaukee this summer! Join your fellow Michigan State University plant scientists attending Plant Biology 2025 at our community mixer! Taking place at the end of the poster session on Sunday, the event is just a short walk away from the conference at The Brewery in downtown Milwaukee. Current, former, and future Spartans are all invited to attend this casual networking event, so please help us spread the word!

What to expect:

• Food and drinks provided
• Network across disciplines and career levels
• Socialize with fellow MSU plant scientists
• Unwind after a long day at the conference
• Free to attend, no registration required

This event is organized by the MSU Plant Resilience Institute and sponsored by the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, Department of Plant Biology, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, and the Plant Resilience Institute. For questions regarding the community mixer, please contact PRI.admin@msu.edu. We hope to see you in Milwaukee this July! Learn more here.

 

This summer CIRTL is offering 3 courses and 5 workshops for graduate students and postdocs pursuing teaching careers in higher education. Anyone can register to attend programming, but participants from CIRTL member institutions and alumni will receive priority when registering for programming with limited seats; capped programming typically reaches capacity within a week of registration opening. Learn more and register here.

The 6th annual 3M RISE Symposium (Raising Influence in Science and Engineering) is accepting applications! The purpose of the symposium is to introduce emerging doctoral students in science and engineering to the wide range of rewarding careers in research and development at 3M. This is a great way for future STEM leaders to get introduced to the corporate world. Ideal applicants are expected to complete their graduate degree appointment within 24 months of the RISE event. We will accept applicants from any STEM field. Learn more and apply here.

 

As part of our health and wellbeing efforts, the NatSci Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in collaboration with MSU Food Bank, is pleased to share a free resource for all students and employees. No Sign up needed. For questions and inquiries about this resource, please get in touch with Nick Goldblatt (natsci.dei@msu.edu). 

You can find the latest department news over on LinkedIn and BlueSky. Give us a follow and be sure to tag us with research updates, publications, and lab updates to help spread the word!

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 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.

 

Research associate focusing on the role of PAS proteins in mediating the toxic effects of environmental contaminants. This position will be in the lab of Dr. John LaPress in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University.

The candidate will conduct research on dioxins and metals and their role mediating tissue injury using mice and cell culture. The applicant will be responsible for performing biochemical, molecular biology, and toxicology assays. In addition, the applicant needs knowledge of PAS proteins and how they signal. More specifically, the successful applicant will have experience working with the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and hypoxia inducible factors. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting here.

 

Boren, D. M., Kredi, S., Positselskaya, E., Giladi, M., Haitin, Y., & Vermaas, J. V. (2025). Identifying and quantifying membrane interactions of the protein human cis-prenyltransferase. Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society, 34(6), e70167. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.70167

Chen, D., Wang, B., Li, S., Zhang, W., Yang, K., Song, Y., Wei, G. W., & Pan, F. (2025). Superionic Ionic Conductor Discovery via Multiscale Topological Learning. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 10.1021/jacs.5c04828. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c04828

Hagar, H. T., Fernandez-Vega, V., Wang, K. W., Jordan, L. M. O., Shumate, J., Scampavia, L., Tapayan, A. S., Nguyen, H. M., Spicer, T. P., & Kuo, M. H. (2025). Hyperphosphorylated tau-based Alzheimer's Disease drug discovery: Identification of inhibitors of tau aggregation and cytotoxicity. SLAS discovery : advancing life sciences R & D, 33, 100235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slasd.2025.100235

Singh, S. K., Kauffman, N., Lynch, I. M., Kunt, Z. M., Zinn, K. R., Agnew, D., & Fan, J. (2025). 212Bi-Macroaggregated Albumin Inhibited Mouse Melanoma Growth by Regulating Cell Cycle Checkpoint Markers Without Promoting Living Cell Repopulation. Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine, 66(6), 916–921. https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.124.269190

Ziccardi, L. G., Kramer, D., Gonçalves, N., Nelson, B. W., Taylor, T., Albert, L. P., Campos, K. S., Prohaska, N., Restrepo-Coupe, N., Saleska, S. R., & Stark, S. C. (2025). Seasonal and intracanopy shifts in the fates of absorbed photons in central Amazonian forests: implications for leaf fluorescence and photosynthesis. The New phytologist, 10.1111/nph.70183. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70183

Zuo, Z., Weraduwage, S. M., Huang, T., & Sharkey, T. D. (2025). How volatile isoprenoids improve plant thermotolerance. Trends in plant science, S1360-1385(25)00132-3. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2025.05.004

 

 

 

 

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. 58, No.23