BMB Weekly #25: June 20, 2025

 

"National Academy of Sciences elects 3 MSU faculty as new members"   "Three Michigan State University faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences this year. Christoph Benning, Jianguo "Jack" Liu and Philip Robertson are among the 120 members and 30 international members being recognized for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research." Read the full article here.

 

 

 

 

COGS is hosting two sessions of paddle sports & sailing demos, no experience needed! The Sailing Center staff will be there to help you. No pre-registration is needed, but event is strictly first-come, first-served, accommodating up to 30 paddlers (per available equipment) at each session. Please arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of desired session to check in, sign the required liability waiver, and be fitted with safety gear. Learn more here.

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 1 p.m. with a brief time of connecting and sharing goals. We will then have two sessions of about 50 minutes where everyone will work on their individual goals with a 10-minute break in between. Learn more here.

Graduate student lunch to follow, contact Dr. Laurisa Ankley at ankleyla@msu.edu to reserve your spot. Organized by the College of Natural Science. Learn more here.

Do you still need to fulfill your annual Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement? The NSF-sponsored VERITIES Initiative will run two 90-minute RECR workshops this summer, the first on Thursday, June 26, from 1 - 2:30 p.m. ET, and then repeated on Wednesday, July 23 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. ET. VERITIES workshops focus on the scientific virtues, tying responsible conduct to the pursuit of research excellence. These discussion-based workshops give participants an opportunity to reflect on the aspirational values of the research community and share their experiences and insights with other graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. The two workshops will be virtual and conducted via Zoom.

Please sign up for one of the Verities workshops with these links: June 26 Session | July 23 Session

Plant Cell Atlas (PCA) is a center grant affiliated with the Michigan State University Plant Resilience Institute (PRI). This panel discussion is the final installment of 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.

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 Graduate Employees Union and Michigan State University agreed to add 500 additional tuition credits to the tuition waiver benefit for teaching assistants. This additional benefit will be in place for 2024-2028. The tuition pool is available to students appointed as teaching assistants in Fall 2025. Learn more and apply 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.

 

Course Design Consultation provides consultation and design assistance with all MSU courses. Using a backward design framework, IT’s instructional designers can make sure that your learning objectives, assessments and content are all aligned, to provide an effective learning experience. Learn more here.

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.

 

 

 

Chen, D., Jiang, J., Hayes, N., Su, Z., & Wei, G. W. (2025). Artificial intelligence approaches for anti-addiction drug discovery. Digital discovery, 4(6), 1404–1416. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5dd00032g

Dang, D., Deogharkar, A., McKolay, J., Smith, K. S., Panwalkar, P., Hoffman, S., Tian, W., Ji, S., Azambuja, A. P., Natarajan, S. K., Lum, J., Bayliss, J., Manzeck, K., Sweha, S. R., Hamanishi, E., Pun, M., Patel, D., Rau, S., Animasahun, O., Achreja, A., … Venneti, S. (2025). Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 primes group-3 medulloblastomas for cuproptosis. Cancer cell, 43(6), 1159–1174.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2025.04.013

Feng, H., Suwayyid, F., Zia, M., Wee, J., Hozumi, Y., Chen, C. L., & Wei, G. W. (2025). CAML: Commutative Algebra Machine Learning─A Case Study on Protein-Ligand Binding Affinity Prediction. Journal of chemical information and modeling, 10.1021/acs.jcim.5c00940. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.5c00940

González, C. T., Martin, C., Crane, M., Gutierrez, K., Thomas, J., Remisoski, L., Okros, M., Fu, Y., Guzior, D. V., Finkhouse, D., Bridges, C., Mielke, J., Querido, G., Padillo, L., Girgis, R., McClelland, M., Conrad, D., Li, X., & Quinn, R. A. (2025). Microenvironmental Effects of a Non-Antibiotic Therapy for a Chronic Polymicrobial Infection Alter Microbial Physiology, Competition, and Virulence. The ISME journal, wraf125. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wraf125

Graf, M., Murgueitio, N., Sheridan, M. A., Quinn, R. A., Carlson, A. L., Vogel, S. C., Styner, M. A., Alex, A. M., Stephens, R. L., Roach, J., Sagarnaga, N., Mills-Koonce, W. R., Azcarate-Peril, M. A., Short, S. J., Knickmeyer, R. C., & Propper, C. B. (2025). Gut microbiome is associated with insula structure in neonates. Physiology & behavior, 115001. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.115001

Hird, K., Campeciño, J. O., & Hegg, E. L. (2025). From genes to function: regulation, maturation, and evolution of cytochrome c nitrite reductase in nitrate reduction to ammonium. Applied and environmental microbiology, e0029225. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00292-25

Kroos, L., Wall, D., Islam, S. T., Whitworth, D. E., Muñoz-Dorado, J., Higgs, P. I., Singer, M., Mauriello, E. M., Treuner-Lange, A., Søgaard-Andersen, L., Kaimer, C., Elías-Arnanz, M., Stojković, E. A., Müller, R., Volz, C., Velicer, G. J., & Nan, B. (2025). Milestones in the development of Myxococcus xanthus as a model multicellular bacterium. Journal of bacteriology, e0007125. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00071-25

Mostofa, M. G., Sahu, A., Xu, Y., Basrai, I., Doron, L., Lefrancois, V., & Sharkey, T. D. (2025). Cryptic isoprene emission of soybeans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(24), e2502360122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2502360122

Subramanian, S., McGuffin, H., Passage, R., Dover, J. A., & Parent, K. N. (2025). Complete genome sequence of Shigella phage Moonfish isolated from Mid-Michigan. Microbiology resource announcements, 14(6), e0125524. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01255-24

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 58, No.25