BMB Weekly #44: November 7, 2025

 

Fuel for the finish line: How sperm achieve ‘overdrive’

New research from the Balbach Lab is pinpointing the molecular “switch” that supercharges sperm for their final sprint to an egg — a breakthrough that could reshape infertility treatments and pave the way for safe, nonhormonal male contraceptives.
Read the full article here.

 

 

 

Wayne A. Hendrickson from Columbia University will be presenting the lecture titled "Structure and Evolution of Glycoprotein Hormones and their Dimeric Receptors.

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

The Fall BMB Seminar Series will run through December 4, 2025. 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 Postdoc Seminar & Award for Leadership in Outreach. The postdocs that will be presenting are Deepak D. Bhandari and Kelem Gashu. Deepak’s seminar title is “Contrasting roles of Xyloglucan in activating plant defense and pathogen virulence”. Kelem’s seminar title is “Metabolic flux analysis in leaf metabolism quantifies the link between photorespiration and one carbon metabolism”. The seminar is being offered both in person and via Zoom.

Attend this seminar via Zoom. Passcode: 028299

This unique opportunity allows Graduate Students the chance to connect with The Graduate School leadership and staff in a relaxed and informal lunch setting. 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 and register here.

This session will help you understand and appreciate what a ‘conflict of interest’ is, that they occur in many situations and are manageable. Strategies to avoid conflicts of interest will be presented. Conflicts within the context of peer review will be discussed - an important duty for all members of the scholarly community. Learn more and register here.

The Plant Resilience Institute (PRI) hosts a bimonthly event series, PRI Networking Hour, on the second and fourth Thursday of the month during the fall and spring semesters. These hybrid workshops are open to all at MSU and focus on fostering engaging discussions on essential topics, such as responsible conduct of research, career development, writing skills, and more. Featuring speakers Whitney Denney, Career Services Network Senior Event Manager and Mary Molnar-Witherspoon, Career Services Network Director of Employer Relations. Learn more and register here.

Join us for a very special crafting event at the MSU Main Library, Makerspace! Create your own unique ornament/key tag with your grad & professional student peers while learning about 3D design, printing & laser cutting technology available at MSU Library. As a bonus – staff at Hollander Makerspace will teach you to use their resources which could also turn out to be useful tools for your research activities. No experience necessary! RSVP suggested - learn more here.

In this 3-hour workshop, plans for time management and working with others will be the main focus. Participants will create academic timelines for their PhD work at MSU and discuss technologies and habits that can help them stay on task. Participants will also discuss how to manage the stress that often pervades the life of PhD students and share strategies for overcoming writer’s block and procrastination. Additionally, discussion about selecting and working with committees will provide a space for sharing about and learning how to communicate with faculty members about participants’ research and writing. Learn more and register here.

The “Graduate Student Summit on RVSM Prevention, Support and Response” promises to be an insightful gathering. University Ombudsperson, Shannon Burton, Ph.D., will speak on “Navigating Harm When Policy Falls Short”. Our Spartan Resilience Education coordinator, Lisa Laughman, LMSW, will present on the importance of navigating our stress cycles by “Becoming a Good Gatekeeper of Your Own Nervous System”. Additionally, POE will provide important knowledge and updates on our RVSM Prevention policy and practices. Learn more and register here.

The inaugural WALII (Water & Life Interface Institute) Symposium on November 18, 2025 is the new annual meeting bringing together researchers and the broader scientific community to explore one of biology’s most remarkable phenomena – anhydrobiosis, the ability of life to persist without water. Register now for free! Learn more here.

 

MSU invites nominations for these Graduate Student Awards conferred upon up to four graduate or graduate professional students. Nominations should be initiated and completed by students. Faculty, administrators, community partners, or members of the general public are encouraged to assist the student in their application.

•  Graduate Student Community Engagement Scholarship: Recognizing and honoring students for exemplary community-engaged scholarship during their years of graduate study.
• Graduate Student Award for Science Communication and Outreach: Recognizing and honoring students for excellence in science communication and outreach during their years of graduate study.

Learn more and apply here.

Marking the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence and in celebration of French-American friendship, the Lafayette Fellowship will fund one year of master’s level study in France for up to 30 outstanding American students. Open to both Francophone and non-Francophone candidates, the initiative partners with 15 of the top French higher education institutions that offer programs across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); the humanities and social sciences; and the arts, either in French or entirely in English. In addition to their academic studies, fellows will take part in the French-American Leadership Program, which explores the future of the transatlantic relationship and provides a 360-degree immersion into European innovation, culture, and policy, as well as access to an international network of mentors. Learn more and apply here.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration, Learning, and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Michigan State University is excited to announce the launch of its Graduate Student Affiliate Program. This new initiative is designed to support early-career scholars who are eager to deepen their engagement with interdisciplinarity, connect with a community of peers, and strengthen their professional development. Learn more and apply here.

 

ASMSU’s Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday, November 10 through Saturday, November 15. This is a week dedicated to promoting mental wellbeing and connecting students with resources, support, and community. Together, we can foster a campus culture where every Spartan feels seen, supported, and empowered to prioritize their mental health. View the events calendar here.

Airport check in and security processing times are reported to be currently longer than average. 

• Please plan to arrive 3 ½-4 hours prior to the scheduled departure time to accommodate potential delays.
• For the most current airport information related to delays and closures, please visit the following Federal Aviation Administration, and U.S Department of Transportation websites:

• • https://nasstatus.faa.gov/
  • https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-cancellation-delay-dashboard

• For the most current flight information: Please check the above referenced websites, TripIt app, and your airlines site for specific impacts that might apply to your flights. 
• Contact the travel agency 1^st if you have any questions or need to make changes. Contact information for MSU’s preferred agencies is located on the following website: https://travel.msu.edu/partners/preferred-agencies

Visit Travel@State for the most up-to-date support resources. The Education page is continually updated with helpful training and educational resources designed to empower you.

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!

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 University of Georgia Department of Plant Biology invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in plant synthetic biology for strategic resources research. UGA seeks candidates with expertise in protein and metabolic engineering to advance plant-based discovery, synthesis, or capture of materials and resources of strategic importance. A Ph.D. in plant biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, or a related field is required at the time of appointment, and at least one year of postdoctoral experience is highly desirable. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a vigorous, externally funded research program, contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching, and actively contribute to departmental and university service. Learn more and apply here.

Michigan State University's Plant Resilience Institute (PRI) is seeking a highly motivated and skilled postdoctoral researcher to lead a project focused on discovering a new class of regulatory metabolites and their nuclear signaling mechanisms that govern plant resilience. The project integrates bioinformatics, molecular genetics, protein structural prediction, and experimental validation to investigate their roles in gene regulation and stress response. The postdoctoral researcher will lean efforts in gene characterization, reverse genetics and ligand screening using phenotyping and molecular genetic approaches. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to conceptual advances in plant stress hormone biology, while building tools and resources of broad utility to the plant science community. The successful candidate will join a highly interdisciplinary team led by Dr. Gregg Howe, with collaborators across PRI. Learn more about this MSU Careers posting here.

 

 

Fathi Niazi, F., Yoon, S., Mbacke, K., & Dickson, A. (2025). Undirected Exploration of Binding Pockets with Flexible Topology. Journal of chemical theory and computation, 21(20), 10398–10412. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.5c00825

Hoang, Y., Dufour, Y. S., & Kroos, L. (2025). Segregation of sister chromosomes during the shape change of developing Myxococcus xanthus cells. Journal of bacteriology, 207(10), e0032825. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00328-25

Oliveira, J.dS., Dick, C. F., Pereira Nunes, G. H., Essus, V. A., Schrad, J., Subramanian, S., Abrahão, J., Meyer-Fernandes, J. R., Parent, K., & Cortines, J. R. (2025). Intracellular iron positively modulates the replicative cycle of mimiviruses, increasing virus production. Journal of virology, 99(10), e0102525. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01025-25

Post, G. A., Cholico, G. N., Nault, R., & Zacharewski, T. (2025). Cell type- and species-specific regulation of hepatic lncRNAs by TCDD-activated aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Scientific reports, 15(1), 37322. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21357-z

Retnadhas, S., Hegg, E. L., & Ducat, D. C. (2025). Plastic-binding peptides as anchors for protein scaffolds on synthetic plastics: opportunities and challenges. RSC advances, 15(48), 41115–41128. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ra06185g

Yu, P., Krah, B. S., Orlando, M. A., Subramanian, S., & Orlando, B. J. (2025). Structural analysis of a Gram-positive type VII ABC transporter induced by cell wall-targeting antibiotics. Structure (London, England : 1993), S0969-2126(25)00391-0. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2025.10.004

Ziyab, A. H., Chen, S., Jones, A. D., & Karmaus, W. J. (2025). Diversity of Metabolomic Findings Regarding Lung Function in Children and Young Adults. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 10.1164/rccm.202508-1935LE. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202508-1935LE

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