BMB Weekly #50: December 19, 2025

 

How viruses know what’s theirs

Learning from nature's packaging experts could lead to anti-virals, gene therapy, and the next generation of RNA-based therapeutics. Prof. Kristin Parent teamed up with researchers at SDSU for a new study, which leveraged MSU's cryo-EM new instruments.
Read the full article here.

 

 

 

 

 

If you're staying on campus during the break and need to work on your projects, writing, or preparations for the new semester, but find it difficult to stay productive at home, you are very welcome to join other students and scholars in this group and meet us at the Graduate School.

December sessions will be held from December 15 - 24 (except for weekends), from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Light snacks and warm drinks will be provided; please remember to bring your refillable water bottle and coffee mug.
• In between the meetings, there will be 15 minutes of social time as well to provide room for chatting and refreshment.
• Registration is appreciated.

Learn more and register here.

Thesis and Dissertation Writing Camp is an opportunity for MSU grad students to have dedicated time to work on writing their theses or dissertations before the hectic semester starts! Students can use this time to set structured goals and find social accountability with facilitators from the Writing Center and peers who are also writing theses and dissertations. For in-person attendees, food and coffee will be available, and crafts will abound to encourage brain breaks. Learn more and register here.

In this session, Dr. Shannon Lynn Burton (University Ombudsperson) will offer practical strategies tailored to graduate teaching assistants and postdocs who are building their instructional identity while upholding academic integrity in the classroom. Participants will learn how to communicate expectations with confidence, prevent common forms of misconduct, and manage difficult conversations that may arise when concerns occur. The session will also outline key university policies and procedures for responding to suspected misconduct, with opportunities to discuss real scenarios that help early-career instructors strengthen their judgment, clarity, and sense of authority in fostering a culture of integrity. Learn more and register here.

Effective grading is a result of understanding how to assess students in a manner that is both helpful to their development and an efficient use of your own time. In this session, we will discuss the preparation you should go through to be able to assess students effectively based on Learning Outcomes. You will learn how to write learning outcomes and use Backward Design to align learning outcomes with assessments and learning activities. Learn more and register here.

We are excited to announce that registration is now open for the Spartan Wellbeing Summit, taking place on February 26, 2026 at the Kellogg Conference Center. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the celebration of our collective journey toward becoming a health promoting university, inspired by the Okanagan Charter. We’ll plant new ideas, strengthen our shared foundation of wellbeing, and branch out in collaboration to cultivate a lasting culture of care for all Spartans. The Summit will feature keynote speaker Kiyaana Cox Jones, whose inspiring message on sparking community transformation will energize and empower us to continue this work. Check out the full agenda and reserve your seat – space is limited! Learn more and register here.

 

Nominations are being accepted for the 2026 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award competition. This Teaching Award is very competitive, so we are looking for exceptional Ph.D. 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 about criteria and the nomination process using this link.

The Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) is excited to announce that their scholarship application is now open through January 30, 2026. Ten scholarships honor MSU students with disabilities who demonstrate leadership, academic excellence, and resilience. Recipients will be honored at the RCPD Awards Reception on April 17. We encourage you to share this opportunity with eligible students you advise. Learn more and apply here.

In addition, all Spartans are invited to nominate students, faculty and staff, and alumni for three awards that recognize meaningful efforts to advance belonging and inclusion. Recipients will also be honored at the RCPD Awards Reception. Learn more and make a nomination here.

 

MSU IT Educational Technology is excited to offer a variety of end of semester resources this December. Participate in Certification Pathways and watch 5-minute videos on end of the semester and accessibility tips. 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!

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.

 

Looking for Your Next Step? Check Out the Postdoc Opportunities Board

This free online resource connects you with postdoc positions at 18 world-leading institutions across 11 states. Explore openings and access advice to help you find the right postdoc position to thrive and succeed. Start your search today and take the next step in your career! Learn more 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.

 

 

Basyal, B., Li, X., Pargulski, V. J., Fu, X., Nightingale, N. M., Overmyer, K. A., Coon, J. J., Zhang, Y., Benucci, G. M. N., Last, R. L., Sato, T. K., & Walker, B. J. (2025). Developmentally-specific physiological and metabolic responses support drought resilience in switchgrass and constrains biofuel yield. Journal of experimental botany, eraf533. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/eraf533

Susanto, F. A., Withrow, A., & Lundquist, P. K. (2025). Preparation and Negative Staining for Visualization of Cyanoglobule Lipid Droplets Using Transmission Electron Microscopy. Bio-protocol, 15(23), e5532. https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.5532

VanBuren, R., Nguyen, A., Marks, R. A., Mercado, C., Pardo, A., Pardo, J., Schuster, J., St Aubin, B., Lipham Wilson, M., & Rhee, S. Y. (2025). Variability in drought gene expression datasets highlight the need for paired physiology and community standardization. Plant physiology, kiaf653. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf653

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