BMB Weekly #34: September 25, 2026

 

Zacharewski joins MSU initiative to improve women’s health

Backed by a new $4.6 million award from the NIH, MSU researchers are launching a novel project to transform how medications are developed and prescribed for women. Among collaborators from across campus and six other universities, you'll find BMB's own Prof. Tim Zacharewski, whose laboratory will use human liver organoid new approach methodology models to investigate the metabolism of endogenous hormones and therapeutic medicines.

"These studies will generate data to support the development and refinement of computational models designed to better predict treatment efficacy and adverse effects across different life stages women experience," said Zacharewski, noting the research's importance to understanding metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hypothyroidism.

Read the full article here.

 

 

 

Benjamin Roche from the University of North Dakota will be presenting the lecture titled “Studying cellular quiescence uncovers new biology: ERH is a repressor of RNA export”.

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

The Fall BMB Seminar Series will run through December 10, 2026. 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.

 

Whether you're new to campus or returning for another year, Welcome to State is your chance to connect, explore, and make MSU your own. From signature traditions and campus-wide celebrations to student organizations and community events, there's something for everyone. Browse the schedule and start planning your semester. Learn more here.

In this workshop you will strengthen your teaching techniques by adopting teaching practices that better align with your values, and you will learn new ways to create and maintain course cultures. Learn more and register here.

How can communities, researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders work together to protect public health and ensure access to clean water? Join the MSU Graduate Scholar Learning Community- Science Ethics and Engagement Fellows Initiative for a hybrid town hall discussion exploring the connections between water, environmental health, public policy, and civic engagement. 

This graduate-student-led event will create space for community-centered dialogue, small-group discussions, and collaborative problem-solving. Together, we will examine issues related to clean water access, environmental stewardship, accountability, and opportunities for public engagement. Learn more and register here.

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the 3rd Annual Disability Summit on Friday, October 2, 2026. This year's theme, The Future of Disability in Higher Education, will explore accessibility, inclusive teaching and learning, technology, employment, and campus life. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for the keynote announcement, registration information, and a full event agenda. Learn more here.

Enjoy a Sunday afternoon of fall fun at Country Mill Orchard in Charlotte, MI with your fellow graduate & professional students! A $10 wristband includes activities such as Tractor Ride, Pumpkin Chunkin’, Apple Cannon, Corn Maze, and more! You can go browse the country store, and try some apple picking too if you like (pay as you go). We’ll have cider and donuts waiting for you at our designated picnic area when you want to relax and sit for awhile. Limited space - advance purchase required. Learn more here.

 

 

MSU IT’s Educational Technology Department is excited to announce that applications are now open for the AT&T Excellence in Teaching with Technology Awards. These annual awards highlight successful uses of instructional technology to support student success in any courses at MSU and celebrate the educators responsible for implementing them. For application details and information about past winners, visit the AT&T Awards website.

This fellowship is intended to support doctoral students in the natural sciences and mathematics in recognition of academic achievements, research goals, contributions to a diverse educational community, and a record of overcoming obstacles whose progress in their chosen scientific discipline enhances educational diversity at MSU as may be evidenced by personal history and experience, research goals, and/or promotion of understanding among persons of different backgrounds and ideas, or by having demonstrated significant academic achievement in spite of barriers such as economic, social, and/or educational disadvantage. Learn more and apply here.

The MSU Plant Resilience Institute (PRI) is excited to announce the fall 2026 round of the PRI Seed Grant Program to support innovative, trainee-led research in the area of plant resilience! PRI invites proposals from any MSU graduate student or postdoctoral researcher. We encourage proposals to be synergistic across MSU laboratories and focus on projects that are both high-risk and high-reward. Proposals are required to focus on plant resilience, broadly defined, and should be distinct from current research programs. The proposed research must not already be funded by an existing grant, and funds cannot be used for graduate student or postdoctoral scholar salary/stipend support. More information, including proposal preparation and submission instructions, details on the selection process, and the list of previous awardees can be found here.

 

This course is for graduate students who want to communicate their research more clearly, confidently, and effectively. Give and receive peer feedback and develop a communication portfolio. For enrollment, students should follow the standard graduate course enrollment process through the Student Information System. Standard enrollment deadlines apply. Additional information about enrollment can be found on the Registrar’s website.

University Health and Well-Being is sharing a free resource available to all MSU students: Togetherall, a 24/7 anonymous online community where students can connect with peers, share experiences, and access wellbeing tools and resources. No appointments, referral or intake forms are required, making support available whenever students need it. The platform is monitored by licensed professionals to help maintain a safe and supportive environment.

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 Food Bank is a resource available to Spartans 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 Postdoctoral scholar will join the Dickson laboratory at Michigan State University, working on research problems in computational biophysics. These could include the development of new approaches for physics-based simulation of molecular motions or their application to biomolecular systems of interest and/or the development or application of computational methods related to drug discovery (e.g. generative models, PK models, lead optimization). Learn more and apply here.

The Balbach lab seeks a professional aide to support ongoing lab research. Responsibilities will include overseeing the daily operations of the laboratory, maintaining the mouse colony, performing metabolomics experiments, and assisting/executing other routine experiments in the lab. The ideal candidate should be eager to learn, highly motivated, reliable, possess good communication skills, and be able to work independently and as part of a team. Learn more and apply here.

The Lundquist Laboratory Group is seeking a Researcher & Laboratory Manager to play a pivotal role in advancing our research on plastoglobule lipid droplets and their involvement in photosynthetic and phospho-regulation. In this dual-capacity role, you will dedicate approximately 20% of your time to operational leadership, ensuring seamless daily lab function through budget management, chemical/supply inventory control, safety protocol adherence, and digital outreach. The other 80% of your time will be dedicated to active scientific investigation, where you will integrate wet-lab techniques (e.g., immunoblotting, protein phosphorylation assays, cellular ultrastructure investigation, lipidomics, proteomics, etc.) with computational approaches (e.g., protein-protein interaction and structural modeling) to drive impactful discoveries. Learn more and apply here.

The Feldbrügge Lab at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf is recruiting two PhD researchers within the international doctoral network nEXt-RNA. Our lab pioneered the study of vesicle-coupled mRNA transport in infectious hyphae of the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis. This work revealed fundamental principles of intracellular RNA transport that are conserved from fungi to human neurons (Vázquez-Carrada et al., 2026). We are now investigating how fungal mRNAs enter extracellular vesicles and whether they mediate communication with host cells during infection (Sankaranarayanan et al., 2023). The projects combine RNA biology, fungal cell biology, advanced live-cell imaging, membrane trafficking and extracellular-vesicle research. Both doctoral researchers will join the interdisciplinary and international training environment of nEXt-RNA. Learn more apply here.

 

 

Recent Publications

Brittain, K. S., Delfino, L. M., Thiemann, O. H., Cortines, J. R., & Parent, K. N. (2026). The organization and dynamics of viral factories. Journal of virology, e0089226. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00892-26Brittain, K. S., Delfino, L. M., Thiemann, O. H., Cortines, J. R., & Parent, K. N. (2026). The organization and dynamics of viral factories. Journal of virology, e0089226. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00892-26

Heyza, J. R., Mikhova, M., Phillips, C., Mehmood, S., Perez, G. I., Broadbent, D. G., & Schmidt, J. C. (2026). Dynamic chromatin tethering of MDC1 regulates genome stability. Nucleic acids research, 54(17), gkag866. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkag866

Ho, P. M., Nazeer, R. R., Askenasy, I., Quinn, R. A., & Welch, M. (2026). Microbial content versus microbial interaction: the impact of medications on CF airway microbial ecosystems. Journal of cystic fibrosis : official journal of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society, S1569-1993(26)03732-X. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.2026.08.011

Kim, A. B., Linning-Duffy, K., Balbach, M., Lucera, N., Delgado, M., Kummur, N., Toh, H., Caldas, L., & Yan, L. (2026). Daylight, Daily Rhythms, and Downstream Physiology: A Translational Study in Diurnal Nile Grass Rats (Arvicanthis niloticus). Journal of biological rhythms, 7487304261480753. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304261480753

Liu, X., Huang, X., & Wei, G. W. (2026). Topological learning prediction of virus-like particle stoichiometry and stability. Biophysical journal, 125(18), 5027–5036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2025.10.013

Nikolovski, M., Wang, T., Sue, A., MacRenaris, K., Zhao, H., O'Halloran, T. V., & Hu, J. (2026). Functional screening of ZIP8 naturally occurring variants identifies pathogenic mutations and trafficking defects. The Journal of biological chemistry, 113544. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2026.113544

Nunes Alves, A., Amaro, R. E., Choong, Y. S., Cournia, Z., He, X., Isayev, O., Kirchmair, J., Kitchin, J., Naidoo, K. J., Nguyen, D., Palermo, G., Soares, T. A., Wei, G. W., Zhu, T., & Merz, K. M., Jr (2026). Application Notes in JCIM: A Home for Data, Software, and Web-Based Services in Cheminformatics and Molecular Modeling. Journal of chemical information and modeling, 66(17), 10447–10449. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.6c02729

Tauriello, G., Lill, Y., Sgrignani, J., Zoete, V., Singer, B., Vallat, B., Webb, B. M., Garello, T., Bienert, S., Feig, M., Papaleo, E., Burley, S. K., Sali, A., Lill, M. A., Cavalli, A., Dal Peraro, M., & Schwede, T. (2026). ModelCIF Update: Supporting Emerging Classes of Computational Macromolecular Models. Journal of molecular biology, 438(18), 169658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2026.169658

Tutihashi, F. S., Hirota, M., Yamamura, M., Kobayashi, K., Hattori, T., Tobimatsu, Y., Hamberger, B. R., & Umezawa, T. (2026). Pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases and secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenases involved in the specific production of (+)-enantiomer of matairesinol in Daphne genkwa. Plant & cell physiology, 67(8), 1328–1345. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcag054

 

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