BMB Weekly #35: October 5, 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.

 

 

 

Richa Sardana from Cornell University will be presenting the lecture titled “Uncovering mechanisms of protein localization and quality control.”

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.

 

Spartans are known for their global impact, each forging a unique path of accomplishments. Yet no matter where life takes them, one thing remains the same — MSU is always home. Each year, Homecoming brings Spartans together to celebrate this unbreakable bond. Explore Homecoming details here, including parade information, the Grand Marshal, Homecoming Court, Glow Green initiative and student events. 

Network with your peers across disciplines! Come hang out with COGS and enjoy some morning treats. We hold this event approx twice monthly and alternate between various locations on campus and off campus. On Oct. 6th, we'll have our friends from Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) on hand to talk about the various services and programming offered at MSU. Hope to see you there!

Please join us for a Special Seminar offered by Dr. Juliana Cortines next Tuesday, October 6 in Biochemistry room 208 beginning at 12pm.

Dr. Cortines is currently an Associate Professor at the Paulo de Góes Institute of Microbiology (IMPG-UFRJ) and a Research Assistant Professor/Fulbright Alumna at the University of Connecticut (UConn). Her research program is dedicated to elucidating the biology and replication mechanisms of giant viruses, such as Mimivirus and Tupanvirus, which challenge the classical dogmas of virology due to their size and genomic complexity. The group’s primary focus is to investigate virus–host interactions and the molecular basis of viral replication.

Attend this seminar via Zoom. Passcode: cortines

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.

Do you have questions regarding formatting your thesis or dissertation? Stop in during one of our help sessions to talk to Graduate School staff about any specific formatting questions you may have. These are walk-in sessions. No registration is required.

Please join us for a coworking session in Chittenden Hall! Coworking means we each get to focus on our own work while getting the benefit and accountability of working alongside others. We will start with a brief time of 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. We will meet in Chittenden Hall Room 110, the large conference room on the first floor. Learn more and register 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.

The Dr. Karen Klomparens Fellowship is for doctoral candidates in any discipline. Recipients will receive a one-time fellowship award in the Spring semester. The number of awards made in a given year and the amount of the awards will be based upon available expendable amounts in that year. Learn more and apply here.

 

MSU's Dept. of Prevention Outreach & Education (POE) offers graduate & professional student-centered workshops that cover a wide variety of topics related to preventing and responding to harassment and discrimination during work and research. Learn more and register here.

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 be co-mentored by Michigan State University PI's Alex Dickson (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Computational Math, Science and Engineering CMSE), Samik Bose (CMSE) and Andrea Gonzales (Pharmacology and Toxicology) to develop scalable, reproducible free energy workflows that enable easy collaboration between computational and experimental researchers in drug discovery.  The scholar will implement and apply existing models for small molecule generation, discovery and property prediction, and/or develop novel approaches as necessary. Learn more and apply here.

A postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Kristin N. Parent at Michigan State University. The Parent lab’s research focuses on a correlated approach to deciphering the processes of virus assembly and infection via a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, structural biology, and experimental evolution studies. The main project of the laboratory involves understanding host-recognition mechanisms in dsDNA-containing bacteriophage.

Applications will be considered from highly motivated individuals with a Ph.D. degree in the Natural Sciences. Preference will be given to applicants with demonstrated expertise in the following: structural biology methods (e.g. cryo-electron microscopy), molecular biology expertise, bacterial genetics or virus-related research, general knowledge of biochemistry techniques (including but not limited to gel electrophoresis, sterile techniques, plating protocols, and general microbiology). Applicants with mammalian cell culture experience are also encouraged to apply. Learn more and apply 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.

 

 

Recent Publications

Boismier, E. C., Felczak, M. M., Myers, K. S., & TerAvest, M. A. (2026). OxyR regulates the oxidative stress response in Zymomonas mobilis during oxic growth and anoxic biofuel fermentation. Applied and environmental microbiology, 92(9), e0104426. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01044-26Boismier, E. C., Felczak, M. M., Myers, K. S., & TerAvest, M. A. (2026). OxyR regulates the oxidative stress response in Zymomonas mobilis during oxic growth and anoxic biofuel fermentation. Applied and environmental microbiology, 92(9), e0104426. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01044-26

Haque, A. M., Takahashi, H., & Rouached, H. (2026). Sulfur in dialogue with phosphorus, nitrogen, and iron: regulatory networks in plant nutrient homeostasis. Journal of experimental botany, 77(18), 6048–6061. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erag119

Keller, J. M., Dinc, F., Kaiser, E., Zupok, A., Morris, B. A., von Bismarck, T., Correa Galvis, V., Thiele, W., Kramer, D. M., Jahns, P., Schöttler, M. A., & Armbruster, U. (2026). Two proteins co-expressed with photosynthetic regulators affect photosynthetic dynamics linked to changes in thylakoid pigment content and composition. Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany), 28(6), 1796–1812. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.70266

Kopriva, S., Takahashi, H., & Wirtz, M. (2026). Sulfur signaling: from molecules to physiological responses. Journal of experimental botany, 77(18), 5991–5995. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erag380

Santos-Merino, M., Retnadhas, S., Lechno-Yossef, S., Dwyer, M. E., Aubele-Gonzalez, M., & Ducat, D. C. (2026). A novel class of conserved sucrose-phosphate phosphatases highlights the diversity of cyanobacterial sucrose metabolism. Bioresource technology, 464(Pt B), 135928. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2026.135928

Zhang, Y., Wang, T., Zhao, H., & Hu, J. (2026). Symmetry analysis and ancestral sequence reconstruction reveal a symmetrical translocation pathway and activity determinants of ZIP metal transporters. Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society, 35(10), e70802. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.70802

 

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