BMB Weekly #36: October 9, 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.

 

 

 

Yang Yang from Van Andel Institute will be presenting the lecture titled “Cryo-EM structures of amyloids: Insights into aggregation, progression, and pathogenesis in neurodegenerative diseases".

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.

 

The next PRI Networking Hour seminar is on October 15 at 1:00 p.m. and will feature the third cohort of PRI Seed Grant recipients presenting the final project outcomes of their innovative, trainee-led research in plant resilience!

Sometimes, the best breakthroughs start with a wrong turn! Join us for our fall community storytelling event, "The Best Mistake I Ever Made," as colleagues and students share inspiring stories of unexpected discovery, resilience, and growth. Whether you come to listen or share, all are welcome. Learn more and register here.

The Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) symposium committee is hosting our annual symposium as part of the Corteva Plant Sciences Symposia Series! The theme of this year's symposium is Reproductive Biology, and it will be held on December 16th. Our symposium will feature Dr. Peggy Ozias-Akins, Dr. Sarah Carey, Dr. Pat Bedinger, and Dr. Sreekala Chellamma as guest speakers. Along with other speakers, and various events! Learn more here.

Submit your abstract now to present at the 19th annual COGS Graduate Academic Conference. Presentation categories: Poster presentation, Oral presentation, and the 3-Minute Thesis Competition. Deadline for abstracts is January 15th. Visit cogs.msu.edu/gac/ for details regarding the abstract submission process.

 

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.

 

Spartan Leaders Civic Dinners bring together students, faculty, staff, University leaders, and community partners for meaningful conversations focused on leadership, civic engagement, democracy, belonging, active listening, and creating positive change. Graduate & professional students can get involved too! Hosted in partnership with the Center for Community Engaged Learning and MSUvote, this series is designed to move students from voter education to civic leadership through dialogue, connection, community building, and reflection. Learn more and RSVP here.

Get a free flu shot from 1 to 4 p.m. on October 14 in the Multicultural Center from University Health and Well-being’s Campus Health Services. Can’t make it on the 14th? Schedule an appointment with a Campus Health Services nurse for a free flu shot by calling 517-353-4660.

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.

 

Postdoctoral scholars are sought to carry out computational research on biophysical questions in the Feig lab. Research topics will focus on biomolecular condensates, crowded cellular environments, and, more generally, exploration of the sequence-structure-dynamics-function relationships of biomolecules in cellular environments. Research will involve a range of computational techniques, including classical molecular simulations at different levels of resolution and the development and application of neural network models, including generative modeling approaches. Learn more and apply 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.

 

 

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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