News

Working with tiny bacteria, MSU researchers led by Lee Kroos have made a discovery that could have big implications for biology. The scientists revealed a new way that nature can inhibit or switch off important proteins known as intramembrane proteases, which the team reported April 26 in the journal eLife. The finding could help fight recalcitrant bacteria and lead to new treatment candidates for Alzheimer’s disease.

Nearly 100 individuals attended the Michigan State University College of Natural Science annual awards program on April 22 to acknowledge alumni, faculty and students for outstanding achievements and excellence. The event was held at MSU’s Wharton Center in the Jackson and Christman Lounges.

Wildlife policy and management decisions often rely on estimates of animal abundance, so inaccurate counts can have negative consequences. Aerial surveys are an efficient survey platform; however, they can yield unreliable data if not carefully executed. Despite a long history of aerial survey use in ecological research, problems common to aerial surveys have not yet been adequately resolved. MSU Ph.D. student Kayla Davis and integrative biologist Elise Zipkin recently published a paper in the journal Ecology and Evolution that outlines the three-pronged approach their team used to tackle the problem.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $399,865 Campus Cyberinfrastructure Planning Grant to Michigan State University to create the MSU Data Machine—an accessible supercomputer optimized for such data-intensive research as machine learning and artificial intelligence applications. Several MSU College of Natural Science faculty members—Brian O’Shea, Matthew Schrenk and Phoebe Zarnetske—are playing key roles in the project, dubbed the MSU Data Machine.

Twenty-eight (28) Michigan State University College of Natural Science graduating seniors were among 179 students who received an MSU Board of Trustees Award for earning a 4.0 GPA — the highest scholastic average — at the close of their last semester before graduation. In addition to being recognized by the Board of Trustees, students also will be acknowledged during their individual commencement ceremonies in May and will receive $1,000 from the university for their accomplishments. 

Thirty-one (31) MSU College of Natural Science (NatSci) undergraduate students were among those receiving first-place honors for their 2022 University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) entries. This year’s event—UURAF’s 24th—took place on April 8 at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center and online at Symposium by ForagerOne. More than 750 students from 14 colleges/academic units participated in the event, including 197 NatSci students.

The MSU College of Natural Science (NatSci) has completed a new strategic plan that articulates a shared vision and direction for the college. The five-year plan (2022-2026) is a co-created consensus document that will serve as a framework for the college’s key priorities, including academic excellence and student success, research to advance society’s health and well-being, building strong partnerships and collaborations to broaden and strengthen our efforts, and creating a safe, equitable and inclusive environment for all.

María Santos Merino, postdoctoral researcher from the Ducat lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, is the first to be awarded the Clarence Suelter Endowed Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from the MSU Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB). This fellowship, new to BMB in 2022, recognizes outstanding accomplishments and aims to encourage career development. María plans to use the monetary award to visit the University of Turku in Finland to learn a new technique, Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry.