News

Michigan State University researchers Piotr Piecuch and Guowei Wei were formally recognized as outstanding faculty at an investiture event held by the College of Natural Science.

Michigan State University senior Dorothy Zhao is the institution’s 20th Marshall Scholar. The Marshall Scholarship provides support for outstanding undergraduates in the United States to study any academic subject at universities of their choice in the United Kingdom for up to three years. 

Michigan State University researchers have shown that relationships and social interactions between hyenas influence when they “mob” lions.

Thirty outstanding MSU College of Natural Science faculty, staff and students were recognized for their achievements at the NatSci Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony.

By working with artisanal and small-scale gold miners and local experts, researchers at Michigan State University are helping reduce mercury emissions and reduce their health impacts.

Researchers led by Brian Gulbransen at Michigan State University have uncovered a reason that may explain why visceral pain is so common in conditions like irritable bowel syndrome. This understanding could inspire new and better ways to alleviate that pain.

Gregg Howe and James Tiedje were included in this year’s annual list of Highly Cited Researchers, showing they are among the world’s most influential scientists.

Researchers from Michigan State University have shed light on the biological puzzle of how plants launch immune responses. Reporting in Nature Communications, the team revealed one protein that plays a key role in mobilizing a plant’s antimicrobial defenses.

As Dave Dvorak steps down from the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Director’s Advisory Board, his legacy of dedication, generosity, and passion for conservation illustrates the power and impact of individual commitment.

MSU researcher Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi has been selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow of that National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicines as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria. These appointments recognize and elevate Ogunwobi’s groundbreaking work on the molecular mechanisms of progression of solid organ tumors and the understudied impact of cancer health disparities. The image depicts cells in a culture illuminated by a microscope.

Fundamental research could make growing better crops like clockwork.

Researchers led by Tuo Wang, the inaugural Carl H. Brubaker Jr. Endowed Associate Professor at Michigan State University, have revealed how microorganisms known as halophilic fungi restructure their cell walls to survive in extremely salty conditions. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, helps deepen our understanding of how life has adapted to our planet’s harshest environments.

Michigan State University is proud to announce its national  finalists for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship. Organizers will announce the results of these competitions in the coming weeks. Dorothy Zhao is a finalist for both the Marshall Scholarship and the U.S. Rhodes Scholarship. Ashley Harlock is a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship.

In April 2021, four Michigan State University plant scientists met at an undisclosed area on campus to dig up a bottle containing seeds buried more than 144 years ago by MSU botanist William J. Beal. Fast forward to 2023, to a discovery that would have surprised and amazed Beal.

New research from Michigan State University could help breed plants that are more productive as days grow shorter.

Integrative biologist Elise Zipkin and her team at Michigan State University have developed a framework that can help scientists understand trends in biodiversity by using data from well-characterized species to provide insights on data-deficient species. They’re using information from well-quantified animals to reveal insights about less common, harder-to-observe species. Now, they’re sharing their methods with the wider research and conservation community in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

The movement of electrons across wires is what allows us to use electricity every day. Biological nanowires—microscopic wires made of proteins—have caught researchers’ attention for their ability to carry electrons over long distances. In a recent study published in the journal Small by the Josh Vermaas lab in the Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, researchers expand our understanding of biological nanowires through the use of computer simulations. Understanding how these nanowires can be constructed to allow for more electron flow is crucial to future endeavors using them to connect biological processes to conventional electronics.

Michigan State University's Enhanced Digital Learning Initiative (EDLI) has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for its project: Improving Learning Outcomes and Equity in Blended Online and Face-to-Face Learning. Project leads Caitlin Kirby, EDLI’s Associate Director of Research, and Casey Henley, assistant professor and Director of Online Programs for the MSU Neuroscience Program, in collaboration with EDLI’s co-director, Stephen Thomas, will head the three-year, $400K project.

Michigan State University biochemist Eric Hegg has shown promising results for a more environmentally friendly and more efficient process for creating pulp and paper. Now, the MSU Innovation Center has chosen his project for a Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Award to move this research forward. The $125,000 award will help fund his research project, “Adapting a Novel, Patented Process to Deconstruct Woody Biomasses to Add Value to Pulp Production.”

Michigan State University professors Bjoern Hamberger and Ben Orlando were honored as James K. Billman Jr., M.D. Endowed Professors at an investiture ceremony held Oct. 12. The Billman Professorships were established by MSU alumnus Dr. James Billman to support exceptional researchers in the College of Natural Science’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Professor Hamberger is a leading expert on plant-derived bioactive diterpenoids, while Professor Orlando utilizes cryo-EM to examine the structure, dynamics, and function of membrane protein complexes.

Two Michigan State University College of Natural Science (NatSci) microbiologists, Shannon Manning and Gemma Reguera, are 2024 recipients of prestigious awards from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Manning, an MSU Research Foundation Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG), was awarded the Alice C. Evans Award for Advancement of Women. Reguera, MMG professor and NatSci associate dean of faculty development and affairs, received the D.C. White Award for Interdisciplinary Research. The awards are given annually to nominees who have contributed significantly to advancing their careers, institutions and the study of microbiology.

Four undergraduate seniors in the Michigan State University College of Natural Science (NatSci) have been nominated for the Marshall Scholarship, a competitive opportunity that funds graduate school in the United Kingdom (UK). Kyleen Hall, Brennan Haugen, Isaac Smith, and Dorothy Zhao are among 10 MSU Honors College students and two alumni nominated this year. Annually, up to 50 students in the United States receive Marshall Scholarships to pursue graduate studies in the UK. Haugen was also nominated for the Mitchell Scholarship, which allows students to pursue a year of graduate study in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Michigan State University chemist Tuo Wang, an associate professor in MSU’s College of Natural Science was honored as the inaugural Carl H. Brubaker, Jr. Endowed Professor at an investiture ceremony held Sept. 28 at MSU’s Wharton Center. Wang is a preeminent researcher in the application of sensitivity-enhanced solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance to biomaterials. The endowed professorship was established in 2020 by James Hoeschele, an MSU chemistry alumnus, in honor of his graduate mentor, Carl H. Brubaker.

Michigan State University plant biochemist Tom Sharkey and his team discovered that, on a warming planet, plants such as oaks and poplars will emit more of a compound that exacerbates poor air quality, contributing to problematic particulate matter and low-atmosphere ozone. The rub is that the same compound, called isoprene, can also improve the quality of clean air while making plants more resistant to stressors including insects and high temperatures. The findings were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

During a recent review of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recovery plans for more than 200 endangered and threatened vertebrate species in the United States, Michigan State University researchers made an interesting discovery. They found that two-thirds of these species could benefit from a gene-boosting diversity strategy known as genetic rescue, yet only three of these plans to support species recovery currently use this approach. In a study recently published in the Journal of Heredity, MSU integrative biologist Sarah Fitzpatrick and postdoctoral researcher Cinnamon Mittan-Moreau found that more than two-thirds of the 222 species they evaluated would be good candidates for consideration of genetic rescue.

The Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE) at Michigan State University is an interdisciplinary living-learning program with a focus on sustainability and environmental studies that provides students with the skills and knowledge to become the next generation of leaders for a sustainable future. RISE students engage in undergraduate research, campus change projects and co-curricular initiatives in which they can explore their interests within a supportive community of students, faculty and staff with shared values.

Michigan State University Professors Danny Caballero and Aman Yadav were each honored as Lappan-Phillips Endowed Professors at an investiture ceremony held Sept. 28 in the Jackson Lounge at MSU’s Wharton Center. The Lappan-Phillips Professorship was established in 2013 through royalties from the ‘Connected Mathematics 2’ textbook authored by Michigan State University’s Glenda Lappan and Elizabeth Phillips. The textbook, now in its fourth iteration, is the single most widely used mathematics textbook in America for students in grades 6-8.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause more than five percent all human cancers worldwide, yet for many, current treatments are ineffective. Dohun Pyeon, an MSU professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in the College of Natural Science, has received a 2023 Strategic Partnership Grant; the MSU Research Foundation is funding his work on the development of a new immunotherapy for HPV-associated cancers. As one of just three recipients for 2023, Pyeon will receive $480,000 over three years to help his lab reach its long-term goal of developing an inexpensive immunotherapy.

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, at Michigan State University is home to a world-unique particle accelerator designed to push the boundaries of our understanding of nature. Now, FRIB is accelerating that work with a form of artificial intelligence known as machine learning with support from the Office of Nuclear Physics and the Office of High Energy Physics at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. FRIB scientists have received several grants that aim to bring machine learning’s power to process immense data sets to bear in experiments, theoretical studies and the science and engineering that keeps the accelerator humming.

Michigan State University Research Foundation Professor James K. McCusker is the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Josef Michl American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Photochemistry. This honor recognizes outstanding experimental and theoretical research in the fields of photochemistry and photophysics as applied to organic, inorganic or biological molecules or solids. McCusker will receive a certificate and a prize of $5,000, which will be presented at the ACS Spring 2024 meeting in New Orleans.

Advancements that could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for diabetic retinopathy, a common complication that affects the eyes, have been identified by a multi-department research team from Michigan State and other universities. Their findings were recently published in Diabetologia, the official journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. 

The stars aligned when Shannon Schmoll was elected to be the next president of the International Planetarium Society (IPS). Schmoll, director of Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium and an instructor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Natural Science, has been a leader in the planetarium community for many years. She will serve a six-year term beginning this year—two years each as president-elect, president and past president.

Working with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State University researchers have shown that antibiotic resistance genes are prevalent in the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni, a leading cause of foodborne illness.The team found that more than half of the C. jejuni, isolated from patients in Michigan, are genetically protected against at least one antibiotic used to fight bacterial infections. Their report, recently published in the journal Microbial Genomics, provides valuable technical insights to epidemiologists, health care workers and other specialists.

Michigan State University plant biologists have made a discovery that could help turn a natural kill switch in plant cells into a “life switch” that helps crops better survive the challenges presented by climate change. At its core, though, this is a fundamental finding, shared in the journal Nature Plants, that has implications across biology for how organisms respond to stress linked to overproduction of proteins by the cell.