MSU MGI

@msumgi.bsky.social

The official Bluesky account of the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology of Michigan State University.

Five students participated in this year's Summer Research Opportunity Program, also known as SROP. They worked in labs, conducted research, and then ended the summer by giving presentations and posters. Thank you to our MGI mentors for making it possible!

MGI grad student Kendall Mara recently attended the 26th Biennial Congress of the International Organization for Mycoplasmology in Krakow, Poland, where she presented research from her thesis & work from MSU's VDL. Congrats on representing MGI on the international stage!

MGI grad student Kendall Mara stands next to the sign with the name of the IOM 2026 Krakow conference and the supporters. She is pointing up the sign and smiling. 
MGI grad student Kendall Mara stands next to her research poster. She is smiling and wearing the name tag from the conference.

New research led by MGI Asst. Prof. Yu Zhang shows how immune cells create millions of antibodies from one genome: DNA loops bring distant gene segments together. The study reveals how two proteins shape this process and may shed light on diseases like leukemia & lymphoma.

MGI Assistant Professor Yu Zhang sits for a formal photo. She is smiling at the camera.

MGI Prof & Assoc Chair Kefei Yu collaborated with Jens Schmidt and Mariia Mikhova on a new paper out in Molecular Cell today. The work examines how immune cells control which antibody type they express to fight infectious diseases. Learn more below & read the news article here: tinyurl.com/5n75znjz

MSU researchers detail molecular mechanisms driving adaptive immune response | College Of Human Medicine

MSU researchers developed a tool to observe complex molecular choreography in real time. Their work is shedding light on one of the enduring mysteries of the process: how a key protein locates the cor...

tinyurl.com

Jens Schmidt@jenscs83.bsky.social · last mo.

Out today in Molecular Cell! Lead by Mariia Mikhova and in collaboration with Kefei Yu’s lab @msumgi.bsky.social we dug into the molecular mechanism of class switch recombination in B cells using simultaneous RNA and protein single-molecule imaging. 1/n www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

MGI's Dr. Ned Walker did an interview with the morning news yesterday about this summer's mosquito outlook. Thank you for sharing your expertise with the community!

A screenshot from a video interview that Dr. Ned Walker did with News 10. The title reads "Mosquito populations remain low in Mid-Michigan, but precautions still encouraged." Below that is a video still of Dr. Walker in his office, and there is a banner across the screen reading "Health Alert, Edward Walker, Michigan State University Entomology."

Former MSU president Teresa Woodruff has launched a new website and podcast focused on reproductive science and human health. We love to see members of the MSU community continuing to make science accessible and engaging for broader audiences. Check it out at repro101.com.

A copy of a linkedin post by Teresa Woodruff saying, " I am delighted to share the launch of Repro101.com, a new home for accessible, science-based conversations about reproductive health, featuring learning tools from my lab. 
 
I am also excited to announce something I never expected to do - I've started a podcast!  
 
The podcast covers much of the work that has been done in my lab, and we’re starting with a season of episodes covering puberty. This first season, Parenting Through the Change, is for anyone looking to learn more about the biology of puberty and better communicate with kids between ages 5 and 15 on the topic. 
 
The podcast is hosted on all major streaming platforms and at Repro101.com.
 
I hope you will give a listen and share it with anyone who might find it useful. If you find it valuable, please leave a comment, like/reaction, subscribe and share it with your networks. You can also find me and the podcast on Instagram and Substack (both @teresakwoodruff) and on Facebook at Teresa K Woodruff and Repro101."

Congratulations to Dohun Pyeon, PhD @dpyeon.bsky.social, on being named an MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor! Pyeon recently led a team that discovered how HPV-positive tumors evade the immune system, a breakthrough that could help advance more effective cancer treatments.

A picture of Dohun Pyeon smiling with text over top reading "Dohun Pyeon named MSU Research Foundation Professor."

Congratulations to MGI graduate student Danielle Gregory of the Manning/Dodd Lab for receiving the Sustainable Development Goals Poster Award at the ASM Microbe conference this past week! Great work!

Danielle Gregory stands next to her scientific poster holding her award certificate. She is smiling.

MGI graduate student Soledad Soverina has been awarded the prestigious Barnett Rosenberg Endowed Research Assistantship! Her research focuses on immune responses in the lungs to M. abscessus, a bacterium that can cause serious respiratory infections. Read more: tinyurl.com/4mxc5d4j

Soledad Soverina smiles at the camera. She is standing in a garden.

Congratulations to MGI grad student Emma Bush, a recipient of the inaugural @msunatsci.bsky.social SMART Fellowship! Emma uses next-gen sequencing to explore how chromatin structure shapes antibody gene recombination in B cells—work that is essential to understanding adaptive immunity.

Emma Bush smiles at the camera. She is standing outdoors.

Three graduate students working in MGI labs have been awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowships which will provide three years of support to these outstanding young researchers. Read more about Elena Renshaw, Alice Walker, and Bryce Waller: tinyurl.com/4v5cc5fs

This is a dark green poster with pictures of the three NSF GRFP awardees in frames that look like polaroid images.

Grace Semaan, an MGI graduate student working in Dr. Jim Moran's lab, has won the Alpha Lambda Delta Maria Leonard Graduate Fellowship. This $7000 award will support her graduate studies & professional development.

Grace Semaan works smiles at the camera. She is in a lab and is holding samples and wearing a lab coat.

Congratulations to two members of the Olive Lab on winning major awards at the MSUCOM Research Day Conference. Mahima Thapa won 2nd place oral presentation, and Michael Wischer won 2nd place poster presentation out of 182 presentations at the conference!

Mahima Thapa stands with members of the MSU COM faculty as she receives her award for her oral presentation. 
Michael Wischer and Brian Schutte shake hands as Michael accepts his award for his poster presentation.

A new 'Microbial Profile' from from the Quinn Lab explores D. trenchii, algae with powerful, heat-resistant properties that are key to understanding how coral reefs adapt to warming waters. 🪸 🐠

An illustrated image showing the corals with the symbiotic algae in three different temperatures.

Last week, we came together to celebrate the remarkable career of Dr. Bob Hausinger at his Valedictory Seminar and reception. It was a pleasure to welcome former lab members and colleagues from across the decades to honor his lasting impact on the field of Metalloenzymology.

Dr. Scott Mulrooney emcees the event. Behind him on the screen is the seminar flyer. Dr. Hausinger is sitting in the front row, and the back of his head is visible. 
Dr. Deb Hogan, one of Dr. Hausinger's trainees, speaks before his seminar. 
Dr. Bob Hausinger delivers his seminar to a packed auditorium. 
Dr. Bob Hausinger stands with former lab members after delivering his seminar.

Congratulations are in order! Jared Godfrey was recently awarded a 3-year Kirschstein fellowship from the NIH. His research focuses on understanding how the immune system balances protection and inflammation in the lungs. Read more here: tinyurl.com/5yp7kxst

Jared Godfrey smiles at the camera. He's in a lab and is wearing his lab coat.

MGI Asst Prof Elizabeth Heath-Heckman has won TWO Scialog awards from the RCSA. Her projects are entitled "Conserved Epitranscriptomic Signatures of Stress" and "Identifying Mechanisms of Social Resiliency to Heat Stress." Congratulations!

Research Corporation for Science Advancement@rescorp.org · 3mo ago

15 researchers from the United States and Canada have won awards in the second year of Scialog: Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, cosponsored with @allenphilanthro.bsky.social, the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation, and @kavlifoundation.org.

MGI Asst Prof Phillip Delekta spoke about the impact of prerequisite knowledge retention on success in Introductory Microbiology at last week's MSU Spring TALKS event. This is a topic he is studying in collaboration with Katie Krueger of the Biological Science Program.