MSU MGI

Billy Tsai delivers a seminar to a packed lecture hall. He is standing in front of a screen displaying a slide with pictures on it. The words "endosome, TGN/Golgi, and nucleus" are visible next to drawings.

This week's MGI Seminar was presented by Billy Tsai of the University of Michigan (@umich.edu). He spoke about "How a DNA and an RNA virus hijack the bidirectional secretory pathway to cause infection." Thank you, Dr. Tsai!

billytsailab.org

Maddy Quinlan points at a screen with a laser pointer. She is talking in front of a crowd of people.

Jie Wu points at a screen with a laser pointer. She is talking in front of a crowd of people.

This week's Work in Progress Seminars were presented by Maddy Quinlan of the Crosson Lab and Jie Wu of the Zhang Lab. Great work!

Join us each Monday from noon-1 pm in 1425 BPS to hear our doctoral students present their research.

MGI Professor Jeff Barrick was invested with his Hannah Professorship yesterday. Congratulations, Dr. Barrick!

Read more about him and his research here:
tinyurl.com/2s36k7nd

MGI Professors have some fantastic hobbies. Prof. Chris Adami will be singing at the Wharton Center this weekend!

MGI Prof Chris Waters stands at the front of a classroom and is gesturing as he speaks. There is a riddle on the board behind him that says "Riddle of the day: I have keys but no locks, I have space but no room, You can enter but you can't go outside. What am I?"

MGI Associate Prof Rob Quinn delivers a talk to a crowded lecture hall. Behind him there is a screen that says "Our Research Areas - Lungs, guts, reefs. All mucosal associated microbial communities."

We've had several fantastic seminars recently from our very MGI faculty. Two weeks ago, Prof. Chris Waters (left images) spoke, and yesterday, Assoc. Prof. Rob Quinn presented.

Thank you, both, for your terrific seminars.

Emma Bush stands at a computer behind a lectern and gestures while giving her talk. There is a graph on the screen behind her.

Roksana Riddle holds a microphone while speaking to a crowded lecture hall.

Today's WiPS speakers were Emma Bush of the Zhang Lab and Roksana Riddle of the Contag Lab. Great work!

Please join us every Mon from noon - 1 pm in 1425 BPS to hear our grad students tell us about their current research.

Bassel Abdalla receives his Best Oral Presentation Award from Dr. Gina Leininger of the MSU Physiology Department.

Congratulations to MGI PhD student Bassel Abdalla of the Abramovitch Lab who won the Best Oral Presentation Award at last week's Integrated Pharmacological Sciences Training Program Retreat.

A celebratory poster indicating that Dr. Hernandez-Ortiz successfully defended his doctoral dissertation today.

Congratulations to Dr. Sergio Hernandez-Ortiz, MGI's newest PhD graduate!

This image is the micro biography template. It has a picture of Alex Wessel leaning against a brick pillar and smiling at the camera. Below him in a quote that says, "Broadly speaking, I'm a tool builder. Right now, I'm using one I've developed to screen for genes that direct the expression of phage defense mechanims. Alex Wessel, MGI doctoral student." There is also a QR code with an arrow that has the words "Read More."

Next up in our Micro Biography series is Alex Wessel, an MGI doctoral student in Chris Waters' Lab.

Learn about him & his research right here:
tinyurl.com/4kjth4cj

This image is a screenshot of the Crowdmark Podcast showing the host on the left, a professor laughing in the middle, and Asst. Prof. Phill Delekta speaking on the right. Everyone is laughing and in good spirits.

MGI Asst. Prof. Phillip Delekta was recently featured on the Crowdmark Sessions podcast (Episode #5) discussing the challenges of conducting assessments in large classes.

Check it out here: crowdmark.com/crowdmark-se...

Bobby Zuñiga stands by a computer giving a talk. There is a packed crowd in the room all looking at him. There is a screen behind him with a slide on it showing some graphs. There is text on the picture saying "Today's WIPS Presentations" as well as his name. The MGI picture is on the bottom right.

Danielle Gregory stands by a computer giving a talk. There is a packed crowd in the room all looking at her. There is a screen behind herwith a slide on it showing some graphs. There is text on the picture saying "Today's WIPS Presentations" as well as her name. The MGI picture is on the bottom right.

Today's WiPS presentations were given by Bobby Zuñiga of the Mi Lab and Danielle Gregory of the Manning Lab. Great work!

Join us every Monday @ noon in 1425 BPS to hear our students present their Work in Progress Seminars.

Dr. Sarah Lebeis delivers the keynote address at the First Great Lakes Plant Science Conference. She is standing behind a lectern and several members of the audience are visible. They are paying close attention to her.

Dr. Sue Rhee stands with Mashal Copperman who is holding a certificate for her second place poster presentation win.

What a weekend at the 1st Great Lakes Plant Science Conference! 🪴

MGI Assoc Prof Sarah Lebeis delivered the keynote address, and her doctoral student, Mashal Copperman, earned second place in the poster presentations.

👏Kudos to them both!

#GPLSC2025

A celebratory flyer from MGI with a picture of Megan Korne reading "Congratulations!"

Congratulations to Dr. Megan Korne, MGI's newest PhD graduate!

Michael Wischer stands at the front of a crowded lecture hall delivering a talk. There is text that says his name with an arrow pointing to him and an MGI image that has a spartan helmet with text underneath reading "Today's WiPS presentations."

Kendall Mara stands at the front of a crowded lecture hall delivering a talk. There is text that says her name with an arrow pointing to her and an MGI image that has a spartan helmet with text underneath reading "Today's WiPS presentations."

This week's WiPS presentations were given by Michael Wischer of the Olive Lab and Kendall Mara of the Dodd/Mani Lab. Thank you for the terrific talks!

Join us every Mon @ noon in 1425 BPS to hear our students present their Work in Progress Seminars.

Congratulations! Can't wait to share the wonderful pictures and video we captured of the big event!

Sydney Chen, Sarah Lebeis, and Imani Pascoe stand underneath a banner for the conference they are attending in Germany.

Imani Pascoe stands next to her poster.

Sydney Chen stands next to her poster.

This summer, Sydney Chen and Imani Pascoe, doctoral students in Sarah Lebeis' lab, traveled to Cologne, Germany to present their research at the International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. Representing the Lebeis Lab and MGI with excellence! 🦠🌱

I'm so sorry for your loss, Chris.

Zack Blount stands at a podium in front of a large portrait of Jacques Monod.

Today, Dr. Zack Blount kicked off this semester's Works in Progress Seminar series with a talk about Jacques Monod entitled "The Paragon - Jacques Monod as Scientist, Hero, and Philosopher."

Join us each Mon., 12 - 1 pm in 1425 BPS to hear our grad students discuss their work.

Joel Marty smiles at the camera. He's wearing a beige sweatshirt which reads "Les Plaisirs" over a black collared shirt and there is a blurred tree in the background.

Next up in our MGI Micro Biography series is Joel Marty, a PhD student in Norbert Kaminski's lab.

Read more about Joel's research and path to MGI here: tinyurl.com/2s4j33tu

Dr. Kefei Yu stands at the front of a busy lecture hall giving a talk. He is gesturing as if he's describing something particular. A slide is visible on a screen behind him, and the audience is watching him intently.

On Tuesday, we kicked off our MGI Research Seminar Series with a talk by MGI Professor & Associate Chair Kefei Yu. Thank you for a fantastic talk!

Dr. Kefei Yu stands at the front of a lecture hall giving a talk. You can see a slide up on the project screen behind him. The hall is packed with people and you can see some watching him intently.

Yesterday, we kicked off our MGI Research Seminar Series with a talk by MGI Professor & Associate Chair Kefei Yu. Thank you for a fantastic talk!

Michigan State University MGI Research Seminar flyer featuring Kefei Yu with details on the seminar topic and date.

MGI's Research Seminar series kicks off next week with our very own Dr. Kefei Yu, MGI Professor and Associate Chair.

Join us on Tues, August 26 from noon - 1 PM in 1425 BPS!

Congratulations announcement for Dr. Marcela Tabares from the Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology department at Michigan State University. Transcribed Text: Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Congratulations!!! Dr. Marcela Tabares Dr. Tabares successfully defended her doctoral dissertation entitled “Ecophysiology and Applications of Nitrogen Cycling Communities.”

Congratulations to Dr. Marcela Tabares, MGI's newest PhD graduate!

Thank you, Rich! I'm not sure why that happened. Appreciate it.

One of the participants of this year's Molecular Mycology Workshop sits and looks into a microscope. She is wearing a lab coat that reads "michigan state university" on the sleeve with the spartan helmet logo.

This summer, MGI hosted 21 Brazilian doctors for a weeklong Molecular Mycology Workshop. The event marked the continuation of a decades-long collaboration between MSU and the ISMD, a medical training and diagnostics institute based in Brazil.

🔗https://tinyurl.com/4r6z9dms

Jeff Barrick smiles at the camera. He is wearing a dark blue suit and blue patterened tie. He has short brown hair.

MGI is thrilled to welcome back Jeff Barrick as a Hannah Distinguished Professor. His arrival is not only a personal homecoming, but also the return of one of the most influential experiments in evolutionary biology: the Long-Term Evolution Experiment. #LTEE

🔗https://tinyurl.com/2s36k7nd

The image features a person with long brown hair and glasses smiling in an outdoor setting. They are wearing a green and black checkered jacket. The background is blurred, with greenery and bright flowers suggesting a garden. At the bottom is a dark green section with white text and a large quotation mark, next to which is a QR code. Text at the bottom reads: "With the targets that I am identifying, I know that we can create more sustainable drug targets that can shorten tuberculosis treatment." Heather Murdoch, MGI doctoral student.

Next up in our MGI Micro Biography series is Heather Murdoch, a doctoral student in Rob Abramovitch's (@abramovitch.bsky.social) lab.

Read more about Heather and her research here: tinyurl.com/32t8rddn

Congratulatory announcement for Dr. Thomas Kim from the Michigan State University department of microbiology, genetics, & immunology with his portrait.

Congratulations to Dr. Tom Kim, MGI's newest PhD graduate!

Poster for MGI Research Seminar at Michigan State University featuring Dr. Amit Meir from the University of Glasgow on herpesvirus evolution.

Dr. Amit Meir (@amitmhbh.bsky.social) is coming from the @uofglasgow.bsky.social to give an MGI Research Seminar on Mon., Aug. 4th. She'll be talking about "A fish (virus) out of clade: structural insights into herpesvirus evolution."

Join us! 11 am - noon, 1425 BPS.

12 tiny worlds by Unexplainable If you went back 500 million years and re-ran evolution, would life be totally different today?

If you went back 500 million years and re-ran evolution, would life be totally different today?

MGI's Rich Lenski (@relenski.bsky.social) and Zack Blount (@zdblount.bsky.social) weigh in via this @vox.com podcast 12 tiny worlds:

megaphone.link/VMP6403302711