News

The Benning and Farre labs have released a new genetic engineering toolkit for the algal species Nannochloropsis oceanica. It is of interest for the production of biofuels and other oil-based chemicals.

Maria Agustina Dominguez Martin, a postdoctoral researcher for the College of Natural Science in the laboratory of Cheryl Kerfeld, is the recipient of a prestigious Marie Curie Global Fellowship. 

Aiko Turmo is a graduate student in the lab of MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory scientist Cheryl Kerfeld and is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

The award was part of MSU Innovation Celebration, a showcase of Spartan technologies and startups that also honors researchers and students who have reported an invention, licensed a technology, or were awarded patents during the academic year.

The project, including MPS faculty member Ning Jiang, continues through March 2022 and will investigate different species of economically important grasses. 

Michigan State University is a national leader among universities in the number of endowed faculty positions held by women. Of the 131 endowed positions currently occupied across campus, 24.4 percent are held by women. Nine of those are in the College of Natural Science—four donor-funded positions and five MSU Foundation Professors.

Scientists have found a link between how water-dwelling bacteria, called cyanobacteria, monitor light quality in their surroundings and how much energy they get out of photosynthesis.

The project, led by Erich Grotewold, will use the funding from the National Science Foundation grant to increase corn productivity by better understanding how gene expression is controlled.
Image courtesy of MSU