News

Using molecular dynamics, researchers from the Kramer and Vermaas labs showed how electrons move through a crystal, jumping from heme to heme. The researchers found that the rate at which the electrons jump from one heme to another highly depended on the temperature of the crystal.

Liana Acevedo-Siaca came to Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, or MSU DOE-PRL in October 2022 as a postdoctoral researcher in David Kramer’s lab. She is now preparing to move across the Atlantic to the Netherlands to start as an Assistant Professor in the Horticulture and Product Physiology Group at Wageningen University in April 2024.

Donghee Hoh, a postdoctoral researcher of the Kramer Lab, was awarded the 2023 American Society of Plant Biologists, or ASPB, Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award. The award paid for travel to the ASPB conference held this August in Savannah, Georgia. Women members of ASPB who are early in their career are eligible for this award.

Postdoctoral researcher from the Kramer lab, Liana Acevedo-Siaca, discusses her career thus far and her research interests in a conversation with the Society of Experimental Biology.

For research, plants are frequently grown under stable lighting, which does not reflect natural conditions. In a series of experiments with changing light conditions, simulating the natural interplay of light and shadow, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm and the College of Natural Science at MSU reveal the importance of two key proteins for the dynamic control of photosynthesis.

Donghee Hoh is the 2022 recipient of the Kende Award, which acknowledges the best doctoral dissertation in plant sciences at Michigan State University over the last two years.

Abhijnan Chattopadhyay, former graduate student in David Kramer’s lab, is headed to the National Institute of Health (NIH) at North Carolina Research Triangle Park for his postdoctoral fellowship.

IMPACTS - Integrated training Model in Plant And Compu-Tational Sciences – is a program funded by the National Science Foundation designed to train doctoral students in advanced computational/data science approaches that can be applied to the field of plant biology. The program provides mentorship and funding to the students selected.

Spartans in the Kramer lab discover how a plant biochemical could lead to novel approaches for growing crops that are more resilient to fluctuating temperatures.

A structure that helps algae photosynthesize when carbon dioxide levels are low may also play a role during hyperoxia conditions.

A new study from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) shows how some algae can protect themselves when the oxygen they produce impairs their photosynthetic activity. The discovery also answers a long-standing question about how algae survive when CO2 levels are low.

Using innovative methodologies that combine biology and statistics, researchers from the Kramer lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) observe the ways plants respond to their natural environments.

The grant award supports Asian and Pacific universities in their efforts to establish partnerships with renowned foreign universities. Scientists from MSU and Rajarata University will conduct joint activities in the area of smart agriculture, ranging from fundamental genomics and chemistry, to student training and curriculum-based activities.

The work explores how electrons can move across long distances within biomaterials, such as proteins. Understanding the factors that control electron transfer in a biological context is critical to advances in diverse fields, including bioenergy, biosynthesis and disease.

Tomomi will be working for Charles River Labs, located in Mattawan, while Eric will be with Physicians Toxicology in Kalamazoo.