News

Encouraging kids to be future scientists is an outreach effort Heather Roney takes seriously. As an early-career scientist, she has looked for opportunities for outreach and ways to widely communicate the research within her field.
March 30, 2022
Starla Zemelis-Durfee, research assistant/supervisor from the Brandizzi lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), has accepted a new position as a sales representative for Thermo Fisher Scientific.
March 24, 2022![Tom Sharkey: A 'pilot light' for photosynthesis [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/03D62199-DA49-40A6-B82E0466FF97AC5D_newslisting.png)
Spartan researchers reveal processes that keep a plant’s energy balance in check during changing conditions, which could lead to more efficient crops.
March 8, 2022
A new study from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) brings fresh insight on the source/sink balance of cyanobacteria and paves the way for further advancements in photosynthetic microbes for potential applications.
March 2, 2022
University Distinguished Professor Thomas D. Sharkey was named a Pioneer Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), a recognition given to leaders in the society, especially those who have been involved in training graduate students, postdocs and visiting professors.
February 28, 2022![MSU's Beronda Montgomery named an ASBMB Fellow [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/3A1FEF4A-3FD4-445C-AEB257ACAAC735C3_newslisting.jpg)
Michigan State University’s Beronda Montgomery is the recipient of a 2022 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Fellow Award.
February 25, 2022![Gregg Howe: Spartan research addresses 5 big climate change questions [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/76C80C41-CF45-448F-ACC64C6FFB919B27_newslisting.png)
As the planet experiences the effects of climate change, questions arise about the future of our planet and daily life in general. Many of the major challenges related to a changing climate and their impact on society have Michigan State University Spartans working on solutions.
February 23, 2022
Researchers from the Benning lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory have been looking into the signals for activating different states of the cell cycle in microalga, which has potential applications for future biofuel production and cancer research.
February 17, 2022
Christoph Benning, director of the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL), was elected a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He is among 83 academic inventors to be elected to the group in 2022.
February 11, 2022
Sean Weise, research assistant professor in the Sharkey lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL), is moving to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to build and teach a new undergraduate class.
February 3, 2022![Making plants more productive [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/33C7F169-9DA4-45CD-B502D10AE7489370_newslisting.png)
It’s estimated that by 2050, the global population could reach 9 billion. With limited natural resources, feeding, clothing and providing materials to support that many people will be challenging. In Federica Brandizzi’s lab at Michigan State University, she and her colleagues are finding ways to make plants part of the solution.
January 26, 2022
James Santiago, postdoc in the Sharkey lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) has accepted a new position as a R&D plant physiologist at Soli Organic, a culinary herb company based in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
January 24, 2022
MSU scientists have developed a new gene discovery method that is helping them to understand how plants recover from stressful situations in their environments.
January 12, 2022![Jianping Hu accepts leadership position as new director of MPS [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/4A4510AE-7ED4-4922-B5769903A9CA03CB_newslisting.png)
Professor Jianping Hu has been appointed as the new director of the Molecular Plant Sciences (MPS) Graduate Program at Michigan State University.
January 11, 2022
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.
December 22, 2021![Photosynthesis and oxygen overload: A discussion of new research from the Kramer lab [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/5511D571-0A36-4062-AC2B218C1117C210_newslisting.jpg)
A structure that helps algae photosynthesize when carbon dioxide levels are low may also play a role during hyperoxia conditions.
December 22, 2021
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.
December 15, 2021![Christoph Benning and Gregg Howe recognized among the world's most highly cited researchers [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/75BEFC71-DC29-4FBA-9CBB9E2C382AAA04_newslisting.png)
Three Michigan State University College of Natural Science (NatSci) researchers are among nine MSU faculty members recognized in the 2021 Highly Cited Researchers list, an annual compilation of the global leaders in scientific influence by Clarivate Analytics.
December 14, 2021
Jingcheng Huang is the 2021 recipient of the Kende Award, which acknowledges the best doctoral dissertation in plant sciences at Michigan State University (MSU) over the last two years.
December 8, 2021![Scientists discover potential mechanism of ultra-rare blood clots linked to adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines [LINK]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/AD89AE4B-8B80-4A99-B55CC9B68353B049_newslisting.jpg)
An international team of scientists, including Michigan State University researchers, believe they may have found a molecular mechanism behind the extremely rare blood clots linked to adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines.
December 7, 2021