Keeping up with lipids on the move: a new molecular tracking method
June 29, 2018
Scientists have created a new tracking method for plant lipids. The approach could fill our knowledge gaps of lipid movement and help us improve yields in crops targeted for biofuels.
Yang Yang, PRL post-doc, starts science editor position at Wiley Beijing
April 30, 2018
Yang Yang, a former post-doc in the lab of Christoph Benning, has started a science editor position at the Wiley Beijing office. Wiley is a global company that specializes in academic publishing.
Taylor Weiss to join Arizona State University in August
July 27, 2017
Taylor will be Assistant Professor in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, researching the design of artificial and synthetic algae-bacteria consortia for scaled production of bioproducts.
Adam Jordan joins VWR as Sales Associate
November 21, 2016
The former Ducat lab's Research Tech will join a global leader in product and service solutions for labs and production industries.
Anna Hurlock, recent PhD graduate, joins biotech company BioFire Diagnostics
By Igor Houwat, MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory
Anna Hurlock, a recent PhD graduate from the lab of Christoph Benning, is joining the Utah-based company, BioFire Diagnostics, as a Clinical Affairs Scientist.
Located in Salt Lake City, BioFire specializes in creating clinical diagnostic technologies that can accurately and rapidly identify a wide range of infections, from respiratory and gastrointestinal, to meningitis and blood diseases.
In her role, Anna will lead a science team that helps R&D assess the accuracy of the technologies by running comparative tests using the same samples from external clinical trials. Anna will then analyze that data and write up reports that are used for the FDA and other regulatory and approval processes.
Anna earned her Bachelors in Biochemistry at Purdue University, where she worked for four years in the lab of Clint Chapple, a former PRL post-doc. She came to the MSU at the recommendation of her mentor, and she eventually joined the Benning lab, where she studied chloroplast lipid import and metabolism. Her PhD degree is from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
“I am thankful for all of the opportunities provided to me during my time at MSU which have made following a path like this possible,” Anna says. “Christoph and the people in the Benning lab have provided me with the support to pursue my chosen career path, and the PRL has been the perfect collaborative environment to carry out my doctoral research.”
Christoph Benning, Anna’s mentor, says, “A PhD in plant biochemistry can open up many career opportunities. I am confident that Anna has a great management career in the biotech industry ahead of her using the skills she learned at MSU, and I expect her to be a role model for others to follow.”
Congratulations and good luck, Anna!
Plant protein helps control both chloroplast's chemistry and lipid membrane
The protein, peroxiredoxin Q, is known to maintain a healthy balance of chemicals and energy levels in chloroplasts. The new research shows the protein also impacts the system that produces chloroplast membranes.
Leaf under attack from bacteria? One way plants stop the spread of infection
The CAMTA system - which is known to protect plants from cold weather - plays a newly discovered role: when bacteria invade a leaf, CAMTA warns neighboring, unaffected leaves to prepare for invasion.
A protein lulls algae to 'sleep', and what that means for making green fuels
When algae get stressed, they hibernate and store energy in forms that we can use to make biofuels. Understanding how stress impacts algal hibernation could help scientists lower the cost of biofuels production.