MSU Plant Resilience Institute

We're pleased to share the MSU Plant Resilience Institute's 2026 Annual Report! Over the past fiscal year, PRI continued laying the foundation for our next decade of discovery through high-impact research, community growth, and more. Explore our 2026 report: plantresilience.msu.edu/about/annual...

🌱 Meet MGI grad student Leah Knorr from the Lebeis Lab! She studies how chemicals released by plant roots shape the microbial communities around them, especially under stressful conditions. Her research could help scientists find new ways to improve plant health.

There's still time to register for the Second Annual Water & Life Interface Institute Virtual Symposium! Join a virtual, interdisciplinary community of researchers studying anhydrobiosis, the ability of life to persist without water. #WALII2026 Learn more & register: walii.science/2nd-virtual-...

The 2027 Single-Cell Approaches in Plant Biology Gordon Research Conference is now open for applications! Learn more about this event and apply to attend here: www.grc.org/single-cell-...

The MSU Plant Resilience Institute is #hiring an experienced and collaborative Business & Human Resources Administrator to support our business operations and HR functions! 💼 Learn more and apply now: careers.msu.edu/jobs/busines... #JobOpportunity #HRJobs #FinanceJobs #BusinessJobs #HigherEdJobs

Abstract submissions are due THIS WEEK for the 2nd Annual @waliianhydro.bsky.social Virtual Symposium! Join us and share your work exploring anhydrobiosis, desiccation tolerance and the water-life interface. #WALII2026 Learn more, register and submit an abstract: walii.science/2nd-virtual-symposium

Developed with input from @c-spirit.org & PCA, The BAR Single Cell Data Portal is now in beta, feat. curated scRNA-seq datasets, interactive data exploration, & the new SUPeR Viewer! Explore the portal: bar.utoronto.ca/single_cell_... #SingleCell #PlantScience

Have you ever wondered what it takes to turn a promising research discovery into a product/service that improves lives? Join us in two weeks for this webinar that will explain the commercialization process! Learn more and register: bit.ly/4uDLobX

Happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week to the postdoctoral scholars at the MSU Plant Resilience Institute! Your scientific rigor and collaborative spirits are what make our community so resilient. Thank you for everything you bring to PRI, this week and every week! #NPAW2026 #NPAW #PlantScience

Plant Resilience Institute faculty member Gregg Howe recently spoke with @pnas.org about his career trajectory, from how he first became interested in plant immunity to his more recent research on how plants balance growth and defense. Read the full Q&A: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #PlantScience

We’re #hiring an experienced and collaborative Business & Human Resources Administrator to lead the MSU Plant Resilience Institute's business operations and HR functions! 💼 Learn more and apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/busines... #Jobs #HumanResources #HRJobs #BusinessAdmin #FinanceJobs

Abstract submissions are OPEN! Share your research at the 2nd Annual WALII Virtual Symposium and connect with researchers exploring anhydrobiosis and desiccation tolerance. Deadline: October 9, 2026 Submit your abstract: bit.ly/4xkAOqL

How do flooding and temperature interact to affect corn establishment? A new study co-authored by @sprunger.bsky.social examines how early-season flooding affects corn emergence, root growth, and soil nitrogen availability across a range of temperatures. 🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New preprint! Concerning Erythranthe angulosa, a charming little monkeyflower from the Eastern Sierra that makes up for its lack of extrafloral nectaries with striking morphological variation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The Lowry lab at MSU is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to conduct field and lab experiments on the evolution of adaptations, cold acclimation, and freezing tolerance in switchgrass! A valid U.S. driver's license is required. #PlantSciJobs 🌱 Learn more & apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/postdoc...

We are excited to announce that registration is NOW OPEN for the 2nd Annual Virtual WALII Symposium on November 12, 2026! The program will also feature contributed talks selected from abstracts. Abstract submission will be open soon! Register Now: bit.ly/3UrLohM

Join the MSU Plant Resilience Institute as a Scientific Program Manager, providing strategic leadership for the institute's portfolio of center grants and major research initiatives! 🔗 Learn more and apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/scienti... #Hiring #PlantSciJobs #SciAdmin

Save the Date! The 2nd Annual WALII Symposium is happening on November 12, 2026! Join us to hear from these four outstanding invited speakers! More details coming soon! #WALIISymposium #Science #LifeWithoutWater #DesiccationTolerance

#Tansleyreview: Desiccation tolerance mechanisms in the green lineage and beyond Schuster & VanBuren 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience

Our Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar Series continues on September 10 with Dr. Jill Farrant from the University of Cape Town's talk "Understanding Vegetative Desiccation Tolerance as a Tool for Climate Smart Agriculture." Learn more and register: bit.ly/4uDLobX

#Viewpoint: The incredible vulnerability that reproduction poses for plant species in a warming world Denney & Taylor et al. 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience @derekdenney.bsky.social @emjo.bsky.social @davidlowry.bsky.social @msupri.bsky.social

The Topp lab at the MSU Plant Resilience Institute is #hiring a project administrator for a new multi-institutional research effort focused on engineering synchronized nitrogen efficiency traits in corn agriculture. #PlantSciJobs #SciAdmin 🌽 Learn more and apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/project...

MSU Plant Resilience Institute Research Specialist Karine Prado spoke with @davidcondos.bsky.social at @kuer.org about how a native Death Valley plant is helping the @rheelab.bsky.social uncover how life can flourish in extreme heat, unlocking a potential blueprint for more heat-resilient crops.

🥔 This week, the MSU C-SPIRIT team has been busy harvesting potatoes from our greenhouse experiment! The team is connecting above-ground plant traits with tuber development to better understand how potatoes respond to heat stress. #PlantScience

We’re #hiring! The Michigan State University Plant Resilience Institute is seeking an experienced and collaborative Business & Human Resources Administrator to join our team. 🔗 Learn more and apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/busines... #HumanResources #HRJobs #BusinessAdmin #Jobs

See our new paper examining how monkeyflowers handle salt spray landing on their leaves! Salt spray lands on plant leaves in coastal habitats around the world, yet we know little about how plants survive this stress.

The MSU Plant Resilience Institute is excited to welcome @bobvanburen.bsky.social as our new associate director! A PRI faculty member since 2016, VanBuren brings scientific excellence and a deep commitment to our community to the role. 🌱 Learn more: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202...

PRI members joined international agrifood and biotech experts for MSU's "Agricultural Biotechnology for a Better World" Global Symposium, including a special seminar for the MSU #plantscience community by Dr. Leena Tripathi! 🌍 Read more: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202...

PRI Postdoc Fellow @derekdenney.bsky.social attended #ESA2026 to accept the W.S. Cooper Award for the groundbreaking study he co-authored, "Adaptation and gene flow are insufficient to rescue a montane plant under climate change." 🏅 Read more: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202... #PlantScience

Mark your calendars!! We are excited to announce the date for this year's WALII Virtual Symposium on November 12, 2026! More details will be shared soon!

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! Dr. Michael Menze will present "From Anhydrobiosis to Biomedical Innovation: Borrowing Nature's Survival Strategies." Read the abstract and register here: bit.ly/4uDLobX #Anhydrobiosis #Science #LifeWithoutWater

Join the MSU Plant Resilience Institute to help set up a state-of-the-art fundamental field research program as we dive into a field to lab to field paradigm! Review of applications for this position will begin on August 5th and continue until filled. #PlantScience #PlantSciJobs

New MSU #plantscience research from the Howe lab details an immune 'dimmer switch' that allows plants to conserve and allocate sulfur to critical growth and defense functions. 🔬 Read the paper in #PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 💡 Read the press release: natsci.msu.edu/news/2026/20...

Some big news for my lab, and for forests too, I hope! Very excited to join Michigan State in the Plant Resilience Institute, Departments of Forestry and Plant Biology, next fall. Lots of work ahead studying plant #necrodiversity and #WhatKillsTrees with so many new (& continuing) colleagues!

The MSU Plant Resilience Institute is pleased to welcome internationally recognized plant ecophysiologist William Hammond (@wmhammond.bsky.social) to its faculty! #PlantScience 🌳 Read the full announcement: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202...

Our Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar Series continues on August 13 with Dr. Michael Menze's talk "From Anhydrobiosis to Biomedical Innovation: Borrowing Nature's Survival Strategies." Learn more and register: bit.ly/4uDLobX

Join the Michigan State University Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences as a fixed-term teaching specialist! This position plays an important role in supporting undergraduate education, with an anticipated start date of Aug 16. #PlantSciJobs 🌱 Apply now: careers.msu.edu/jobs/special...

🌿 Rhee Lab undergrads Natalie Pitts & Alaina Martin present this week at MSU! MID-SURE: Wednesday, 7/22, 12:15–2 PM, STEM Bldg., 3rd floor REU TALKS: Thursday, 7/23, 1–5 PM, MPS 1200. Alaina, a Plant Genomics @ MSU REU student from Western Illinois University, speaks at 2:30 PM. 🌱 #plantscience