Past Events
1st Great Lakes Plant Science Conference
The 1st Great Lakes Plant Science Conference (GLPSC 2025) brought together 416 plant scientists and students across 55 institutions to push the boundaries of plant science, promote collaborations, and empower the next-generation plant science leaders. This conference was organized by 10 universities in the states and provinces around the Great Lakes and open to anyone in the world.
GLPSC 2025 was held September 12-14, at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan. View more information about the conference, including the schedule and speakers, at research.msu.edu/glpsc2025.
International Summit on Plant Resilience
The Plant Resilience Institute (PRI)'s First International Summit on Plant Resilience attracted a global cohort of world-class plant scientists for resilience-themed talks, poster presentations, and networking sessions.
This free event took place from May 16-17, 2024, at the East Lansing Marriott Hotel, and sessions were open to all MSU affiliates. View more information about the conference, including the schedule and speakers.
PRI Networking Hour
PRI hosts a bi-monthly event series, "PRI Networking Hour," on the second and fourth Thursday of the month during the fall and spring semesters. View the current list of PRI Networking Hour workshops.
Date: January 29, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "PRI Seed Grant Program Informational Session"
Speaker: Dr. David Lowry, PRI Associate Director and Seed Grant Committee Chair
Date: March 12, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Wellness Reset"
Speaker: Dr. Olivia Scott, Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Director of Outreach and Community
Engagement, MSU Counseling & Psychiatric Services
Date: March 26, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Message Development for Promoting Yourself and Your Research" (Science Communication
Session 1)
Speaker: Morgan Koetje, Communications Manager, MSU Plant Resilience Institute
Date: April 9, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Title: "How to Amplify Your Work Through Media and PR" (Science Communication Session 2)
Speakers: Sydney Hawkins, Director of Public Relations, University Communications and Marketing
and Ryan Kilcoyne, Chief Marketing Officer, MSU College of Natural Science
Date: April 23, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "'But Are You Using Your Degree?' — One Scientist’s Experience Transitioning From
Plant Biology to Insurance Analytics"
Speaker: Dr. Serena Lotreck, Claims Analyst, Auto-Owners Insurance
Date: September 11, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Networking Knowledge to Advance Your Career"
Speakers: Victoria Morris, Excel Network Career Consultant and Mary Molnar-Witherspoon, Career Services Network Director of Employer Relations
Date: September 25, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Salary and Benefits: Understanding Negotiation and Building Confidence"
Speakers: Allison Fox, RCAH Director of Career Development and Mary Molnar-Witherspoon, Career Services Network Director of Employer Relations
Date: October 9, 12:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "From Concept to Conclusion: Research Results Showcase With the PRI Seed Grant Awardees
of Cohort 2"
Speakers: PRI Seed Grant Awardees of Cohort 2 - Dr. Hui-Kyong Cho, Shannon Donnelly, Sylvie Martin-Eberhardt, Daniel Mok, Dr. Mohammad
Mostofa, and Tri Tran
Date: October 23, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Cultivating Ideas: Proposal Showcase With the PRI Seed Grant Awardees of Cohort
4"
Speakers: PRI Seed Grant Awardees of Cohort 4 - Dr. Trine Andersen, Sydney Chen, Dr. Kaitlin Gattoni, Bailey Kleven with Dr. Yuan
Xu, and Tomás Lopes
Date: November 13, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Networking Basics from MSU Career Services: Answers to the Questions You Haven't
Asked Yet"
Speakers: Whitney Denney, Career Services Network Senior Event Manager and Mary Molnar-Witherspoon, Career Services Network Director of Employer Relations
Date: December 11, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Research Needs, Sales Solutions: The Power of Networks and Scientific Problem Solving"
Speaker: Starla Dufee, Fisher Scientific Sales Representative
Date: January 23, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "RCR Discussion - Research Misconduct"
Speaker: Dr. Charles "Lee" Cox, MSU Research Integrity Officer
Date: February 14, 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET
Title: "PRI Seed Grant Submission: Your Last-Minute Q&A"
Speaker: Dr. David Lowry, PRI Asssociate Director
Date: February 27, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Engaging your Audience in Science Communication"
Speaker: Dr. Lucia Strader, Professor of Biology, Duke University
Date: March 13, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "RCPD: Disability Accommodations & Inclusion"
Speakers: Kelsey Foote and Lindsay Hill, Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities
Date: March 27, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Reclaiming Your Wellness"
Speaker: Dr. Olivia Scott, Acting Assistant Director of Multicultural Initiatives and Community Engagement
Date: April 10, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Decoding the NSF-GRFP: Insights From NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipients"
Speakers: Sylvie Martin-Eberhardt and Maya Wilson Brown, NSF-GRFP Recipients
Date: April 24, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Cultivating Ideas: PRI Seed Grant Proposal Showcase"
Speakers: PRI Seed Grant Awardees of Cohort 3 - Huijia Gong, Dr. Paulo Izquierdo, Abby Jensen, Dr. Anuradha Singh, and Dr. Matt
Stata
Date: September 12, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Best Practices for Scientific Writing"
Speaker: Dr. Sue Rhee, PRI Director
Date: October 10, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Mental Health Workshop"
Speaker: Dr. Olivia Scott, Acting Assistant Director of Multicultural Initiatives and Community Engagement
Date: October 24, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Taking the Jump: Resources, Tips, and Tools for Surviving the Transition Out of
Academia"
Speakers: Dr. Julie Rojewski and Theresa Murphy, Office of Graduate Career Development
Date: November 7, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "A Journey From Academia to Industry"
Speaker: Dr. James Santiago, R&D Plant Physiologist at Soli Organic Inc.
Date: November 21, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "RCR Discussion - Protecting your Intellectual Property"
Speaker: Dr. Tom Herlache, Technology Manager Assistant Director for Commercialization
Date: January 25, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "PRI Seed Grant Introduction"
Speaker: Dr. David Lowry, PRI Associate Director
Date: February 8, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Reimagining PRI Networking Hour: A Town Hall Discussion"
Speakers: Dr. Sue Rhee, PRI Director and Dr. Gaëlle Cassin-Ross, PRI Training and Outreach Coordinator
Date: February 22, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Communicating Science"
Speaker: Sheril Kirshenbaum, Scientist and Author
Date: March 14, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Establishing Trainee Societies Discussion" (For trainees only)
Speaker: Dr. Joanna Feehan, PRI Postdoctoral Fellow
Date: March 28, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Exploring Resources for Grad Students and Postdocs at MSU: A Comprehensive Guide"
Speakers: Dr. Stefanie Baier, Director of Instructional Development, Dr. Aaron Reifler, Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and Dr. Julie Rojewski, Director of Ph.D. Career Development
Date: April 11, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Industry Career Exploration Strategies"
Speaker: Dr. Lex Flagel, Staff Data Scientist, Gencove
Date: April 25, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "Exploring Careers in Plant Biotechnology and Data Science at Bayer"
Speaker: Dr. Ryan Williams, Genomics and Data Science Lead, Bayer
Date: May 9, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "RCR Discussion - Plagiarism" (Joint event with PLB)
Speaker: Dr. Tom Sharkey, University Distinguished Professor, Plant Resilience Institute and
Plant Research Laboratory
Date: June 13, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Title: "RCR Discussion - Authorship and Publications" (Joint event with PLB)
Speaker: Dr. Gregg Howe, University Distinguished Professor and MSU Research Foundation Professor,
Plant Resilience Institute and Plant Research Laboratory
All-Hands Retreats
Members of PRI gather together regularly for an all-hands retreat designed to bring our community closer, foster collaboration, and ensure that all voices contribute to shaping the future of our institute. PRI retreats include presentations by faculty, poster and flash talk competitions for trainees, career development seminars, and unstructured time to socialize and network.
The 2026 PRI All-Hands Retreat took place May 6-7, 2026, at the Michigan State University Multicultural Center. In honor of PRI's ten-year anniversary, alumni and key stakeholders joined for the first day of the retreat. Review the schedule.
The 2024 PRI All-Hands Retreat was held from September 19-20, 2024 at the The James B. Henry Center for Executive Development. Review the schedule.
The 2023 PRI All-Hands Retreat was held on October 5-7, 2023 at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.
CSRS-PRI Webinar Series
This annual series helps strengthen international collaboration between PRI and the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) by increasing mutual awareness of ongoing research efforts.
- 11/13: Kadeem Gilbert, "Phylloplane pH Regulation Shapes Microbial Communities at the Functional Gene Level" and Makoto Hayashi, "Root Nodule Symbiosis: Its evolution and molecular mechanism behind"
- 11/20: Gregg Howe, "Beyond the Big Ten: The Hidden World of Plant Hormones" and Masanori Okamoto, "Molecular mechanisms of nutrient and water acquisition from the host in the parasitic weed Striga"
- 12/04: Peter Lundquist, "Plastoglobules, Jasmonates, and Pollen Development" and Masanori Izumi, "Chloroplast quality and quantity control by autophagy: An organelle remodeling to environmental changes"
- 12/11: Emily Josephs, "Integrating Evolution and Genomics to Understand Plant Resilience in the Wild" and Akihiro Ezoe, "Functional Diversification in Duplicate Genes Determined by Scale of Duplication Mechanisms"
- 10/10: MSU PRI and RIKEN CSRS
- Sue Rhee, PRI Director and Professor - "Short introduction on MSU & PRI"
- Kazuki Saito, CSRS Director - "Short introduction on RIKEN & CSRS"
- Kazuo Shinozaki - "Facing Climate Change: Joint Efforts of Plant and Crop Science for a Sustainable Future"
- 10/24: Gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere
- Tom Sharkey - "Various paths of carbon during photosynthesis"
- Motoaki Seki - "Development of EGAO Technology and Its Application to Sustainable Agriculture"
- 11/7: Bridging the gap between agriculture and the environment
- Christine Sprunger - "The long-term maintenance of regenerative agriculture enhances climate resiliency"
- Naoyoshi Kumakura - "Fungal Turgor Generation: Unlocking the Mechanisms to Penetrate Hard Plant Surfaces"
- 11/21: Genetic and physiological basis of evolutionary adaptations
- David Lowry
- Keiichi Mochida
Other Seminars
PRI regularly organizes various seminars, webinars, and workshops focused on topics relating to research, job preparation, and more.
- 09/08: Dr. Kiran Shivaiah, Lundquist Lab - An Amphipathic Helix is essential for the association of Fibrillin Proteins to Plastoglobule Lipid Droplets
- 09/22: Dr. Brian O'Shea, Director of Institute for Cyber-Enabled Research - Introduction to ICER
- 10/13: Katherine Naasko, Sprunger Lab - Microbes under water: soil health and soil microbial community recovery after a short-term flood event
- 10/22: Dr. Hui-Kyong Cho, Rouached Lab - How does phosphorus play a role in the growth of plants?
- 11/10: Dr. Mohammad Mostofa, Sharkey Lab - Wounding and cryptic isoprene emission in soybeans
- 12/08: Asia Hightower, Josephs Lab - Investigating leaf shape variation in Capsella bursa-pastoris herbarium specimens
- 1/13: Dr. Rose Marks, VanBuren Lab - Life on the edge: How to survive without water and other lessons from resurrection plants
- 1/27: Dr. Xosé López Goldar, Wetzel Lab & Dr. Nate Havko, Howe Lab - Impact of heat waves on the resilience of milkweeds and the interactions with their arthropod community
- 2/10: Dr. Daniel Anstett, Lowry Lab - Leveraging big data to study adaptation in a changing world
- 2/24: Dr. Matt Stata, Rhee Lab - Hunting for Intermediates on the Road from C3 to C4 Photosynthesis
- 3/10: Cristal López González, Gilbert Lab - How plant leaves respond to external pH changes at transcriptional level
- 3/24: Dr. Brittni Kelley, Lebeis Lab - Identifying the potential impacts of microbial seed treatments on soybeans and the surrounding soil microbiome
- 4/28: Dr. Anuradha Singh, Thompson Lab - Genetic analysis of multiple agronomic traits for optimal biomass allocation and improved water use efficiency during seasonal drought conditions in sorghum
- 5/26: Dr. Sue Rhee, PRI Director - All-Hands Town Hall
