Fall 2026 Research and Innovation Updates

Dear Colleagues,

As we move through the fall semester, I continue to be energized by the momentum across Michigan State University’s research enterprise. Over the past several months I’ve had the opportunity to walk through labs, greenhouses, hospitals, and offices across our campus, and one theme comes through in every conversation: the extraordinary talent, curiosity, and drive of this community, and the remarkable opportunities that lie ahead of us. 

That momentum is also reflected in the growth of our research enterprise. MSU reported a record $992.3 million in research and development expenditures in fiscal year 2025, a 6.5% increase from the previous year that brings us within reach of our university’s strategic goal of $1 billion in annual research expenditures. I share that ambition, and I believe we can go further. My vision is for MSU to rise among the top 10 public research universities in the nation by research expenditures within the next decade. Yet our aspiration has never been simply about a number. It is about pursuing bold ideas, building new partnerships, and advancing research and creative activity that improve lives in Michigan and around the world.

That remains at the center of our work in the Office of Research and Innovation. We are pursuing new areas of opportunity while continuing to strengthen the resources that help researchers succeed today. I am pleased to share a few of those efforts below, along with opportunities and accomplishments from across our research community that I hope will inspire you as much as they inspire me. For more frequent updates on research news, initiatives, funding opportunities, and events, I also encourage you to sign up for the ORI mailing list on our News page.

Strengthening Support for Postdoctoral Scholars

Postdoctoral scholars are an essential part of MSU’s research community. They advance discovery, mentor students, strengthen research teams, and develop the expertise that will shape the next generation of research leadership.

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs Transitions to ORI

This summer, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs transitioned to the Office of Research and Innovation, creating an opportunity to more closely connect postdoctoral support and professional development with MSU’s broader research mission. The office serves more than 570 postdoctoral scholars across 18 colleges and 76 departments.

Looking ahead, we are focused on building the team and programming needed to strengthen the postdoctoral experience at MSU, including recruiting a director to provide strategic leadership and expanding professional development in career readiness, leadership, teaching, and mentoring. We will also be partnering closely with the MSU Postdoctoral Association to enhance community-building, advocacy, and communication.

MSU Research Foundation Postdoctoral Scholars Program

I am pleased to recognize the inaugural awardees of the MSU Research Foundation Postdoctoral Scholars Program, a new investment designed to strengthen health-related research at MSU while supporting the development of the next generation of research leaders.

The program provides two-year postdoctoral appointments within high-performing research environments aligned with priorities across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By bringing talented postdoctoral scholars into established research programs, this initiative is designed to accelerate promising research, strengthen faculty competitiveness for future funding, and provide outstanding training and mentorship opportunities.

I am grateful to the MSU Research Foundation for its partnership and investment in this program and for its continued commitment to strengthening MSU's research enterprise.

Research Development and Proposal Support

As the funding landscape continues to evolve, helping MSU researchers identify the right opportunities and put forward their most competitive proposals remains one of ORI’s most important responsibilities.

This fall, our Research Development and Proposal Services team is offering a robust series of webinars and workshops covering NIH proposal development, NSF broader impacts, peer review, career development awards, and other topics. The remaining fall schedule includes sessions on NIH Specific Aims and Research Strategy sections, K proposals, the NIH peer review process, broader impacts, and clinical behavioral trials.

The team also provides individualized support with funding searches, proposal strategy, proposal development, and editing. I encourage you to explore the Research Development and Proposal Services resources and share upcoming opportunities with faculty and researchers in your networks who may benefit.

Advancing National Security Research

National security is an area where I believe MSU has an opportunity to make a distinctive contribution. Many of the same research advances that strengthen our nation’s security also improve the well-being of our communities. Known as dual-use technologies, these innovations extend well beyond any single sector, with applications across areas such as food and water security, energy, public health, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, critical infrastructure, and supply chains. 

Our National Security Initiative is bringing together expertise from across MSU to help translate discoveries into solutions that strengthen security, resilience, and quality of life for communities across the nation. The Distinguished Speaker Series on National Security has brought national leaders to campus to spark conversations about emerging technologies, research opportunities, and the role universities can play in addressing these challenges. 

Registration is now open for our Oct. 22 Distinguished Speaker Series event with retired Lt. Gen. Scott Kindsvater. Looking ahead, we are also planning a November conversation with Rebecca Torzone of Northrop Grumman.  Please register your interest to receive updates as details are finalized.

I encourage researchers across disciplines to explore the National Security Initiative and consider how their expertise may connect with this growing area of opportunity.

Reducing Administrative Burden for Researchers

As our research enterprise grows, our administrative systems must continue to evolve with it. Researchers should be able to devote as much of their time as possible to discovery, scholarship, mentorship, and innovation while maintaining the compliance and stewardship standards essential to our work.

The Burden Reduction Committee, which includes faculty and staff representatives from across the university, is working to identify data-informed strategies that can improve operational efficiency and consistency across MSU's research enterprise. A university-wide survey closed on Sept. 11 with more than 300 completed responses, and the committee is now reviewing that feedback alongside other sources of information. While the review is still in its early stages, one encouraging theme has already emerged. Alongside candid feedback on research-related processes, respondents expressed strong appreciation for the faculty and staff who work diligently every day to navigate those processes and ensure critical research activities continue moving forward. I am grateful to everyone who shared their perspective and to the many colleagues across MSU who support our researchers each day. The committee will continue its detailed review of the feedback and data collected, using those insights to help inform meaningful improvements across the research enterprise.

Internal Funding Opportunities

Internal funding can provide critical support for developing new ideas, sustaining research momentum, and positioning projects for future external funding. ORI administers several programs that support research, scholarship, and creative activity across disciplines, many made possible through the generosity of the MSU Research Foundation. I encourage faculty to explore these opportunities and plan ahead for upcoming application cycles, highlighted below.

Jenison Fund Applications Due Nov. 9

The Jenison Fund Career and Research Continuity Support program continues to provide targeted, time-limited assistance to members of our research community facing unexpected funding disruptions.

Support is available for graduate students who have lost funding, pre-tenure faculty retooling their research programs, projects affected by funding disruptions, and established research programs experiencing temporary funding gaps. The fund has supported graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty across eight colleges and units in its most recent round, helping researchers maintain momentum and adapt as the funding landscape changes.

The next application deadline is Nov. 9. I encourage those who may benefit to review the Jenison Fund application information. 

Looking Ahead: HARP, DFI, and SPG

Several of ORI’s other major internal funding programs are already underway for the academic year, with additional opportunities and application stages coming in the months ahead. 

• The Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP) will open its second Production session on Dec. 7, with applications due Jan. 21. 
• The Discretionary Funding Initiative (DFI), which provides bridge funding for tenure-stream faculty preparing to resubmit external grant proposals, will open its second session on Feb. 3, with applications due March 11. 
• The Strategic Partnership Grant (SPG) process is also progressing, with selected teams from the fall pre-proposal round invited to submit full proposals by Jan. 14.

Faculty interested in these or other programs can review current opportunities, eligibility requirements, and upcoming deadlines on the MSU Internal Funding Opportunities page. 

Celebrating Research Excellence

The accomplishments of our faculty continue to demonstrate the extraordinary breadth and strength of research and creative activity at MSU. I am pleased to recognize this year’s recipients of the Red Cedar Distinguished Professorship and MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professorship, who were recently honored at the 2026 Faculty Investiture, along with colleagues who have earned significant national and international honors this year. These honors represent only a portion of the recognition earned by MSU researchers each year, but together they illustrate the remarkable talent across our university. The full list of honorees appears at the end of this message. I congratulate each of these colleagues and thank them for the scholarship, creativity, mentorship, and leadership that continue to strengthen Michigan State’s research enterprise.

Connecting Researchers with Shared Research Resources

It was inspiring to see the energy at our inaugural Spartan CoreFest in September. Nearly 350 attendees representing 65 departments, programs, and units explored 55 shared research resources from across MSU. Importantly, 36% of attendees had not previously used a core facility. In other words, CoreFest connected a substantial group of researchers with facilities, technologies, services, and expertise they may not have known were available to support their work.

Creating those connections was one of the goals of CoreFest, but the event was only one part of our broader effort to make MSU’s research infrastructure easier to discover and use, including: 

• Spartan Research Resources website, a central place for researchers to explore shared research resources, core facilities, specialized expertise, and services from across the university.
• Spartan Cores PPMS, an online platform that helps researchers access core facilities, instrumentation, training and services. Twelve MSU cores are now live in PPMS, providing researchers with a more streamlined way to reserve equipment and request services and training.

I encourage everyone to explore these resources designed to make it easier to find specific technology and understand the capabilities available across MSU. 

Thank you to Research Technology Support Facility director Matt Bernard, the CoreFest Planning Committee, our shared research resource teams, and the many partners whose work continues to strengthen the infrastructure that supports research across our university.

Join Us for the Fall ORI Town Hall

Finally, I hope you will join us for the Office of Research and Innovation Town Hall on Monday, Nov. 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kellogg Center.

The Town Hall will bring together faculty researchers, research administrators, ORI colleagues and university partners for a day of updates, conversation, and connection focused on MSU’s research enterprise. 

I hope that many of you will be able to join us in person. Some of our best ideas and partnerships begin through conversations with colleagues outside our immediate areas of work. A Zoom option will also be available for those unable to attend in person or who prefer to participate remotely.

Thank you for the creativity, commitment, and collaboration you bring to MSU’s research mission. Behind every discovery, proposal, partnership, and new idea are people across this university working together in pursuit of something larger than any one of us.

I am more optimistic than ever about what lies ahead for research at Michigan State University, and grateful to be pursuing it alongside each of you.

Go Green!

Sincerely,

Shashank Priya
Vice President for Research and Innovation

Honors Recipients

2026 Red Cedar Distinguished Professors

The Red Cedar Distinguished Professor designation recognizes accomplished faculty whose contributions strengthen research, scholarship and creative activity across the university.

• Annick Anctil, College of Engineering
• Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, College of Education
• Geoffroy Laumet, College of Natural Science
• David Markowitz, College of Communication Arts and Sciences
• Liangliang Sun, College of Natural Science

2026 MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professors

The MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professorships recognize faculty who combine exemplary scholarly accomplishment with research leadership and contributions to areas important to MSU’s research and creative mission. 

• Hanne M. Hoffmann, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Wen Li, College of Engineering
• Dohun Pyeon, College of Human Medicine
• Alfred J. Robison, College of Natural Science
• David Roy, College of Social Science
• Weiwei Xie, College of Natural Science

Thank you to the MSU Research Foundation for its continued partnership and investment in our research community. Established through the Foundation’s generosity in 2014, the MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professorships help MSU recognize and retain outstanding faculty whose scholarship and research leadership strengthen our university.

National and International Honors

MSU researchers have also earned an exceptional range of national and international distinctions this year.

• Nwando Achebe, University Distinguished Professor of History, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society for her contributions to historical scholarship and African history.
• Patricia A. Edwards, University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education, was elected to the National Academy of Education, one of 19 scholars selected for membership in 2026.
• Kenneth Frank, MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor, received the American Sociological Association’s Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for his contributions to sociological research methods.
• Witek Nazarewicz, chief scientist at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, was elected a foreign member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, one of Poland’s highest scientific honors.
• Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and co-director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity Research, was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, a lifetime honor recognizing scientific excellence, leadership and contributions to science and innovation. 
• Thomas O’Halloran, MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recognizing his contributions spanning chemistry, biology and medicine.
• Xuefei Ren, professor of sociology, and Lara Shipley, assistant professor of photography, were named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows, joining 223 scholars, artists and scientists selected nationwide. Their recognition reflects the breadth of outstanding scholarship and creative activity taking place at MSU.
• Teresa K. Woodruff, MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor and president emerita, was elected to both the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society in recognition of her contributions to reproductive biology and fertility preservation. 

American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows

Nine MSU researchers were also elected 2025 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, with the new class announced this spring: 

• Ann Austin, College of Education
• Gary Blanchard, College of Natural Science
• Shi-you Ding, College of Natural Science
• Dean Lee, College of Natural Science
• Hui Li, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Elena Litchman, College of Natural Science
• James McCusker, College of Natural Science
• Dohun Pyeon, College of Human Medicine, College of Natural Science
• Elise Zipkin, College of Natural Science

Their work spans education, chemistry, biological and medical sciences, physics, agriculture, and environmental research.