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News

Doctor consulting patient

Researchers Lead $3.7M Study to Shed Light on Perimenopause and Psychosis

For decades, women’s midlife experiences have been largely overlooked by medical research. Despite previous assumptions about midlife mental health risks, relatively little research has systematically investigated the connections between hormonal fluctuations and psychological symptoms.
Aerial farm from above

Precision Agriculture: Soil Mapping and Measuring With a Data-Driven Approach

Digital tools make it easier to visualize how soil properties vary across our fields. Recent research suggests that using management zones to highlight these spatial patterns can help us understand field variations and how to better manage them.
Gabriela Quinlan

Spartan Scientists Contribute to Global Examination of Pollinator Habitat

Michigan State University Distinguished Professor Rufus Isaacs and CANR alumna Gabriela Quinlan (Ph.D. ’20), now an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, collaborated with researchers from 19 countries to develop a framework for informing conservation policies to increase the quantity and enhance the quality of pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes.
Maria Molina

Molina Awarded NSF Career Grant to Advance Research on Human-AI Interaction and Privacy

Maria Molina, Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, has been awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. The five-year grant, totaling more than $500,000, will support Molina's groundbreaking research on human-AI interaction, specifically how people navigate trust and privacy in their use of generative AI systems.
Thea Knowles

Knowles Wins Grants to Improve Speech Therapy for Parkinson’s

Thea Knowles, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, assistant professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University, and her collaborators have been awarded two competitive grants to support their innovative research on communication challenges in Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonism.
Robotic bionic hand connected to human hand

Automation Alley: Xiaobo Tan Finding Creative Uses for Soft Robots

What if a soft robot like Baymax in the Disney animated film Big Hero 6 were real? Xiaobo Tan, MSU Foundation Professor and Richard M. Hong Endowed Chair, and his team are working to bring that science fiction to life by designing robots made of soft materials that are safer for both human interaction and delicate objects.
Kitchen stove stop

VR Opens New Doors for Students With Disabilities to Learn Essential Life Skills

Two recent peer-reviewed studies found that nonimmersive virtual reality, or VR — screen-based programs on devices like laptops or Chromebooks, rather than expensive VR headsets — improved how well students with intellectual and developmental disabilities performed tasks such as cooking on a stove, shopping from a list and using kitchen appliances.
Diagram of growing arabidopsis mutants under high light conditions

Decoding Plants’ Language of Light

Researchers have revealed a previously unknown way plants shape their growth in response to light — a breakthrough that could better equip crops to handle environmental stress. In a first-of-its-kind finding, the team discovered how a compound that’s involved in plant metabolism can directly "reprogram” an unrelated light-sensing protein.
Announcements
Ren and Shipley Named Guggenheim Fellows
Two MSU professors have been named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows: Xuefei Ren, a professor of sociology in the College of Social Science, and Lara Shipley, assistant professor of photography in the College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Art, Art History and Design.

Michigan State University Advances One Health Research at Summit
This faculty-based initiative brought together more than 600 researchers to shape interdisciplinary pathways and position MSU as a national leader in One Health.
Research Foundation Announces New Rosenberg Center Headquarters
The MSU Research Foundation is investing $20 million in the new Rosenberg Center, a campus hub that will bring together startups, researchers, investors and industry partners to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship.
Frank Honored for Advances in Sociological Methods
MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor Kenneth Frank received the American Sociological Association’s Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for pioneering contributions to sociological research methods.
Woodruff Earns Election to Two of the World’s Most Prestigious Scholarly Societies
Woodruff has been elected to the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society, recognizing her groundbreaking work in reproductive biology and fertility preservation research.
Department of Energy Renews 60-Year Partnership
A renewed $13.6 million Department of Energy grant will support MSU’s Plant Research Laboratory through 2029 as researchers work to better understand photosynthesis and develop more resilient, productive plants for agriculture, bioenergy and biotechnology.