News | Office of Research and Innovation

A photo of the MSU Museum on a sunny day

MSU Museum and GEL Lab Secure HARP Grant for Gaming Exhibition

The MSU Museum and the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab have been awarded the prestigious 2025 Humanities and Arts Research Program Large-Scale Development Grant to support the creation of Game Changers, an immersive exhibition exploring the societal, cultural and technological impact of video games.

Representation of human brain with a chip and flowing connections

Study Reveals Dopamine’s Unexpected Role in Memory Devaluation

New research out of Michigan State University expands on current understanding of the brain chemical dopamine, finding that it plays a role in reducing the value of memories associated with rewards. The study — published in the open access journal Communications Biology — opens new avenues for understanding dopamine’s role in the brain.

Two students focused working on lab samples wearing lab coats

Henry Ford Health Scientists Teaming Up to Take On Obesity

According to 2017-2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, obesity affects 42.4% of U.S. adults and 19.3% of U.S. children and teens. Comstock said she hopes the information gathered from this project will be used to identify mechanisms by which obesity develops and to find solutions that would prevent its occurrence early in life.

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Researcher Finds In-Person Mental Health Treatment to Be More Successful for Young Patients

A recent study led by researchers from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and DePaul University finds in-person mental health treatment to be more successful for young patients, despite a growing number of apps and online support.

A photo of the Natural Science building of MSU on a sunny day

Using Unique Approaches to Study Plants in Future Conditions

As major changes continue for our planet’s climate, scientists are concerned about how plants will grow and adapt. Researchers in the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, or PRL, Sharkey lab are studying changes in plant metabolism that occur when plants are grown in high light, high CO2 conditions.

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Afro-Caribbean Artists Reclaim Stories of Slave Trade in New Documentary

Safoi Babana-Hampton, Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, has produced and directed a documentary that features artists, historians, and policymakers who challenge Eurocentric narratives to reclaim, reshape, and preserve the memory of the Black Atlantic experience.

A zoom in of two orange butterflies sitting on a blade of grass together

Study Raises the Possibility of a Country Without Butterflies

Butterflies are disappearing in the United States. All kinds of them. With a speed scientists call alarming. Elise Zipkin, director of MSU’s Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program, and her MSU colleague and co-author Nick Haddad, professor of integrative biology in EEB, have been major figures in assessing the state of U.S. butterflies.

How MSU’s Global Reach Benefits Michigan

MSU is one of the most internationally engaged universities in the U.S. With more than 350 partnerships in 60 countries and more than 1,600 faculty and academic staff involved in international research, teaching and outreach, MSU continues to share knowledge and improve lives around the globe and right here in Michigan.

Announcements

Ogunwobi Named Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences

Jan 6, 2026

Internationally renowned cancer researcher Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi, MD, PhD, has been elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). Ogynwobi is chair of Michigan State University’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and co-director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity Research.

Gordon Named Fellow of the American Academy of Osteopathy

Dec 16, 2025

Travis Gordon, D.O., MSc, an assistant professor and alumnus of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Osteopathy. He will be formally recognized at the AAO Convocation in March 2026.

Winter Break 2025 Hours for Research and Innovation Units

Dec 15, 2025

Jain to Help India Update National ID (Aadhaar) Innovation Roadmap

Dec 5, 2025

Anil Jain, University Distinguished Professor and the Douglas E. Zongker Endowed Professor of Engineering at Michigan State University, has joined a panel of experts for a strategic and technological upgrade of India’s digital identity platform.

Belin Joins MSU as the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies

Dec 2, 2025

A citizen of the Navajo Nation and an acclaimed poet, artist, and educator, Esther Belin joined Michigan State University this fall as the new Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies in the Department of English. She is the second scholar to hold this position, following Gordon Henry, who retired in 2023 after serving as the inaugural Leslie Chair.

Khalil Receives National ASME Medal for Lifetime Achievements

Nov 18, 2025

Hassan K. Khalil was presented the 2025 ASME Rufus Oldenburger Medal — the highest honor presented by ASME in the field of automatic control — during the ASME Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference in October in Pittsburgh, Penn.