News

Research by MSI PI Leads to cCMV Screening in Minnesota Newborns
In early February, Minnesota became the first state in the nation to start screening for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) in newborns. Research by MSI PI Mark Schleiss (professor, Pediatrics), who uses MSI resources for a project to develop a vaccine for CMV, helped to inform the decision to add this test to other routine screenings for newborn children. cCMV is the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the U.S.
MSI PI Claudia Schmidt-Dannert Leads BioTechnology Institute
The BioTechnology Institute website features an interview with MSI PI Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, who is the new BTI Director: Q&A with BTI Director Claudia Schmidt-Dannert. Professor Schmidt-Dannert uses MSI resources for two projects: one that seeks to engineer pharmaceuticals from fungi and plants, and another that is engineering more efficient metabolic and biocatalytic systems.
March 2023 Maintenance
On Wednesday, March 1, 2023, MSI staff will perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades to various MSI systems. MSI’s storage, compute clusters, and front-end servers will be unavailable for some portion of the day. A global system reservation will start at 5:00 a.m. on March 1. Jobs that cannot be completed before 5:00 a.m. on March 1 be held until after maintenance and then started once the system returns to production status.
Barocas Receives Education and Mentorship Medal
Long-time MSI PI Victor Barocas (professor, Biomedical Engineering; Institute for Engineering in Medicine) has been awarded the 2023 Robert M. Nerem Education and Mentorship Medal from the American Society for Mechanical Engineers. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in education and mentoring of trainees.
Gunda George Interviewed About Male Contraceptives
Minnesota news website MinnPost recently interviewed MSI PI Gunda Georg (Regents Professor; Medicinal Chemistry; Director, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development (ITDD)) about advances in the development of a male contraceptive. Research over the past year has resulted in progress on a compound called YCT529.
MSI PI Named AAAS Fellow
MSI PI Changquan Calvin Sun (professor, Pharmaceutics) is part of the 2022 class of Fellows for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in the Section of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He was recognized for his contributions to the field of drug delivery and dosage form design.
Making Synthetic Cells
MSI PI Kate Adamala (assistant professor, Genetics, Cell Biology and Development) is leading a multi-institutional team, the Build-a-Cell Network, that is looking for ways to build synthetic cells. Such cells would have a large number of uses, including for building therapeutic proteins and to make chemicals to replace those based on fossil fuels. This research is featured on the CBS website: Life as we don’t know it.
Saad Receives John von Neumann Award
MSI PI Yousef Saad (professor; Computer Science and Engineering) has won the 2023 John von Neumann Award from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). This award, which is SIAM’s highest honor and flagship lecture, recognizes outstanding and distinguished contributions to the field of applied mathematics and for the effective communication of these ideas to the community.
Fighting Fungal Pathogens
MSI PI Dean Malvick (professor, Plant Pathology) is studying the diseases corn Tar Spot and soybean Sudden Death Syndrome, which can greatly reduce the yield of the crops they infect. He is working to understand the biology of pathogens and how they interact with crops, with the goal of developing ways to fight them.
MSI PIs Named 2023-25 McKnight Land-Grant Professors
Several MSI PIs have been named McKnight Land-Grant Professors for 2023-25. These awards recognize promising junior faculty members.
February 2023 Maintenance
On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, MSI staff will perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades to various MSI systems. MSI’s storage, compute clusters, and front-end servers will be unavailable for some portion of the day. Users of the Galaxy software package should note that maintenance for this package may run until the morning of Thursday, February 2. A global system reservation will start at 5:00 a.m. on February 1. Jobs that cannot be completed before 5:00 a.m. on February 1 be held until after maintenance and then started once the system returns to production status.
Coalition’s New Leadership Takes Action to Promote Academic Scientific Computation Nationally
News Release January 24, 2023 The Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation, or CASC, welcomes the newly elected CASC executive committee members to represent 100 of the most forward-thinking research computing and data organizations from academic institutions, national labs, and research centers around the U.S. The new leadership is poised to take action to demonstrate the impact of the CASC network in supporting national competitiveness, global security, economic success, and a diverse and well-prepared 21st century workforce.
MSI PI Damien Fair Receives Eva King Killiam Research Award
Professor Damien Fair (co-Director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB); Institute of Child Development;  Pediatrics) has received the 2022 Eva King Killiam Research Award. This award is presented by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology to an early-career researcher to recognize outstanding translational research contributions.
Breeding and Baking Methods May Reduce Wheat Sensitivity
University of Minnesota researchers, including MSI PI James Anderson (professor, Agronomy and Plant Genetics), are investigating varieties of wheat and different baking methods that may help those with wheat intolerance enjoy bread. Some people who cannot tolerate many kinds of bread are able to eat sourdough bread, which undergoes a longer fermentation process. Different kinds of wheat may also be easier to digest than more commonly used varieties.
NASA Mission to Survey Earth’s Water, Including Great Lakes
MSI PI Sam Kelly (associate professor, Large Lakes Observatory; UMD Physics and Astronomy) is part of an international research team that will use satellites to measure the height of water in oceans, lakes, and rivers across the planet. The satellite, Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) was launched in December 2022 by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales.
MSI PIs Named to Academies for Excellence
Three MSI PIs have been named to the Academy for Excellence in Team Science, one of the Academies for Excellence at the University of Minnesota. The three faculty members are:
January 2023 Maintenance
On Wednesday, January 4, 2023, MSI staff will perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades to various MSI systems. During this month's scheduled maintenance period, primary storage may be unavailable or in a read-only state throughout much of the day. Mesabi and Mangi front-end nodes will be unavailable some portion of the day.
Using Ultrasound to Move Objects
MSI PI Ognjen Ilic (assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering) is the senior author of a new study that demonstrates using ultrasound waves to move objects with a metamaterial surface. Metamaterials are materials that are specifically engineered to interact with waves. This could lead to the use of contactless manipulation in many applications, such as robotics or manufacturing.
Pink Snow
MSI PI Trinity Hamilton (associate professor, Plant and Microbial Biology) was interviewed recently on Minnesota Public Radio’s (MPR) Climate Cast program about her research into red-pigmented algae that live on snow. These algae affect the dynamics of snowmelt.
Climate Research in Antarctica
MSI PI Peter Neff (assistant research professor, Soil, Water and Climate) is spending the next few months in Antarctica directing three field projects that seek to understand the evolution and future of Earth’s climate. Professor Neff is the director for field research and data of the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX).

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