News

MSI PIs are among the researchers who have received grants from the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics. PIs head three of the five projects that received research grants for 2021.
MSI PI Paul Dauenhauer (professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science) is featured in the Winter 2021 issue of the University of Minnesota Foundation’s magazine, Legacy. The article discusses Professor Dauenhauer’s research into using renewable resources like grasses and other plants as raw materials for consumer goods. The story can be read on the Foundation’s website: Turning Plants Into Everyday Products.
MSI PI Brian Steffenson (professor, Plant Pathology) provides insights in a Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) story about a new genetic modification technique that shows promise in developing strains of wheat that are resistant to wheat stem rust. This disease is highly damaging to wheat crops worldwide. The new method may allow researchers to more quickly breed crop varieties that are pathogen-resistant, leading to less use of fungicides.
An interview with MSI PI Damien Fair (professor, Institute of Child Development (ICD); Pediatrics; co-director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain) appeared recently in the magazine Minnesota Monthly. The interview discusses his research into ADHD and autism, as well as his academic activism.
MSI PI R. Stephanie Huang (associate professor, Experimental and Clinic Pharmacology; Masonic Cancer Center) described the computational methods she and her group use to discover possible new drug combinations for clinical uses in a new video.
MSI PI Bill Arnold (professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering) and members of his research group were interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) about their recent publication on pesticides in Minnesota lakes and rivers. The researchers discovered that low levels of neonicotinoid pesticides, which have been implicated in declines in pollinator numbers, can be found in Minnesota’s waters. The researchers emphasize that the levels are too low to affect humans, but could be an environmental problem.
On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, MSI staff will perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades to various MSI systems. Primary Storage, Mesabi, and Mangi will be unavailable throughout much of the day. A global system reservation will start at 5:00 a.m. on January 6. Jobs that cannot be completed before 5:00 a.m. on January 6 will be held until after maintenance and then started once the system returns to production status. January maintenance will include:

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