A collage showing on the left a picture of the bright pink closed flowers and bracts of the plant Pogonopus speciosus. On the right a scheme depicting the reaction of tryptamine and secologanic acid to vincosidic acid that is catalyzed by P. speciosus Epi-STR, an unusual R-stereoselective ortholog of strictosidine synthase.

Our funky R-stereoselective Epi-STR is now available online and open access at its permanent home @angewandtechemie.bsky.social. 🥳
This is Clara's first first-author paper, makes me extra happy!
@mpi-ce.bsky.social
#PlantScience
#natprod
doi.org/10.1002/anie...

Botanical mystery solved: how plants make a crucial malaria drug Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 18 March 2026

www.nature.com/articles/d41... featuring Sarah O'Connor

Common Plant Proteins Found to Calm the Immune System - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new study co-led by MCB’s Kazuki Nagashima and published in Science Immunology (PDF) identifies plant-derived molecules that help quiet the immune system, preventing inflammatory reactions to the […...

Common Plant Proteins Found to Calm the Immune System 🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @microbiometcell.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @rivaselenarivas.bsky.social @science.org @harvard.edu

Wendy Valencia Montoya Receives Weintraub Graduate Student Award for Groundbreaking Thesis on the Evolution of Sensory Worlds - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Wendy Valencia Montoya has been named a recipient of the prestigious 2026 Harold M. Weintraub Award in recognition of her doctoral thesis, an ambitious and interdisciplinary body of […]

Wendy Valencia Montoya Receives Weintraub Graduate Student Award for Groundbreaking Thesis on the Evolution of Sensory Worlds 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @basicsci.fredhutch.org @harvardoeb.bsky.social

Really grateful to receive support from the George W. Merck Fellowship! Through this award, we will uncover how plants synthesize complex neuroactive molecules that are important for both plant biology and human health.

bsky.app/profile/harv...

So pleased to share this work on alkaloid biosynthesis.
Great collaboration with @unsworthchem.bsky.social. Well done to all authors. We have found key alkaloid producing enzymes that look like those normally found in bacteria.

www.york.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

Nicotine biosynthesis completed by cryptic activating glucosylation Nicotine is a neuroactive alkaloid produced by tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) as a defense against herbivory, and an addictive stimulant that has been used by humans for millennia. Despite its significan...

The centuries old mystery of how tobacco plants make nicotine has a sweet solution: an additional glucose group is vital for the key pathway steps. Read more in our pre-print: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6.... Incredible work from @benschwabe.bsky.social and collaborators in York and Copenhagen.

Thanks to Dr. Cassandra Quave for hosting me on her Foodie Pharmacology podcast!

We discussed the molecules responsible for the properties of medicinal plants - and how my lab studies the chemistry that plants use to make them. Check it out!

t.co/nEdpoyN8QD

Pew Awards 22 Researchers Biomedical Science Grants

Truly honored to be selected as a Pew Biomedical Scholar!

Thank you to past/present mentors for your support and to everyone in my lab for your help in advancing our understanding of plant chemistry. Excited to meet the other Pew scholars!
@pewresearch.org

www.pew.org/en/about/new...

Ryan Nett Named Pew Scholar for Innovative Research on Plant-Derived Molecules - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology MCB faculty member Ryan Nett has been named a 2025 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, one of 22 early-career scientists selected nationwide for their promising and innovative […]

Ryan Nett Named Pew Scholar for Innovative Research on Plant-Derived Molecules 🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @zombiflied.bsky.social @harvardmagazine.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social