Michigan State University biochemists Bjoern Hamberger and Ben Orlando and were honored as the J.K. Billman, JR., M.D. Endowed Research Professor and James K. Billman Jr., M.D. Endowed Professor, respectively, during an investiture ceremony held Oct. 12 at MSU’s Wharton Center.

Hamberger, an associate professor in BMB, is a leading expert on plant-derived bioactive diterpenoids—specialized metabolites with exciting antimicrobial, antifungal, analgesic, and psychoactive properties. His work seeks to discover the means for biosustainable production of diterpenoids in host plant species, with an emphasis on pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. He is also a co-investigator in bioenergy crop design and bioenergy crop productivity and microbiome for the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Hamberger received his Ph.D. in biochemistry of plant-specialized metabolism from the Max-Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. Prior to joining MSU in 2016, he was an associate professor and group leader of diterpenoid research at the University of Copenhagen and the Novo Nordisk Center for Biosustainability.

Orlando, an assistant professor in BMB, focuses on utilizing cryo-electron microscopy to examine the structure, dynamics, and function of membrane protein complexes. His laboratory is currently studying membrane transport complexes that allow bacteria to evade our most powerful antibiotics, and human transporters involved in pharmaceutical uptake and efflux. By leveraging the power of cryo-EM, his lab seeks to visualize the structure and dynamics of these critical membrane protein machines in near-atomic detail. Orlando received his B.Sc. in human biology at Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in structural biology from the Hauptman-Woodward Institute at SUNY Buffalo in New York. Prior to joining MSU, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School.




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