BPS2026 Program Book

Career Development Center Workshop The NIH K99/R00 Award: A Unique Award for Postdocs Who Have Demonstrated Readiness for Independence 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Esplanade, Room 151 The NIH Pathway to Independence award (K99/R00) was created in 2006 in an effort to decrease the time between completing doctoral training and establishment of an independent research program. It combines 2 years to complete postdoctoral training with 3 years of research support in a tenure track or equivalent position. It is designed to support individuals who can make a strong case that they have matured as scientists to the point that they are, or soon will be, ready to establish their own independent research program. With ~250 awards being made yearly, it has become an invaluable asset when looking for faculty positions. This workshop will introduce the details of this unique award and provide insights into how to write an effective and compel ling proposal. Exhibitor Presentation Thermo Fisher Scientific 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm, Esplanade, Room 158 Expanding the Boundaries of Cryo-Electron Microscopy Thermo Fisher Scientific invites you to explore the latest breakthroughs in cryo-TEM technology. Discover how a traditional 120kV TEM equipped with a direct electron detector optimized for lower voltages can deliver impressive single-particle analysis results. We will also unveil record-setting data and groundbreaking structural insights made possible by our newest 300kV systems. Learn about new features for enhancing speed and usability in cryo-EM data management. And be among the first to get a preview of exciting innovations on the horizon. Speaker Jeffrey Lengyel, Director of Product Marketing, Thermo Fisher Scientific Steps and Suggestions for Getting Your Scientific Paper Published 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm, Esplanade, Room 155 This workshop focuses on practical strategies for successfully publishing scientific research. Key aspects of the publication process, including pre paring the manuscript, submitting the paper, responding to reviewers, dealing with rejection, and managing publication costs will be discussed via a short presentation followed by a panel discussion by experienced editors and senior researchers. This session will offer tips and sugges tions for all levels of experience, from those who are planning their first manuscript to those who have published many. Panelists: Rebecca Berlow, University of North Carolina, USA Erin Seifert, Thomas Jefferson University, USA Patricia Soto, University of California, Merced, USA Valeria Vasquez, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA

JUST-B Poster Session 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Exhibit Halls ABC

M O N D A Y

The JUST-B Poster Session will celebrate the achievements of students, postdocs, and early career researchers in the field of biophysics. The poster session will promote the research endeavors of trainees, offer support through networking opportunities, and serve as a recruitment venue for future graduate students, postdocs, faculty, staff scientists, journal editors, or any other career within biophysics. A goal of this pro gram is to remove barriers to participation and ensure that all students and trainees, including those who are underrepresented in biophysics, have equal access to advancement opportunities and community sup port. All are welcome to attend. Exhibitor Presentation Nuclera 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Esplanade, Room 157 Cell-Free Protein Synthesis to Unlock Difficult Soluble and Membrane Targets Recombinant protein production remains a major rate-limiting step in modern drug discovery. Biophysical and structural methods, from SPR and HDX-MS to cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography, routinely stall, because sufficient quantities of properly folded, functional protein are unavailable. These bottlenecks slow hit validation, mechanism-of-action studies, and structure-enabled optimisation across both soluble and membrane targets. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) offers a different paradigm. By decoupling expression from cell growth, and viability, CFPS enables rapid, iterative design-make-test cycles, direct control over reaction conditions, and straightforward incorporation of non-standard components such as chaperones, ligands, cofactors, and membrane mimetics. In this talk, we introduce eProtein Discovery™™, an integrated CFPS-based system that combines sequence design and automated digital microfluidics-based multiplex protein screening to rapidly identify expression-ready, assay-ready protein conditions. We will first illustrate how the platform accelerates soluble protein production, highlight ing case studies where parallel screening of constructs, tags, redox conditions, and other additives yields functional material suitable for biophysical and structural workflows in days rather than weeks. We then extend this approach to membrane proteins, focusing on the additional challenge of providing the right lipid environment. We will discuss co translational insertion into nanodiscs, the impact of different membrane scaffold protein (MSP) sizes, and how lipid composition tunes stability and function. Case studies on transporters, membrane-bound enzymes, and GPCRs will show how eProtein Discovery systematically screens constructs, MSP variants, lipids, and additives to pinpoint conditions that produce active receptors and enzymes for downstream assays. To gether, these examples demonstrate how CFPS can make a broad range of traditionally difficult proteins accessible for drug discovery, trans forming protein production from a bottleneck into a programmable, front-end design space. Speaker Kristin Mars, Key Account Manager (West Coast) in BD and Sales, Nuclera Membership Committee Meeting 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm, Room 312

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