Biophysical Society Bulletin | April 2026

Communities

George Khelashvili Membership Committee

George Khelashvili

Is this your first volunteer position for BPS? If not, what other positions have you held? Being a member of the BPS Membership Committee was my first volunteer position for BPS. Since then, I volunteered to be a judge for the Student Research Achievement Award poster competition at the 2025 BPS Annual Meeting. Why do you volunteer? Being a part of the BPS community has had a significant impact on my scientific and career growth. I joined the Society when I was a new graduate student, nearly 15 years ago, and over the years I have found my home at BPS. I decided to volunteer in order to give back to the Society and to help the next genera tion of young biophysicists to find their place in the community. What has been a highlight from your volunteer experience? Meeting up close and working with all the wonderful members of the committee has been a gratifying experience. I learned how deeply they care about the future of BPS. Also, meeting new Society members at the BPS meetings has been wonder ful. This experience allowed me to learn and appreciate how di verse the Society is. It also gave me an opportunity to share my

own experiences and advice with the new members about how to navigate the intense schedule of the BPS Annual Meeting, as well as how to network and establish meaningful connections. Do you have advice for others who might be thinking about volunteering? It feels great to give back to the Society for everything it has done for my scientific career. It is the least we can all do. So, I would strongly encourage others to think about volunteering. You will meet great people, and you will get an opportunity to make your voice heard! When not volunteering for BPS, what do you work on? My scientific research is in the field of computational biophys ics and structural biology. My lab implements cutting-edge computational modeling and simulation techniques and com bines them with advanced biophysics and machine learning approaches to study complex molecular mechanisms in diverse biological systems. In my spare time, I love singing and listen ing to classical music, especially opera, and watching different sports (soccer is my favorite, with American football coming in a close second).

Subgroups Biopolymers in Vivo

Biopolymers in Vivo (BIV) celebrated its 15th anniversary on Subgroup Saturday at the BPS Annual Meeting in San Fran cisco, starting with an inspiring symposium organized by Program Co-Chairs Simon Ebbinghaus and Alex Buell . The event started with a talk on the chemical origins of life by Dieter Braun , and ended with a presentation by the 2026 BIV Young Faculty Award winner, Emily Sontag . Following the sympo sium, many members of BIV walked to the Subgroup dinner at nearby Zevi Café, ending the evening with two cakes to mark the occasion. If you are not a current member of BIV, please join our Subgroup and plan to participate in the fun next year in Philadelphia! — Daryl Eggers , Outgoing BIV Chair

Emily Sontag (center) receives her award check from BIV Secretary-Treasurer Gary Pielak (left) and her commemorative plaque from 2026 BIV Chair Daryl Eggers (right).

April 2026

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