Biophysical Society Bulletin | December 2020

Outreach

SACNAS: Celebrating ScienceWizardry and Protein Design

Some of youmay not have heard of SACNAS, a national society devoted to the advancement of Chicanos, Latinos, and Native Americans in science. SACNAS has local chapters at many US academic institutions and has served for years as a source of encouragement and professional development for generations of young underrepresented scientists. In addition to celebrating diversity and inclusion at all levels, the SACNAS National Confer- ence hosts scientific talks on a broad variety of topics with the specific goal of fostering excitement for cutting-edge science, in- cluding biophysics, among young underrepresented scientists. In addition, young SACNAS attendees learn about graduate school, industrial, postdoctoral, and academic job opportunities. Due to the challenges posed by the worldwide pandemic, this year the SACNAS National Conference was held virtually, October 19-24. OnWednesday, October 21, a STEM scientific session sponsored by the Biophysical Society and organized by member Silvia Cavagnero highlighted cutting-edge developments in the field of protein design. This session was titled “ScienceWizardry: Designing New Proteins to Improve People’s Lives,” and featured a diverse group of leaders in the field. A brief general introduction explained the meaning of the word biophysics, which employs a variety of cross-disciplinary quantitative approaches to address compelling biological questions. The introduction also highlighted the key role played by the Society over the years, including the fostering and dissemination of new ideas and tools in basic and biomedical sciences. The first speaker was Vatsan Raman , an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Vatsan explained how his group uses synthetic biology and protein evo- lution to develop powerful new phages aimed at killing harmful pathogenic bacteria. Tanja Kortemme , a Professor of Bioengineer- ing and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San

Francisco spoke next. Tanja highlighted how computer-assisted protein design leads to the development of custombiosensors and novel proteins bearing unprecedented folds. The following presentation was by David Lynn , Professor of Chemistry and Biology at Emory University. Taking a new twist, David explained the role of nested biomolecular information and Darwinian selection in proteinmisfolding, aggregation, and liquid-liquid phase transitions. These events are important because they are directly related to a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including those involving prion proteins. David’s approach aims at both understanding and potentially controlling and preventing the above processes. The last speaker was David Baker , a pioneer in protein design and structure prediction, who is a Professor of Biochemistry and head of the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, Seattle. David’s lecture focused on two developments of direct relevance to the worldwide pandemic: how to detect and inactivate the COVID-19 virus. The lecture beautifully showed how the Baker laboratory has been able to custom-design two novel protein systems. The first is able to detect the presence of the virus at high sensitivity, while the sec- ond specifically binds COVID-19’s envelope, leading to decreased infectivity. Overall, the session provided an informative glimpse at how biophysics discloses nature’s secrets and improves human conditions on earth. Speakers of SACNAS scientific session on “Science Wizardry: Designing New Proteins to Improve People’s Lives”. From left to right: Silvia Cavagnero, Vatsan Raman, Tanja Kortemme, David Lynn, and David Baker.

Important Dates Congressional Fellowship Application Deadline December 15, 2020 Society Award Nominations Open January 1, 2021 Late Abstract Submission Deadline January 8, 2021 Guest Blogger Application Deadline January 15, 2021

Affiliate Event Registration January 15, 2021 Hamburg Abstract Deadline January 22, 2021 Submission Deadline: The Biophysicist Special Issue Teaching and Learning during COVID-19 January 27, 2021

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