Biophysical Society Bulletin | February 2022

February 2022

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y

2022 New and Notable SymposiumSpeakers Announced

Four speakers have been selected for the 2022 New and Notable Symposium The Annual Meeting ProgramChairs were challenged inmaking the selections this year from among the very large number of outstanding nominations submitted by Society members. The speakers will present their work in San Francisco on Sunday, February 20, 10:45 AM–12:45 PM. The New and Notable Symposiumwill feature exciting new discoveries across a wide range of biophysical research, including structures of channel complexes, the early stages of aggregate self-assembly, and computational analy- ses of protein-nucleic acid interactions. Elizabeth Komives and Arthur G. Palmer, III , ProgramCo-Chairs of the 66th Annual Meeting Program Committee, will co-chair the Symposium. Stephan Pless , University of Cophenhagen, Denmark Structure and Function of the Human Sodium Leak Channelosome Samrat Mukhopadhyay , Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, India Prion Protein Biophysics through the Lens of Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation: A Tale of an Intrinsically Disordered Tail Jin Yu , University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Revealing Atomic-Scale Molecular Diffusion of a Transcription Factor Domain Protein Along DNA

Stephan Pless

Samrat Mukhopadhyay

Jin Yu

Tina Izard

Tina Izard , The Scripps Research Institute, USA The Non-Canonical Receptor Cryo-EMStructure of GPCR-RGS Reveals Unusual Biology of Orphan Receptors and the Formation of Signaling GPCR-RGS Nanocomplexes

FollowAnnual Meeting events on Facebook, Twitter, and the Biophysical Society Blog throughout the Annual Meeting. Follow along using the hashtag #bps2022

Inside President’s Message Biophysicist in Profile Members in the News

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Career Development

Public Affairs Publications

In Memoriam

Important Dates

President’s Message

President’s Message

As the year draws to a close, I write this column uncertain if I will be allowed to travel to San Francisco, but heartened that my airline tickets purchased in September finally came through on Christmas Day. This year has been an incredibly

The drop in membership renewals is correlated to attendance at the Annual Meeting. The value of membership has been reframed as extending throughout the year. We held com- mittee meetings outside of Annual Meeting week as well numerous programs, including virtual new member welcome events, additional career panels, and professional development sessions. The 2021 edition of Biophysics Week, the annual event to celebrate and raise awareness of the field, included a Biophysics 101 session, another on Funding Opportunities for Faculty at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, webinars on both National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation grants, career networking sessions, and a Fireside Chat with BPS journal editors. We also hosted a webinar titled “Building a Welcoming & Inclusive Research Community” as well as a screening of Picture a Scientist , a documentary about gender-based harassment experienced by women in STEM fields. In addition, we launched a series of webinars with The Biophysicist and the Education Committee related to teach- ing biophysics. The Membership Committee hosted a dozen virtual networking events throughout the year with topics such as biophysical methods used in clinical medicine, biomo- lecular modeling in machine learning, and the impacts of the pandemic on young Latin American biophysicists. The virtual symposium “Biophysical Society Celebrates 50 Years of the Protein Data Bank (PBD50)” in October reached more than 730 attendees. This programming aimed to provide value and opportunities for member engagement throughout the year. The President’s Task Force on Policy was established to address misconduct of BPS Members. Since the BPS bylaws did not support the desired policies, the necessary bylaw changes were put to a vote and obtained member approval. The Task Force developed Ethics Guidelines and a BPS Awards and Fellows Revocation Policy, which were both approved at Fall Council and announced in the December issue of the BPS Bulletin . A Subgroup Task Force evaluated the feasibility of adding more Subgroups and proposals for sustainable program- ming. The outcomes included recommendations on capping Subgroups, a report card mechanism for evaluation, and an incubator program prior to new Subgroup applications. Fall Council approved the Subgroup Task Force recommendations, which are discussed in the January issue of BPS Bulletin .

Frances Separovic with the peptide gramicidin A (art by Daniel Power).

busy and productive year for the Biophysical Society (BPS), despite the continuing challenges arising from the pandemic. The year began with the delivery of a virtual Annual Meeting and assessing the feasibility of future in-person events, the impact on membership, and how the Society will function during the pandemic. A special thank you to our 2021 Program Chairs, Patricia Bassereau and Betrand Garcia-Moreno , and Elizabeth Komives and Arthur Palmer for their extraordinary efforts for the 2022 Annual Meeting. BPS2021 was our first fully virtual Annual Meeting, with more than 3,600 attendees, 1,400 posters, and 400 prerecord- ed presentations for the Subgroup and Platform sessions. The five-day event included an online exhibit hall, Student Research Achievement Awards, the Undergraduate Poster Awards Competition, career-level and speed networking sessions, a Meet the Editors event, BPS Awards and Fellows presentations, the BPS Lecture, and the President’s Sympo- sium on Building an Inclusive Biophysical Society. Workshops were held in March and had higher attendee numbers than our face-to-face meetings do. Feedback was generally very positive, and the experience that was delivered in the virtual format was appreciated, although a survey indicated that respondents prefer in-person events. At Spring Council, we noted the impact on BPS finances, the drop in membership renewals, and our dependance on revenue from the Biophysical Journal (BJ). I urge members to submit papers to BJ, which is the flagship journal for biophys- ics, as well as the Biophysical Reports , which launched last year and successfully published its first two issues online in September and December. By Fall Council, we were relieved that our estimated deficit for 2021 was significantly better than budgeted. However, finances remain a concern in 2022 with another deficit budget as we continue to work to minimize and manage the financial loss.

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President’s Message

Officers President Frances Separovic President-Elect Gail Robertson Past-President Catherine A. Royer Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Samantha Harris Council Henry Colecraft Michelle A. Digman Erin C. Dueber Marta Filizola Gilad Haran Kumiko Hayashi Francesca Marassi

to have excellent staff who are manag- ing these additional challenges. Finally, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) underpins most of what we do and has been a focus throughout the year. We con- tinually review our efforts to support DEI in the work of our committees, in BPS awards and nominations, and in our program events. Strategic planning will be undertaken in 2022 to formally review and update the BPS Strategic Plan. As I hand over the gavel to incom- ing president, Gail Robertson , plans are underway for a post‐pandemic vision for the Society. This year was not what I anticipated when I was president-elect, but was still a very productive year for the Society and I am proud to have served as BPS president. The ac- complishments above were possible due to the support, collaboration, and efforts of the excellent BPS staff and volunteers. I remain inspired and motivated by the hard work and dedication that so many individuals expend on behalf of the Society and look forward to

Planning for the 2022 Annual Meeting during the ongoing pandemic included a new set of challenges. The initial decision was to prioritize the in-person meeting and record a subset of content to offer an on-demand option after the meeting. In early September we expand- ed the online content to include an ePoster gallery to allow poster presenters unable to travel to the meeting to share their work with colleagues. We also will provide vaccination verification services for on-site attendees, although the Omicron variant is now a concern, which means dealing with increased anxieties, changes of travel plans for some attendees, etc. BPS2022 is an entirely distinct set of more complicated challenges compared with the vir- tual Annual Meeting in 2021. We are fortunate BPS Leadership in a virtual meeting, clockwise from left: Catherine A. Royer, Kalina Hristova, Erin Sheets, Gail Robertson, and Frances Separovic.

Susan Marqusee Joseph A. Mindell Carolyn A. Moores Kandice Tanner Biophysical Journal Vasanthi Jayaraman Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran Editor-in-Chief Biophysical Reports

Jörg Enderlein Editor-in-Chief

Society Office Jennifer Pesanelli Executive Officer Newsletter Executive Editor Jennifer Pesanelli Managing Editor John Long

seeing many of you at BPS2022. — Frances Separovic , President

Production Catie Curry Ray Wolfe Proofreader/Copy Editor

Darren Early Laura Phelan

GET INVOLVED! The 7th Annual Biophysics Week will take place March 21–25, 2022. We invite you to participate in this global event to raise the awareness of biophysics research and celebrate the work that you do. Participate by planning an affiliate event. Your event can be virtual or in person. The format is entirely up to you. When you register your event with BPS, we will help you promote the event. For more information about how to plan an affiliate event, visit biophysics.org/biophysicsweek.

The Biophysical Society Newsletter (ISSN 0006-3495) is published eleven times per year, January-December, by the Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Distributed to USA members and other countries at no cost. Cana- dian GST No. 898477062. Postmaster: Send address changes to Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, MD 20852. Copyright © 2022 by the Biophysical Society.

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Biophysicist in Profile

Gail Robertson Area of Research: Biogenesis, biophysical properties, and physiological roles of ion channels

Institution University of Wisconsin-Madison

At-a-Glance

Gail Robertson grew up in the small town of Libby, Montana. She recalls, “My family lived there until I was 11, when, driven by upward mobility and my parents’ wish for a better future for the kids, we moved to a city where the kids could work a job, live at home, and pay tuition to an excellent state university, preferably graduating as engineers. Hence, we lived first in St. Paul, Minnesota, where my three older siblings graduated from ‘The U,’ and then in Williamsville, New York, where I finished high school and went to SUNY Buffalo. I know my parents were right to promote our education, but my longing for the profound natural beauty of Montana has never abated.”

Gail Robertson

Gail Robertson , Kellett Professor in the Department of Neuro- science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and incoming Biophysical Society President, started university as an English major, pursuing her love of poetry. She quickly found that “there was an entire world in the countless courses offered and, in the ‘70s, very few requirements. While attending a weekly Neurobiology Colloquium with eight other students in my sophomore year, reading Hodgkin and Huxley and oth- er classics of neurophysiology, I realized I wanted to be an academic research scientist directing my own laboratory,” she shares. “I never wavered from that goal.” She attended Washington University for her graduate education, where she studied under “the indefatigable Paul S.G. Stein , who is now in his 51st year teaching his legend- ary physiology course to 300+ undergraduates! He was an attentive and dedicated mentor, despite raising two small children on his own,” she says. “In my studies I inferred the organization of central pattern generators underlying rhyth- mic limb movements by resolving the synaptic drive recorded with microelectrodes in motor neurons innervating the limb musculature. I often wondered about the mechanisms coor- dinating the expression of multiple ion channel types and the resulting firing patterns of the motor neuron.” She made the fortuitous decision in graduate school to take Physical Chemistry and the Membrane Biophysics course offered by Paul De Weer , Luis Reuss , and the late Bob Rakowski . “I felt at sea in the Membrane Biophysics class of 20, the only woman, and intimidated by the aggressive Socratic method that was the order of the day, but I ultimately excelled,” Rob- ertson notes. “I did not realize at the time that I would later, as an assistant professor, put those principles into action, characterizing the biophysical behavior of recently cloned channels. Despite my lack of formal training in a biophysics lab, the experience in that Membrane Biophysics course was crucial in providing the kernel of confidence I would need to tackle those projects as I set out on my own.”

Following completion of her PhD and based on her interest in the control of membrane conductances underlying com- plex behaviors, she was encouraged by a faculty member at Washington University to consider the emerging field of neurogenetics. Though she knew nothing of genetics, she was intrigued and joined the lab of Barry Ganetzky at the University of Wisconsin. “In the first lab meetings I felt I’d been dropped in a foreign country where no one spoke my language. For a time, I was the resident electrophysiologist in the lab, characterizing mutant phenotypes in various Drosophila preparations and learning how to set up genetic crosses,” she explains. “But mostly I received amazing training in molecular biology, ‘walking’ hundreds of kilobases along the chromo- some and screening cDNA libraries homemade from tens of thousands of fly heads. These efforts led to cloning the gene slowpoke ( slo ), encoding the first BK potassium channel.” “Another gene that emerged from the Ganetzky enterprise was ether-a-go-go and a related gene, hERG , cloned from human hippocampus. As an independent assistant professor, I decided to figure out the physiological function of the hERG gene, expressing it in Xenopus oocytes and then comparing the biophysical and pharmacological properties to native currents reported in the literature. This work was done to- gether with Matt Trudeau , my first graduate student and now a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine,” she says. “We found that hERG encoded the channels un- derlying I Kr , a repolarizing current in the heart and the target of acquired long QT syndrome. Craig January , Zhengfeng Zhou (now at Oregon Health & Science University), and I created a technology readily adopted by the pharmaceutical indus- try to counter-screen drugs in development for risk of the catastrophic arrhythmias associated with acquired long QT syndrome. Much of the rest of my career has focused on the hERG channel, although drug safety remains just one aspect of our research.”

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Biophysicist in Profile

Inspired by the work of Carol Deutsch showing cotranslational association of ion channel subunits, Robertson’s then-grad- uate student Pallavi Phartiyal made the discovery that alter- nate transcripts encoding two subunits of the hERG channel, hERG1a and 1b, must be near or interacting with each other during channel biogenesis. “Finding no evidence in the litera- ture at the time of such interactions in any biological system, we published but then shelved further work on the project. Ten years later, we found these transcripts were also coreg- ulated by shRNAs specifically targeting either transcript. This set us on course to show they interact cotranslationally, both in heterologous systems and in cardiomyocytes. Employing RNA-IP and single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridiza- tion, we made the further surprising observation that mRNAs encoding different ion channels, such as those engaged in producing the ventricular action potential, are also associ- ated and coregulated,” she says. “These observations have led us closer to a major question dogging me throughout my career: How is the balance of different ion channels achieved to create a ventricular action potential, or the synaptic drive underlying coordinated movements? Ongoing efforts in the lab are focused on understanding the mechanisms by which channel mRNAs are associated and quantitatively translated as an ensemble.” One of the biggest challenges in Robertson’s career has been learning mentoring skills without formal training, which is much more common now than in years past. Mentoring has also come to be the most rewarding aspect of her work. “The mentoring works in both directions: I am especially grateful to the members of my lab, the most culturally diverse group of my career. We have made events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement an ongoing topic of lab discussion, and my trainees have elevated our collective aspirations for a diverse Biophysical Society through activities such as Black in Biophysics, founded by my graduate student Whitney Stevens-Sostre ,” Robertson shares. “The folks in my lab come from six countries and Puerto Rico, and each has a unique perspective. Those perspectives are, of course, also essential

to creative and forward-thinking science, which is challeng- ing and requires all the talent we can foster. I love my train- ees and staff, and I tell them so. They return my regard by working hard, pushing new discoveries, and training the next generation of scientists coming into the lab.” The Biophysical Society was the first place Robertson saw women engaged in science and holding leadership positions. “I had the opportunity to serve on Council early in my career, and that revealed to me some of the structural problems holding women back. I’ll never forget Dorothy Beckett ’s brave indifference to the eye rolls in the room as she insisted it was possible and indeed essential to find highly qualified women to speak in symposia. That was leadership,” she says. “We continue to have these discussions today, exercising vigilance in supporting women and other underrepresented groups in our society. I feel that most BPS members support these efforts that make the Society a welcoming place.” “For me, like many members of the Biophysical Society, the Annual Meeting has an outsized impact on scientific life. It spurs us to complete and craft our best stories for presenta- tions, offers each year a new world of advances, and builds a community among scientists that makes us all better. I trea- sure those relationships that get renewed and strengthened each year. The committees and Subgroups, run by volunteer members, are powerful drivers for the Society. And now more than ever I appreciate the BPS staff, who do much more than I realized prior to becoming president-elect. I used to think no one could fill [former Executive Officer] Ro Kampman ’s shoes, but Executive Officer Jennifer Pesanelli has taken the Society in many new directions and has guided her staff and the BPS leadership team with calm and grace through the previously unimaginable challenges of the pandemic. Finally, with three journals ( Biophysical Journal , Biophysical Reports , and The Biophysicist ) each under fresh editorial leadership, I am excited about our renewed potential as a Society to promote scientific excellence and support the next generation of biophysicists.”

Members in the News

Amitabha Chattopadhyay , Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)–Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology and Society member since 1984, was awarded a CSIR Bhatnagar Fellowship.

Amitabha Chattopadhyay

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Public Affairs

NIH Bids Farewell to Francis Collins On December 20, Francis Collins ended his 12 years as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with fanfare worthy of his tenure, featuring tributes from former presidents of the United States and even cellist Yo-Yo Ma . Collins—the guitar-playing, motorcycle-riding geneticist and physician—steered the $43 billion agency through three administrations, won budget increas- es, and launched major new programs in cancer, neuroscience, and personalized medicine. He also led NIH’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Collins is returning to his lab at NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute.

Lawrence Tabak Steps in as InterimNIH Administrator At the close of December, Lawrence Tabak began serving as Interim Administrator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following the departure of Francis Collins . A permanent successor will need to be nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. Tabak, who was trained as a dentist and then earned a PhD in endodontics, came to the NIH in 2000 from the University of Rochester, where he served as a senior associate dean as well as a researcher. At the agency, he first directed the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, then held the position of Acting Principal Deputy Director of the NIH. He has held his current position of Principal Deputy Director and Deputy Ethics Counselor since 2010. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Pledges $3.4 Billion in Science Funding The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a philanthropic organi- zation established by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan , announced in December an investment of $3.4 billion in research to help cure, prevent, and manage human disease. CZI was founded in 2015 with a $3 billion investment to support scientific research for a period of 10–15 years, with a focus on establishing the development of three new research centers, including an artificial intelligence institute, a

biomedical imaging center, and supporting collaborative projects such as the CZ Biohub Network, which will connect researchers working on disease mechanisms and therapies. The Biohub project, launched in 2016, will be expanded and funded through 2031 by a share of up to $1 billion of the newly donated funds. HHMI Invests in STEMDiversity Initiative The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) launched a new initiative to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM at the end of December. HHMI intends to invest $2 billion over the next 10 years in an effort to change the historical lack of diversity in science and related fields. According to Educational Researcher , more than 40 percent of white undergraduate students with an intended major in STEM graduated with a STEM degree, while only 29 percent of Hispanic and 22 percent of Black students did so (Does STEM stand out? Examining racial/ethnic gaps in persistence across postsec- ondary fields. Educ. Researcher 48: 133–144.). A recent study published in Sociological Science warns that the pandemic could make matters worse: hires of Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American faculty declined disproportionately during the Great Recession of the late ’00s (Crisis and uncertainty: did the Great Recession reduce the diversity of new faculty? Sociol. Sci. 8: 308–324.), and the COVID-19 crisis could have a similar effect. HHMI’s diversity goals will be quantified at least annually as numerical and demographic data become available, such as the number of students colleges and uni- versities added to their programs.

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A-TEEM for Biophysical Newsletter.indd 1

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Publications

Know the Editor Kandice Tanner National Cancer Institute

Editor Biophysical Reports

Kandice Tanner

Editor’s Pick Biophysical Journal SARS-CoV-2 spike binding to ACE2 is stronger and longer ranged due to glycan interaction Yihan Huang, Bradley S. Harris, Shiaki A. Minami, Seongwon Jung, Priya S. Shah, Somen Nandi, Karen A. McDonald, Roland Faller “Glycosylation of the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as well as the ACE2 receptor leads to stronger and longer ranged binding interactions between the proteins. Particularly at shorter distances, the interactions are between residues of the proteins themselves, whereas at larger distances these interactions are mediated by the glycans.”

What have you read lately that you found really interesting or stimulating? I have been re-reading Rupert A. Willis ’ The Spread of Tumours in the Human Body , published in the mid-20th century. Based on human autopsies, it provides detailed descriptions of different routes of metastasis and tumor outgrowth for rare and understudied cancers. This information is sometimes dif- ficult to find in one or two collective reviews. It has become a valuable resource for my current thinking on our work, which is focused on why different types of cancer spread to distinct groups of organs. What has been your biggest “aha” moment in science? It is difficult to pinpoint a single moment. Instead, I will elaborate on a conceptual leap that allowed us to make one of the lab’s discoveries. Solid cancers often show preferred restricted sites of colonization; for example, uveal melano- ma preferentially metastasizes to the liver. The mechanisms that drive this non-random targeting are not completely understood, nor can it be predicted in individual patients. We reasoned that organ-specific biophysical cues are important, but combinatorial intravital imaging/mechanical mapping of multiple organs in a mouse remains technically challeng- ing. We hypothesized that zebrafish might be an alternative pre-clinical model. Experiments confirmed that signaling pro- teins that guide metastases are sufficiently conserved such that human tumor cells placed into zebrafish show the same preferred colonization sites as they do in mice. Specifically, human breast cancer cell lines that exclusively colonize brain or bone marrow in mice also home to the same organ analogs in zebrafish. Using this animal model, we investigated the role of biophysical properties on non-random metastasis by using home-built, high-resolution optical tweezers in living animals combined with high-resolution intravital fluores- cence imaging. We discovered that the physical properties of the tissue regulate organ-specific organ colonization in a living animal. This organ selectivity is driven by both vessel topography and cell-type–dependent extravasation in the larval zebrafish. I was extremely excited by this study because we can now adapt imaging-based approaches to perform multiplexed measurements in a living animal to understand how organ-specific tissue microenvironmental cues drive metastasis.

Version of Record Published December 6, 2021 DOI:https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.12.002

FollowBPS Journals on Twitter @BiophysJ @BiophysReports @BiophysicistJ

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Publications

Meet BJ’s New Social Media Contributor

What excited you about being a social media contributor for Biophysical Journal ? Aside from my curious nature (which motivated me to be- come a scientist), I have loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember. When I decided to pursue an academic career, I understood that our role as scientists within society is two-fold: doing science and communicating science. For these reasons, during my PhD I looked for different oppor- tunities that would allow me to share science with both the scientific community and the general public. When I came across the call for social media contributors for the Biophysical Journal , I knew I should jump at the opportunity. Being a social media contributor is exciting to me because it represents both a chance for me to improve my communication skills as well as an opportunity to contribute to the biophysics community. How do you view the role of social media in science? I think social media has become the most powerful means for science communication today. Social media allows us (scien- tists) to exchange scientific knowledge, to give and receive advice, to develop collaborations, and to increase our own visibility within the scientific community. At the same time, social media also represents the most rapid form of science communication to the public, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the current pandemic has also allowed us to witness first-hand the two faces of social media: it represents a powerful platform for public outreach, but it can also become a dangerous tool used to spread misinformation. I think it is thus our duty as scientists to dedicate at least some of our valuable time to sharing knowledge using social media.

Biophysical Journal is pleased to introduce Ilaria DiMeglio , the newest addition to the team of social media contributors. Social media contributors help the editorial office identify new and exciting research by contributing blog and social media posts. Learn more about what drew DiMeglio to the position and her views on the relation- ship between social media and science.

Ilaria DiMeglio

What is your field of research? I am currently finishing a one-year postdoc in the lab of Aurélien Roux at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, where I also did my PhD. In the lab, we are interested in how phys- ical forces and mechanics impact biological processes at the molecular, cellular, and tissue scale. My research in this lab has focused on understanding the link between epithelial tissue mechanics and cell cycle progression. More specifically, I helped develop and optimize a technique for cell encapsu- lation within hydrogel microspheres (called capsules), where encapsulated epithelial cells form an epithelial tissue that grows under spherical confinement. Quantifying cell cycle progression and the deformation of the capsule as the tissue grows allows us to assess how compressive stresses impact epithelial cell cycle dynamics.

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Communities

When not volunteering for BPS, what do you work on? I study the structure and function of DNA—work that I’m really excited about because we keep uncovering new se- crets about the molecule of life! I also play flute in the Texas Medical Center Orchestra, so I spend my Wednesday nights working on beautiful symphonic music. Subgroups Membrane Structure and Function Thomas E. Thompson Award Winner The Membrane Structure and Function (MSAF) Subgroup would like to announce the winner of the Thomas E. Thomp- son Award. This prestigious honor recognizes an outstanding contribution in the field of membrane structure and function. This award celebrates the legacy of Thomas E. Thompson , a true pioneer in the field of membrane structure and assembly, and a former president of the Biophysical Society (BPS) and editor-in-chief of Biophysical Journal . The 2022 recipient of the Thomas E. Thompson Award is Abdou R. Thiam , from the École Normale Supérieure de Paris, France. He joins the previous winners of the award: Bill Wimley , Sarah Keller , Scott Feller , Karen Fleming , Peter Tieleman , Daniel Huster , Dimitrios Stamou , Emad Tajkhorshid , and Markus Deserno . We invite all the attendees of the 2022 BPS Annual Meeting to be present during the award lecture at 11:50 AM on Sat- urday, February 19, as part of the exciting scientific program for the MSAF Subgroup. For members who cannot attend the meeting in person, the Subgroup session recording will be available on-demand. — Francisco Barrera , Chair — Kandice Levental , Secretary-Treasurer — Ingela Parmryd , Chair-Elect Membrane Transport Cole Award Winner Join us in congratulating the 2022 Cole Award winner, Henry M. Colecraft of Columbia University! Our Subgroup will be celebrating Colecraft together with the Channels, Receptors and Transporters Subgroup during the Cole Award Dinner at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting on Saturday, February 19, at 6:30 PM. Please join us for this fantastic occasion! — Lucie Delemotte , Chair

Lynn Zechiedrich Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW)

Lynn Zechiedrich

Is this your first volunteer position for BPS? If not, what other positions have you held? My first volunteer job was as a blogger for the Biophysical So- ciety (BPS) Annual Meeting in 2019. I then joined the Commit- tee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW) after getting to know the fabulous Gabriela Popescu . I had shared with her some of what I had learned at the Higher Education Resource Services Institute Leadership Development Program (https:/www.hersnetwork.org/) about promoting minoritized students. Through CPOW, I have the privilege of continuing to learn about these important issues and, more importantly, ways to counter these issues to promote inclusive excellence and diversity. Why do you volunteer? Starting with my first conversation with Dr. Popescu, I real- ized that BPS leadership is sincere in making real steps to improve diversity and inclusive excellence. I had learned that implicit bias—manifested as microaggressions and microin- validations against a person’s gender, sex, race, color, culture, sexual orientation, disability, country of origin, state in which they live, institution in which they work, or any other person- al characteristic—is a major barrier to inclusive excellence and limits diversity in ways that marginalize, tokenize, and minoritize people. Unchecked, inherent bias contributes to a culture of hostility that forces minority groups out of the sciences. The loss of this scientific talent and the innovation that diversity brings to science hurts our ability to address scientific issues of worldwide importance. I feel welcomed and valued at BPS. I volunteer because I want everyone else to feel welcomed and valued as well. What has been a highlight from your volunteer experience? The biggest highlight is getting to know BPS staff and BPS volunteers from all over the world! Do you have advice for others who might be thinking about volunteering? Do it! Your unique perspective is needed to help plan and execute BPS activities for the benefit of all.

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Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting

Physical and Quantitative Approaches to Overcome Antibiotic Resistance Stockholm, Sweden | August 14–18, 2022

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Peter Kasson , University of Virginia, USA Joanna Slusky , University of Kansas, USA Georgios Sotiriou , Karolinska Institute, Sweden

This meeting will explore the interface between biophysical research and the microbiology of drug resistance, highlighting the breadth of work that spans these two fields and encouraging new synergies to tackle this global health problem.

Abstract Submission Deadline: May 2, 2022

Early Registration Deadline: May 20, 2022

For more information, visit www.biophysics.org/2022Stockholm

The Biophysical Society is grateful to its Industry Partners.

For Industry Partner Membership information, contact alevine@biophysics.org. SILVER GOLD

PLATINUM

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Annual Meeting

Thank you to our sponsors: Axiom Optics Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Benchling Bruker Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC Cell Press Chroma Technology Curi Bio Delmic Dynamic Biosensors Elements srl Fluidic Analytics Fluxion Biosciences GenNExt Technologies ISS Inc JASCO Journal of General Physiology (JGP) LEICA MICROSYSTEMS INC LUMICKS Mad City Labs Inc HarvardBioscience Interherence GmbH IOP Publishing

What You Should KnowBefore Heading to the Annual Meeting Badge Pick-Up Participants must have uploaded vaccination documentation no later than February 9, 2022. An initial email was sent to all early registrants on January 10 with detailed instructions. Please contact meetings@biophysics.org if you did not receive the link. DON’T FORGET! All registered attendees MUST be vaccination-verified and, if eligible, must have received a booster.

Look for your registration confirmation with QR code by email on February 11. Print this confirmation and bring it with you to speed up the process of picking up your badge and meeting materials. Don’t worry if you don’t have your QR code; you can still pick up your badge and materials at the Express Check-In counters by using your name. Badge Pick-Up Hours Friday, February 18 3:00 PM–5:00 PM Saturday, February 19 7:30 AM–6:30 PM Sunday, February 20 – Tuesday, February 22 7:30 AM–5:00 PM e-Poster Gallery All registered attendees should have received an email with instructions on accessing the e-Poster Gallery before arriving in San Francisco. Spend time browsing posters and connecting with

poster presenters before, during, and after the meeting. The e-Poster Gallery will be available via the desktop planner and mobile app. Housing Confirmation If you booked your hotel reservation through the official BPS housing bureau, CHP Housing, you should have received your confirmation via email. If you have not received your confirmation, please contact the housing bureau toll-free at 1-800-274- 9481. Outside the United States, please call 1-415-813-6088 and select option 4. Art of Science Image Contest Images from the 10 finalists will be on display in the Exhibit Hall. Remember to stop by and vote for your two favorite images. Voting will be open until 2:30 PM on Tuesday, February 22. Ballots will be distrib- uted with your badge at badge pick-up.

Malvern Panalytical Nanion Technologies Nanome Nicoya Nikon Instruments Physics Today Sophion Bioscience A/S Sutter Instrument

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Plan, Sync, Connect with theMobile App and Desktop Planner Visit biophysics.org/2022meeting for more information on the Biophysical Society Events Desktop Planner and Events App. Search keyword “BPS Events” in the app stores below.

Register for On-Demand Content Registration Deadline: February 28, 2022 Can’t attend the BPS 2022 Annual Meeting? Register for Annual Meeting on-demand content accessible after the meeting that will include: • 2022 Biophysical Society Lecturer, Frances Arnold , California Institute of Technology • 18 Subgroup Symposia • 4 Workshops • Society Awardee Talks • e-Poster Gallery On-demand content will be accessible March 14–April 30, 2022.

Dinner Meet-Up Are you interested in making new acquaintances and experiencing the cuisine of San Francisco? Meet each evening Sunday through Tuesday at 6:00 PM at the Society Booth. Local BPS members will coordinate dinner and provide recommendations for local restaurants and fun social evenings! Undergraduate Student Lounge Need a quick place to unwind and relax or catch up on course- work while at the Annual Meeting? Visit the Undergraduate Student Lounge in Room 103 of the Moscone Center South.

Attending the Annual Meeting? Our volunteers make it possible! Their impact is immea- surable and has a profound effect on science communities around the world. Ask one of our volunteers wearing this button about how you can get involved with BPS. If you are not attending the Annual Meeting but would like to get involved with BPS, please visit www.biophysics.org/ get-involved to learn about all of the opportunities to make a difference.

Visit the Society booth located in the Moscone Center South Lobby to purchase an Annual Meeting t-shirt as well as other Society merchandise.

biophysics.org/ 2022meeting

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Career Development

What to Do if I Feel My Career in Academia Is Over? Traditionally, our expectation of a suc- cessful academic career in biophysics, and life sciences in general, revolves around securing a faculty position. The majority of graduate students and post- doctoral researchers aspire to be faculty members. Unfortunately, there are not enough faculty positions available, and only a fraction of postdoctoral research- ers end up securing tenure-track faculty organizations, genomics facilities, the healthcare sector, or clinical studies. Many organizations and governments are also looking for science policy advisors, as well as individuals who can work as science communicators, writers, and knowledge transfer partners. Most importantly, we have also witnessed a rapid surge in new start-up companies, in part due to changes in the policies of many universities and governments, which should inspire graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to develop their entrepreneurial skills.

As graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, naturally we primarily focus on enhancing our research skills. Howev- er, the addition of other skills during our tenure at academic institutions could be tremendously beneficial for an eventual career outside academia. Many academic institutions do offer workshops and seminars to enhance other transferable skills that may aid in the transition from academia. There are a few steps you can take to explore your options. The first would be to ask yourself what type of career choice you would enjoy, and what skills you have that distinguish you from the competition. Next, assess your experiences (academic and non-academic, volunteering, etc.), and how can you can gain or enhance skills that are relevant to the desired career options. Also consider the features that are important to you at the workplace, what values you hold, and what responsibilities you might have in a particular role. The next step would be to find out what orga- nizations might have the positions in which you are interested. Once you narrow down these factors, you can focus on building a network, leveraging existing contacts, looking for relevant jobs, preparing a focused cover letter and resume, and prepar- ing for interviews, activities that have been topics of previous Molly Cule articles. — Molly Cule

or instructor positions. Thus, the transition from graduate studies to postdoctoral researcher and eventually to a fac- ulty position is highly competitive, challenging, and requires many skills, in addition to the ability to perform cutting-edge research. Therefore, it is natural to feel disappointed when we feel that our career in academia is likely not progressing on the trajectory for which we have aimed. One suggestion is to start preparing for a backup plan in the early days. There are several career options a biophysicist or a life scientist can pursue outside academia. One of the most attractive options is a career in biotechnology/biopharmaceuti- cals and related industries. Over the last few decades, we have witnessed a rapid growth in terms of expansion of research, development, and manufacturing capabilities of existing indus- trial sectors, as well as of start-up companies. Furthermore, the companies involved with the production and sale of scientific equipment and reagents are also expanding their operations due to the rapid surge in demand from academic and industrial sectors. Therefore, there is high demand for skilled graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in these sections. The science publishing and communication sectors are also rapidly expanding, providing another alternative to careers in aca- demia. Other options include roles as a manager, supervisor, or consultant for core facilities in government and not-for-profit

Find Your Next Career Opportunity Connect with Hundreds of Active Employers Today at https:/ biophysics-jobs.careerwebsite.com

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Career Development

Upcoming Networking Events The Membership Committee recently approved six Network- ing Events to be held in 2022. The opportunity was opened so that members could apply to host either an in-person or a virtual event. We hope that you will join us at any of the virtual events that catch your eye or in person at an event in your area! Approved In-Person Events: University of Massachusetts Movement Research Center Student Research Symposium February 2, 2022 Lowell, MA Biophysics Graduate Research and Networking Symposium March 2022 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL

Approved Virtual Networking Events: MicroRNAs as Ideal Biomarkers March 2022 The Study of Ion Channels, Gatekeepers of Life April 2022 Stochastic Dynamics and Physics of Protein-DNA Interactions June 2022 Biophysics of Polyglutamine Aggregation: How Does It Start and How Does It End? July/August 2022 Beginner Scientists at the Interface of Physics and Biology September 5, 2022

For up-to-date information about each upcoming event, visit www.biophysics.org/upcoming-networking-events

InMemoriam

Thomas E. Thompson

Above his many accomplishments and distinctions, Tom Thompson was a good man. I was the next to last of his PhD students. I still remember the day I met Tom, when I walked into the Biochemistry Department at the University of Virginia to start my PhD in 1988. Tom was having lunch in Jim Ogilvie ’s office, eating celery sticks, as he very often did for lunch, after having had his sandwich, which always looked the same to me. Tom received me with great kindness. Indeed, although somewhat feared by the graduate students because of his prestige and commanding manners, he was the gentlest of mentors for his graduate students. I have never seen him lose his temper with one of us. I will forever carry a profound sense of gratitude for having known Tom Thompson. As I was leaving his laboratory, after I received my PhD in 1992, Tom called me into his office. He told me, “Paulo, there are two things I would like to tell you, as you leave. First, in science, never be afraid of starting to work on something you know nothing about. Second, when you are in a position of power, never be afraid of hiring someone better than you.” I have carried these two last gifts of Tom with me. As he now takes leave, I think Tom would have liked to leave these thoughts with all of us. — Paulo Almeida

Thomas E. Thompson (1926–2021) died on November 16, 2021, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 95. He was born in Cincinna- ti, Ohio, on March 15, 1926. T.E. Thompson, as he was known to many, was one of the most distin- guished members of the Biophysi- cal Society. He served as President of the Society in 1976, and as Editor-in-Chief of Biophysical Journal from 1987 to 1992. Tom was also the recipient of the Avanti Award in

Thomas E. Thompson

Lipids, among many others. The award annually given by the Membrane Structure and Function Subgroup of the Biophys- ical Society bears his name. Together with Jesse Beams , he founded the Biophysics Program at the University of Virginia. Tom Thompson was Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Virginia, of which he was Chair from 1966 to1976. Tom received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College, Michigan, in 1949, and his PhD in Biochemistry from Harvard University in 1955. He published more than 200 research papers.

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Biophysical Society

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February 2022

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BPS Important Dates

Tahoe BPS Conference Abstract Deadline March 8, 2022

Tahoe BPS Conference Early Registration Deadline March 21, 2022

Biophysics Week March 21–25, 2022

BPS Awards and Fellows Nominations Deadline May 1, 2022

Stockholm Early Abstract Deadline May 2, 2022

Stockholm Early Registration Deadline May 20, 2022

Abstract Submission and Registration Open July 1, 2022 biophysics.org/2023meeting

Please visit www.biophysics.org for a complete list of upcoming BPS Important Dates.