Biophysical Society Bulletin | February 2026

President’s Message

Moving the Society Forward with Optimism

What a year it has been to be BPS President! The many chal lenges of this year, for science and for democracy, have made the job that much more inter esting and inspiring. I wanted to share some of that inspiration with you: what I have learned this year and my hopes for the future.

We reaffirmed that we value universal access and opportunity, broad representation and belonging, and community building in our pursuit of scientific excellence, with integrity and trans parency. We took action in support of these values: 50 more of you will be able to attend the Annual Meeting thanks to the BPS Council’s action to expand our Bridging Funds program and the generosity of BPS members who contributed ~$9,000! Our ability to make such investments depends on having a stable financial foundation. BPS leadership has found and will continue to find ways to make strategic financial decisions that enable us to weather hardships like lower 2026 meeting atten dance and reduced membership that have resulted from cuts and uncertainty around science funding and travel. One thing is clear from the events of the past year: solidarity is critical in order to make it through tough times. In February 2025, the presidents of many scientific societies began holding biweekly Zoom meetings to discuss how our societies are affected and are responding to the constant stream of attacks on science. These Zoom meetings have been great sources of information, ideas, and mutual support, and have further high lighted for me the importance of scientific societies in providing leadership and supporting our members to advance critical science. Such connections empower us to stand up in solidarity against changes that we all know will hurt scientific progress and thus will hurt people. This brings me to how much I am looking forward to our Annual Meeting in San Francisco. In-person meetings are so import ant to allow us all to connect with the community in ways that bolster and inspire our work. In support of our future, I am very excited to promote science communication through the President’s Symposium, “Communicating the Value of Biophys ics in a Changing World,” and a related workshop, “From Data to Dialogue: Artful Strategies Against Misinformation.” We will also continue the inspiring tradition of celebrating the excellent science being done by our members as we honor an outstand ing set of 2026 BPS Awardees and the 2026 BPS Lecturer. It will be great to take a break from the political noise and take advantage of the many opportunities to learn terrific new sci ence and to reconnect with friends and colleagues to recharge ourselves. I will close with my hopes for the future. What more can we each do to move forward with confident optimism, resilience, and determination? Building connections with the BPS com munity is more important than ever to help you personally and science collectively to survive and thrive. I encourage you to use your voice and efforts to move the Society forward scientifi

Lynmarie K. Thompson

As President, with a front row seat to the work of the Society, I have become even more appreciative of the way BPS is run and the great work that BPS does. First, we have an extremely talented and dedicated staff. Each new BPS President is fortu nate to have outstanding guidance from our Executive Officer, Jennifer Pesanelli . It has been inspiring to watch Jennifer calmly and confidently steering the BPS ship through the storm of this year. Her deep commitment to our BPS values informs her work to keep Council and our many BPS Committees orga nized and on track. Her wisdom and experience enable her, for example, to maximize the success of our Annual Meetings and our small meetings each year, as we navigate challenges like pandemics and travel bans. Also, importantly, she supports a team of fabulous BPS staff who make it all happen. Next, our BPS governance structure enables us to chart the course through choppy waters like we experienced this year. Our members elect BPS Council members to represent our diverse perspectives. Working with Council, I am continuously impressed by how the broad range of science backgrounds and experiences at different institutions and in different coun tries informs thoughtful decisions to continue important BPS traditions while also implementing exciting new directions. For instance, beginning in 2027 we will be featuring a rotating set of Subgroups in the main program at each Annual Meeting, which also opens space for new Subgroups to emerge to rep resent new key areas where biophysics can contribute. Finally, our BPS Committees do great work to implement our values and activities—programming our meetings large and small, advocating for science and for sustainability during a challeng ing time, and so much more important work. The upheavals of this year for science are a call to action, to work both individually and collectively to advance critical work and values. What has BPS done? Every three years we update our Strategic Plan, and our 2025 update features an unwavering commitment to our values and a clear explanation of our goals (www.biophysics.org/Portals/0/BPSAssets/Cur rent/20252028StrategicPlan.pdf).

February 2026

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