Biophysical Society Bulletin | January 2020

January 2020

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RecognizingWomen in Biophysics

2021 Society Awards The Biophysical Society is accepting nominations for its 2021 awards. Nominations will be accepted until May 1, 2020. Put forth a deserving colleague for any of the following awards. The Anatrace Membrane Protein Award , which recognizes an outstanding investigator who has made a significant contribution to the field of membrane protein research. The Avanti Award in Lipids , given to an investigator for outstanding contributions to our understanding of lipid biophysics. The Michael and Kate Bárány Award for Young Investigators , which recognizes an outstanding contribution to biophysics by a person who has not achieved the rank of full professor at the time of nomination. The BPS Award in the Biophysics of Health and Disease , honoring a significant contribution to understanding the fundamental cause or pathogenesis of disease, or to enabling the treatment or prevention of a disease. The BPS Innovation Award , recognizing a BPS member who advances our fundamental understanding of biological systems through the development of novel theory, models, concepts, techniques, or applications. The Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award , given to a woman who holds very high promise or has achieved prominence while developing the early stages of a career in biophysical research within the purview and interest of the Biophysical Society.

Scientific excellence has been and remains a core value and a guiding principle for the Biophysical Society. In its service, the Society is committed to attracting, engaging, and fostering talent and passion from individuals across the globe and to creating a diverse and inclusive community where scientific discovery can flourish. Recognizing the many barriers that deter the career advancements of women across professions, and especially in STEM fields, in 1972 the BPS Council established the Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW) to take on the specific challenges faced by girls and women in pursuing successful scientific careers in biophysics. Specifically, CPOW was charged with raising awareness of the scientific contributions of women in biophysics; promoting their fair and equitable treatment, and improving the climate for women in biophysics in all stages of their careers. As a member of the Biophysical Society you have likely noticed many concrete actions that the Society has taken and events that CPOW has organized and sponsored to this end. Several years ago, the Society developed and publicized a clear policy for conduct at its events; it sponsors travel awards to facili- tate conference attendance; and you may have seen profiles of women biophysicists publicized during Biophysics Week. Several years ago, CPOW asked whether specific barriers exist for women in receiving recognition for their work, such as exemplified by Society Awards. The literature on the issue, and anecdotal information from the BPS Awards Committee, hinted at the possibility that the pool of women nominees may be inadequately small to reflect the true contributions of women.

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Inside President’s Message Biophysicist in Profile

Happy New Year from Biophysical Society

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Upcoming Deadlines

Communities Annual Meeting

Public Affairs Publications Member Corner Student Spotlight

Career Development

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Grants and Opportunities

Upcoming Events

President’s Message

Report fromCouncil The Council is the governing board of the Biophysical Society, and it meets four times each year —

suggested symposia submissions for the 2021 Boston meet- ing, and Council members contributed to some initial brain storming about the sessions and speakers. Having reviewed numerous proposals, the Thematic Meet- ings Committee and the BPS Conferences Committee Chairs both brought forward recommendations for events in 2021. Council provided feedback for the organizers to ensure strong, unique programming as well as geographic and gender diversity and gave preliminary approval for several of these excellent small meetings in 2021. The afternoon began with two proposals from our Publica- tions Committee. The first proposal was for launching a new online-only open access journal with the primary goal of offering our members and authors options for where and how they publish their biophysics research. Council had extensive, thoughtful discussion on how this would fit in our communi- ty and will continue these discussions. The first step will be defining the scope (we discussed many ideas!) to make sure this new journal complements Biophysical Journal (BJ) and The Biophysicist . We expect to have updates on this potential project after the Annual Meeting. The second proposal from our Publications Committee was to engage a public relations/marketing firm to help us communi- cate the role and value of BJ to our Society. We have published an editorial in Biophysical Journal and articles in the BPS Bulle- tin on this topic earlier this year, but feedback from members and Editorial Board Members indicate that we still need to communicate about this much more effectively. Council con- curred with the need for better communication, although we did not reach a consensus about how to best accomplish this goal. The BPS staff will be working on a request for proposals to help us explore how to do this. The last portion of the afternoon was spent on Society finances. Council reviewed the financial audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. We are transitioning our fiscal year accounting cycle to the calendar year as of January 1, 2020, so we also had a presentation of the 2020 budget. We are certain that discussions about the audit and budget might sound very boring to many people. However, Council debate is usually quite active, as the financial details provide insight into the health of the Society and help us decide how to move forward with various programs and projects. As always, all members are welcome to review the Society finances each year at the business meeting, which takes place on Tuesday morning at the Annual Meeting. During the finance portion of the meeting, Council also considered and approved a proposal from the Membership

twice at the Annual Meeting, once in the spring and once in the fall. One of Council’s goals is to increase transparency, share information, and provide insights on Council activities to our membership. The July/August issue of the BPS Bulletin

David. W. Piston

contained a summary of the Spring Council meeting. Continu- ing with those goals, this column provides an overview of the fall Council meeting that took place on November 2, 2019, in the Society office in Rockville, Maryland, USA. A packed agen- da guided hours of robust conversation including thoughtful deliberations, points of unanimous consent, and spirited, but respectful, disagreement. Morning agenda items included updates and recommenda- tions from two task forces that Council created in June. The Task Force on Sexual Harassment presented a revised Code of Conduct and recommended an online tool for reporting harassment at BPS events. Council unanimously approved the revised Code and the implementation of the reporting tool. Both of these changes reaffirm our commitment to preventing and addressing harassment in our community and to becoming an inclusive Society with safe and welcoming events, and both will be in place in advance of the Annual Meeting in San Diego. Toward this commitment, we are also continuing to have the necessary conversations and training needed to prepare Society leadership to best support all of our members. The second task force provided a review of the BPS Bylaws, and put forth a recommendation to expand BPS voting rights to student members. This change supports one of our central strategic goals of Supporting the Next Generation of Biophys- icists. Council unanimously approved this recommendation, and we look forward to student participation in the next BPS election! The Annual Meeting, Thematic Meetings, and BPS Confer- ences were another large part of the morning agenda. Our 2020 Program Chairs provided an overview of the abstract programming that occurred the day before Council met, along with an update on the overall planning. Council provided input about the special symposium on sexual harassment that is scheduled for early Sunday evening. We also discussed the National Academy of Science town hall regarding the up- coming report on the state of biophysics, Subgroup Saturday, and other special events planned for San Diego. The 2021 Program Chairs were present and reported on the member

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President’s Message

Officers President

David W. Piston President-Elect Catherine Royer Past-President Angela Gronenborn Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Kalina Hristova Council Zev Bryant Linda Columbus Michelle A. Digman Marta Filizola Teresa Giraldez Ruben Gonzalez, Jr. Joseph A. Mindell Anna Moroni Marina Ramirez-Alvarado Jennifer Ross David Stokes Pernilla Wittung-Stafeshede Biophysical Journal Jane Dyson Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran Editor-in-Chief

Committee to implement an optional auto- matic dues renewal program. Beginning with the 2021 dues cycle, members will have the option to select secure automatic annual dues renewal so that future year renewals will occur with little hassle. The membership staff will be communicating much more about this prior to the next renewal season. The meeting concluded with new business, which included a discussion about Society awards. The number of women being nomi- nated for Society awards has been stagnant the past several years, and is not reflective of the contributions of our membership. The Awards Committee has been tasked with a review of the nominating process, and mem- bers of CPOW are also looking into the history

of our nominations. You can read more about the CPOW work on Society Awards in this issue of the Bulletin . (Recognizing Women Biophysi- cists, p.1) As with the spring Council meeting, we walked away from our November meeting with a long list of action items. We also left feeling invigo- rated and excited about the work we are doing and all of the wonderful support from our volunteers, the engine that drives us, and our members, who inspire us. Together, we contin- ue to foster the biophysics community and the future of our science! As always, we welcome your questions, suggestions, and comments. — David W. Piston , President — Jennifer Pesanelli , Executive Officer

2020 Biophysical Society Thematic Meetings

Spatial Organization of Biological Functions Bangalore, India | August 17–20, 2020

A living organism relies on the interactions of molecular constituents within itself and with its surroundings to function properly. Recent studies have shown that the dynamic spatial organization of different molecular components within a cell, different cells within a tissue, and different organisms within a community, play critical roles in enabling the full function- ality of the organism. Furthermore, differential spatial organizations may imply a new level of functional regulation that complements the classic mechanism by molecular interactions. Understanding why and how biological functions are spatially organized requires a concert- ed effort from scientists of diverse backgrounds. This Thematic Meeting seeks to bring scientists from multiple disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering to discuss current advances in the studies of the spatial organization of biological functions, specifically on the topics of intracellular phase separa- tion and functional compartmentalization without the use of membrane, molecular organi- zations in the membrane and in the cytosol, three-dimensional (3D) architecture of physical compartments and cellular activities, pattern formation at different length and time scales, tissue structures, biofilms and host-commensal organization.

Society Office Jennifer Pesanelli Executive Officer Newsletter Executive Editor Jennifer Pesanelli Managing Editor Beth Staehle

Production Catie Curry Ray Wolfe Proofreader/Copy Editor Laura Phelan 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 © 2020 by the Biophysical Society. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Organizing Committee: Sankar Adhya , National Cancer Institute Melike Lakadamyali , University of Pennsylvania Jie Xiao , Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Vijay Kumar Krishnamurthy , International Centre for Theoretical Sciences Satyajit Mayor , National Centre for Biological Sciences Anjana Badrinarayanan , National Centre for Biological Sciences

Abstract Submission Deadline: May 1, 2020 Registration Deadline: May 20, 2020

www.biophysics.org/ 2020Bangalore

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Biophysicist in Profile

Anna Moroni Areas of Research Structure-functional relationship in potassium channels

Institution University of Milan

At-a-Glance

Italian biophysicist Anna Moroni , professor of plant physiology at the University of Milan, hoped as a child that she would be an artist when she grew up, given her passion for acting and painting. After dipping a toe into the world of research, however, she knew that science was the path she should pursue. “I just found that people in science were much nicer, and honestly, I keep on think- ing it,” she says. “A creative mind and uncorrupted scientific approach are what I admire most in many colleagues.”

Anna Moroni

Anna Moroni grew up in a family of lawyers, with several extended family members who were researchers in medicine and chemistry. She studied ancient Latin and Greek, and had a passion for acting and painting, but Moroni found herself following her interest in science when it came to her higher education and career. She was encouraged by the fact that the scientific community was so welcoming. “From the begin- ning I just found that people in science were much nicer, and honestly, I keep on thinking it,” she shares. “Driven by their pure interest in knowing how things work — not in search of money —with a clear view of the fact that humans are just part of the animal kingdom, scientists appeared to me just right.” She pursued a master’s degree in agronomy, the science of soil management and crop production, at the University of Milan. There she worked with Erasmo Marrè and Jack Dainty , who introduced her to biophysics — both worked on mem- brane transport in plants. In addition to learning the subject matter from both men, Moroni developed deep connections with them. “Marrè was what we call in Italy a Renaissance man, highly educated in several fields, from science to philos- ophy, music, and so on. And he was a flamboyant character too, that kind of person that you can spend the entire evening telling anecdotes about,” she says. “Dainty has been a pioneer in in the biophysics of water transport in plants and his char- acter and his scientific approach inspired me a lot. He was the best human being I ever met. Moving from a deprived coal mining background in Yorkshire to the exclusive Cambridge environment, he remained throughout his life a socialist. I had the privilege to become one of his closest friends and to host him for long periods in my lab after his retirement. We pub- lished a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper together when he was more than 80.” Following the completion of her master’s degree, she earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Milan. She studied abroad for six months at the University of Toronto in Eduardo Blumwald’s lab, working on membrane

transport, and for a year in Alberto Mancinelli’s lab at Colum- bia University, studying phytochrome photoconversion. She also took a course at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory taught by Gail Robertson and Peter Ruben , which was a turning point for her. “The striking thing about that course for someone like me coming from Italy, was the discovery that teachers encouraged students to try out their ideas by performing experiments,” she shares. “It might sound odd, but in my environment students were not asked — nor allowed — to suggest experiments, which were at that time decided by se- nior people only.” After her PhD, she worked in a postdoctoral position at the University of Milan, where she cloned human HCN2 channels and discovered viral potassium channels. Moroni is now a professor of plant physiology at the Univer- sity of Milan, where she also teaches membrane biophysics. Her current projects are understanding structural-function- al correlates in HCN channels and protein engineering for creating synthetic channels with new functional features, such as light- or temperature-gated channels. “We combine structural studies — nowadays cryo-EM— and functional assays (patch clamp primarily), in order to follow dynamic changes during channel activity. With this approach we have identified ways to interfere with channel activity by means of small molecule drugs or interacting peptides,” she explains, “and we could explain the effect of several pathological mu- tations found in patients. In turn, we use the deep knowledge on mechanisms of gating to engineer synthetic ion channels. For instance, we have created a K+ channel that is activated by light.” The biggest challenge of her career thus far has been to get a permanent position in academia in spite of her interdisciplin- ary focus. “In Italy, the borders between scientific disciplines are traditionally kept tight and biophysics is not quite open to biologists. So for me, having a background in plant physiolo- gy and working in mammalian ion channels, it has not been easy,” she says. “And I see that for my young collaborators things are not yet easier. I think I was lucky and persistent;

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Biophysicist in Profile

some publications in top journals were very helpful too.” She loves the field of biophysics for its quantitative approach, “and the constant effort of biophysicists to advance the frontiers of both the methodology and analysis,” she says. She hopes to establish biophysics as a subject taught in biology courses in Italy, to help encourage interdisciplinary studies in that country. In pursuit of that goal, she is currently working with others to launch a master’s program in quantitative biology at her university. Moroni serves on the Biophysical Society’s Council, giving back as a Society leader after receiving support from BPS through her career. She notes that “being selected and/or invited for talks at the Biophysical Society Annual Meetings made the work of the lab visible.” She has also valued the sense of belonging she has gained from Society membership, and the concrete ways in which BPS supports young investigators, “not only in words but also in real terms.” She recommends that students and early career biophysicists “become active in the Biophysical Society, because it creates a community to which you belong.” BPS, in partnership with IOP, publishes textbooks, monographs, reviews, and handbooks covering all areas of biophysics research, applications, education, methods, computational tools, and techniques. In addition to the titles shown below, visit https:/ iopscience.iop.org/bookListInfo/iop-series-in-biophysical-society#series to learn about upcoming books in the series. discover BIOPHYSICS

I finished my textbook on “Principles of Protein-Protein Associa- tion” at just the right time. A major goal was to make it available to the largest audience at minimal cost, and I was considering several venues. Then I saw the newly launched BPS-IOP ebook series. This seemed ideal, especially when a head librarian at Duke said that IOP was an excellent source, reasonable cost, and our library subscribed to most of the IOP offerings. The book is now published and is openly available to everyone at Duke and several other academic institutions I’ve checked. If you have an ebook that fits the biophysics theme I highly recommend BPS-IOP. — Harold Erickson

BPS and IOP are pleased to announce the latest book in development, Single-Particle CryoEM of Biological Macromolecules , to be edited by Robert M. Glaeser , Wah Chiu , and Eva Nogales . Watch for it in 2021!

BPS-IOP eBooks are available through academic and corporate research institutions, where subscribers are able to download an electronic version of the book as part of their subscription. This model is great for students as the book collections come complete with perpetual access, are free of digital rights management, and there is no concurrent user limit, meaning researchers can access the content on whatever device they like, 24 hours a day! They are also available to purchase in both electronic and print on Amazon and other online retailers. If your institution does not have a subscription, complete the recommendation form at https:/ iopscience.iop.org/page/book-recommendation

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Public Affairs

Missouri State Supreme Court Rules Grad Students Can Unionize

An In-Depth Look at Science and Research in the Global Political Landscape: The US and China BPS Annual Meeting, San Diego, California Sunday, February 16, 2:30 pm –4:00 pm Science has always thrived on collaborations, with many significant advances resulting from the coordinated efforts of multiple research teams, frequently based in different countries. China’s recent increased investment in science and technology has been accompanied by growing numbers of international scientific collaborations involving scientists at Chinese institutions, with US-based scientific collaborations forming the largest share. The high level of US-China scientific collaboration has coincided with trade disputes and concerns about intellectual property theft. The US Congress has begun to actively pursue legislation to protect the products of US research efforts from foreign governments. At the same time, the US agencies overseeing federal research grants have initiated investigations into grantees with undisclosed collaborative agreements with foreign governments amidst allegations of ”double dipping.” As US-China tensions continue to rise, what are the long-term repercussions for scientific research — an endeavor that has always thrived on collaborative efforts and global perspectives? What is the impact of university and federal agency investigations on the participation of Chinese nationals in the US scientific enterprise? Speakers: Michael Lauer , Director, OER, Deputy Director, Extramural Research, NIH Frank Wu , University of California Hastings College of the Law, Professor of Law Tai-Ming Cheung , University of California San Diego, School of Global Policy and Conflict, Professor; Director, UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Sandra Brown , Vice-Chancellor for Research, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of California San Diego Moderator: Dorothy Beckett , University of Maryland, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, BPS Public Affairs Committee Following a three-year battle of rulings and appeals, the State Supreme Court of Missouri has ruled that University of Missouri graduate students have employee rights and therefore collective bargaining rights. This is the third ruling against the University in as many years. The case will now go to the state trial court, which will decide whether the 2016 union election vote was val- id. Although the results are still in question, the decision to give students collective bargaining rights represents a step toward their official unionization.

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Public Affairs

Report onMitigating Threats to US Research Released The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Inves- tigations released a report on threats to US research. The report follows an assessment of several federal agencies’ efforts tomit- igate the threat Chinese talent recruitment programs pose to the US research enterprise. The Subcommittee reviewed the efforts of the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy, State Department, Department of Commerce, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and theWhite House Office of Science and Technology Policy. American taxpayers contribute over $150 billion each year to scientific research built on a principle of collaboration. While the spirit of collaboration amongst research scientists remains constant, the underlying goals of politicians and governments do not. China has never shied away from its goal of becoming a science and technology world leader by 2050 and the Thousand Talents Plan (TTP) is its most prominent recruitment program, actively recruiting overseas researchers and scientists. However, these employment contracts violate US research values including non-disclosure provisions related to their research and employ- ment. Recent investigations have found that TTPmembers have willfully failed to disclose their participation in the program, in violation of their grant and employment agreements. The Subcommittee found that federal agencies are unprepared to prevent the transferring of taxpayer funded research and stealing of intellectual property. Specifically, the FBI noted they and other federal agencies were slow to recognize the threat of Chinese tal- ent recruitment programs. Grant-making agencies lack standards and coordination as they have varying policies on foreign talent recruitment plans, and in cases like the NSF, lack a compliance office to perform grant oversight functions. While efforts are now underway to change these shortcomings, the subcommittee finds that this lack of action has undermined the integrity of the American research enterprise and endangered national security.

The following recommendations were made to stem the flow of scientific research from the United States to foreign govern- ments. First and foremost, federal agencies must develop a comprehensive strategy to combat both illegal and extralegal transfers of US intellectual capital. In addition, the grant propos- al process and reporting requirement for disclosing all foreign conflicts of interest, conflicts of commitment, and all outside and foreign support should be standardized across agencies. The sub- committee recommends all grant-making agencies implement a compliance and auditing program to ensure grantees accurately report conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment and that all information regarding grant recipients be shared across agencies. The report recommends federal agencies should declassify and disseminate more information on foreign talent recruitment plans, while working with research institutions to ensure they have the necessary cybersecurity practices in place to reduce the risk of research data misappropriation. Finally, the report recom- mends Congress and the Executive Branch reaffirm the critical importance of foreign students and researchers in the United States and the importance of international research collaboration. Summary of the JCORE Summit While the Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE) Summit was invitation only, the summary report is open to all. Summit participants included members of indus- try, academia and agency representatives working to develop policy recommendations and best practices aimed at improv- ing the collective safety, integrity, productivity, and security of our nation’s multi-sector research environment. Summit par- ticipants worked in four thematic areas of transparency, in- tegrity, workload, and coordination. While the report focused on the key takeaways and remarks by Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, JCORE continues to work toward developing a compre- hensive set of recommendations.

Visit www.biophysics.org/biophysics-week to plan an event today!

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Publications

Know the Editor Pablo Iglesias

Biophysical Journal Announces Paper of the Year Award “Site-specific Peptide Probes Detect Buried Water in a Lipid Membrane” has been chosen as the 2019 Biophysical Journal Paper of the Year and corresponding author Carlos R. Baiz , of the University of Texas at Austin, will receive the award.

Johns Hopkins University Editor, Systems Biophysics

Pablo Iglesias

What are you currently working on that excites you? This is a somewhat ironic question because over the last few years, I have spent a lot of time studying excitable systems and their role in regulating cell migration. While excitable systems were originally used to understand the transmission of impulses in neurons, we and others have demonstrated that they also underlie the signaling that drives migration in amoeboid cells. Over the last two or three years, we have made a number of predictions as to what happens when these systems are perturbed, which our collaborators have been able to test and confirm experimentally. That has been pretty exciting. What has been your biggest “aha” moment in science? I’m trained in electrical engineering, control engineering, and information theory in particular. While both of these areas share many of the same mathematical tools, traditional- ly there has been little crossover between them. Control engineering deals with the analysis and design of automatic controllers and provides much of the underlying principles behind today’s autonomous systems. On the other hand, information theory studies the transmission of information. One of my biggest “aha” moments happened when I noticed that one of the fundamental theorems of control, known as Bode’s integral, which provides limits to how much control can be applied to a system, could be explained using mutual information. In doing so, we were able to show a connection between two seemingly disparate branches of electrical engineering. I’ve now been able to use some of these results to study cell signaling systems and that has also been pretty exciting.

Carlos R. Baiz

The article was nominated by Associate Editor Claudia Steinem : “The paper is very exciting as it provides direct evidence that amino acid residues in a peptide called pHILP that are fully inserted into the membrane core (hydrophobic residues) remain hydrated. The thorough study uses a com- bination of isotope-edited 2D IR spectroscopy and spectral modelling based on MD simulations demonstrating that solvation is underrepresented in the current MD simulations. These results contribute to the discussion about how these peptides may facilitate the transport of water into the hydro- phobic core of a membrane.” Biophysical Journal Editor-in-Chief Jane Dyson will present the award during the Award Symposium at the 2020 Annual Meeting. This honor includes a monetary award and a plaque and Dr. Baiz will give a short overview of his paper during the Award Symposium.

www.thebiophysicist.org NOWACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS

Numbers By the

Between January 1, 2019 and November 26, 2019, 2,814 reviews were completed for Biophysical Journal .

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Publications

Biophysical Journal Announces the 2020 Editorial Board The Biophysical Journal is pleased to welcome the following new members to the journal’s Editorial Board. John Conboy , Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, USA Yamini Dalal , Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA Rumiana Dimova , Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, GERMANY Alexander Fletcher , School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sheffield, UK Dylan Owen , Department of Physics, King’s College London, UK Smita Patel , Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rutgers University, USA Padmini Rangamani , Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, USA Gerhard Schuetz , Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology, AUSTRIA Scott Showalter , Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, USA Yuji Sugita , Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory, RIKEN, JAPAN Kathleen Trybus , Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Vermont, USA Mark Williams , Department of Physics, Northeastern University, USA Jeremiah Zartman , Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, USA Although not new to the Editorial Board, David Sept , Jeff Gelles , Biochemistry Department, Brandeis University, USA Jay Groves , Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, USA Heather Harrington , Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, UK Samantha Harris , Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, USA Ryota Iino , Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, JAPAN Paul Janmey , Institute for Medicine and Engineering, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA Samrat Mukhopadhyay , Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, INDIA Takayuki Nishizaka , Department of Physics, Gakushuin University, JAPAN University of Michigan, has moved up from an Editorial Board Member to an Associate Editor; Brian Salzberg , University of Pennsylvania, has fulfilled two terms as Associate Editor for Reviews and has joined the Channels Section as an Editorial Board Member, and Meyer Jackson , University of Wisconsin, who was an Editorial Board Member in the Channels Section is now the Associate Editor for Reviews.

The Biophysical Society is grateful to its 2019 Industry Partners.

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

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Member Corner

Members in the News

Upcoming Deadlines February 1, 2020 Annual Meeting Hotel Reservation February 7, 2020 Hamburg Meeting Early Registration March 1, 2020 Tahoe Meeting Abstract Submission

Charles Lieber , Harvard University, and Society member since 2010, received the Welch Award in Chemistry.

Charles Lieber

Student Spotlight Qiangjun Zhou

Stanford University Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology

Qiangjun Zhou What do you wish you knew before you began your studies in biophysics? Before I pursued graduate training in biophysics at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Science, I studied chemistry and biology as an undergraduate. However, I wish I had more hardcore training in mathematics, physics, and computer science because biophysicists rely on the theories and principles of quantitative sciences to improve knowledge of life at its most basic level. Lastly, the most important question to reflect on is what draws you to biophysics — follow your passion! Want to see your name in the BPS Bulletin? Submit your news to any of the following Columns. Grants and Opportunities | Members in the News | Programs in Biophysics | On The Move | Student Spotlight | Upcoming Events For deadlines and more information, visit https:/www.biophysics.org/bps-bulletin/. BE A JUDGE Give a Biophysics Award at Your Local Science Fair Interested in helping the next generation learn about biophysics? Volunteer to judge at your local science fair and choose a student to win an award for the best biophysics-related project. BPS will provide funding for a student award for every regional or state fair where a BPS member wishes to judge and choose a winner. Award amounts are typically $100. To find a listing of science fairs in your area, please visit www.biophysics.org/science-fairs. To volunteer to be a science fair judge, please go to https:/www.surveymonkey.com/r/LDHWKDT. Contact Joon Kwak SciFairs@biophysics.org with questions.

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Member Corner

Continued from Page 1

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2021 Society Awards The Emily M. Gray Award , given for significant contributions to education in biophysics which may include classroom instruction, mentoring research scientists, developing novel educational methods or materials, promoting outreach to the public or youth, attracting new students to the biophysics field and fostering an exceptionally conducive environment for biophysics education. The Kazuhiko Kinosita Award in Single Molecule Biophysics , recognizing outstanding researchers for their exceptional contributions in advancing the field of single molecule biophysics. The Ignacio Tinoco Award , which honors the scientific contributions, work, and life of an outstanding biophysical chemist, educator, and mentor. The Founders Award , given to scientists for outstanding achievement in any area of biophysics. The 2021 Fellows of the Biophysical Society , honoring distinguished members who have demonstrated sustained scientific excellence. Awards will be presented at the 2021 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. For information and to submit a nomination, visit www.biophysics.org/awards.

RecognizingWomen in Biophysics For the past four years CPOW has identified women with competitive contributions, solicited them to stand as candi- dates, and coordinated their nomination packages. Despite specific successes, it didn’t seem that this intentional and concerted CPOW effort bore the fruit we were looking for.

Total Nominations

Female Winners*

Female Nominees

Female Nominator

2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

97 76 72 63 60

5 /31.3% 32 / 33.3% 29 / 30.2% 6 / 40.0% 32 / 42.1% 19 / 25.0% 6 / 40.0% 33 / 45.8% 17 / 23.6% 4 / 26.7% 24 / 38.1% 17 / 27.0%

We are indebted to the Biophysical Society staff for collecting and sharing with us data that may guide the development of more effective interventions to facilitate appropriate recognition of women biophysicists. So what do these results reveal? Overall the trend is positive on several aspects (see table). First, the number of female nominees has doubled (from 16 to 32), and the number of female nominators has also doubled (from 14 to 29). Yet the percentage of female winners (and nominators) has increased only slightly, likely because the number of awards has increased, and the total nominations increased significantly (from 60 to 97). One conclusion may be that increasing the pool of women nominees may continue to be an effective intervention towards increasing the fraction of female awardees, with the desirable side effect that the overall competitiveness and prestige of the awards will increase. CPOW will continue to identify qualified women and coordinate their nominations. An interesting observation is that the success rate for women applicants is slightly higher than for men; this fact can have many causes, and it is consistent with literature that suggests that women don’t apply for awards until they feel highly competitive. As such, continuing to raise awareness about increasing success rates for women may encourage qualified award applicants to throw their hat in the ring, regardless of gender! Will you nominate a woman colleague? Or, contact any member of the CPOW with your suggestion! We will gladly do the leg work! — Gabriela Popescu , CPOW Chair 4 / 25.0% 16 / 26.7% 14 / 23.3% * Not including the Dayhoff Award, designated only for women

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Annual Meeting

First-Time Attendee Drop By Saturday, February 15, 5:00 pm –6:00 pm Is this your first time attending a Biophysical Society Annual Meeting? Wondering what to do first, or how to get the most out of your time? Drop by the First-Time Attendee event on Saturday evening during the Opening Mixer to learn how to navigate the meeting. Society staff and BPS Committee members will be on hand to answer your questions about the meeting and help you gain the most from your time at the BPS 2020 Annual Meeting. NewMember Welcome Coffee Monday, February 17, 10:15 am –11:15 am All new Biophysical Society members are invited to participate in an informal gathering to meet members of the Society’s Council and other leaders, find out about the Society’s programs, get acquainted with other new members, and enjoy refreshments. Current members are encouraged to come meet the new members. Poster Printing Tired of traveling with your poster? Want to have it printed and delivered directly to the San Diego Convention Center for onsite pick- up? Tray Printing will simplify poster printing

Thank you to our sponsors: ACS Omega Applied Photophysics Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Bruker Corporation Burroughs Wellcome Fund Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC Chroma Technology Dynamic Biosensors GmbH ELEMENTS SRL HORIBA Scientific Leica Microsystems LUMICKS Mad City Labs Mizar Imaging Molecular Devices Nanion Technologies NanoSurface Biomedical Olympus America Inc Photonics Media Physics Today Sophion Bioscience A/S Sutter Instrument The Company of Biologists The Journal of Physical Chemistry B The Journal of Physical

and allow you to pick up your poster onsite. Visit the Annual Meeting website and click on “Abstracts” then “Poster Guidelines” for more information. A discount is available to those who submit their printing request on or before noon on February 12, 2020. Annual Meeting of the Student Chapters Monday, February 17, 11:00 am –1:00 pm BPS Student Chapter members and students interested in joining a Chapter are encouraged to attend the Student Chapter Meeting! There will be opportunities to engage with other students and Chapter leaders from all over the world. Student Chapter officers and representatives will have the opportunity to steer the session towards any topic of dis- cussion they so choose. Leadership develop- ment is an integral part of the Student Chapter program, and this is the session to attend if you are looking to contribute to that discus- sion or learn what Student Chapters are all about. Dinner Meet-Ups Sunday, 7:30 pm ; Monday–Tuesday, 6:00 pm Interested in making new acquaintances and experiencing the local flavors of San Diego? Meet at the Society Booth each evening, Sunday through Tuesday, where local students will coordinate dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Chemistry Letters Wyatt Technology

Would You Like a ProgramBook? Program books are avaiable for on-demand printing until January 24. Purchase today at www.biophysics.org/2020meeting

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Annual Meeting

Biophysics 101: An Introduction to Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Applications to Biological Systems Monday, February 17, 1:30 pm –3:00 pm Molecular dynamics (MD) is a computer simulation technique for studying structural dynamics and thermodynamics prop- erties of molecular systems. The atoms and molecules are allowed to interact for a fixed period of time, giving a view of the dynamic “evolution” of the system. Given its high tempo- ral and spatial resolutions, the methodology can be consid- ered a “computational microscope” to allow for visualization of molecular systems and processes, and molecular proper- ties underlying macroscopic behavior observed experimental- ly. MD is now an indispensable biophysical tool that closely com- plements many experimental techniques. The technique has benefitted tremendously from a substantial boost in com- putational power and from algorithmic advances, and it can currently describe rather complex biological phenomena. The speakers will introduce the basic theory and system, building steps for a MD simulation, and present some of the recent successful biophysical applications of the technique including examples of combining the methodology with experimental data. Exhibitor Presentations Exhibitor presentations will be held throughout the Annual Meeting by companies that have exciting products, tools, and technologies to showcase. All meeting attendees are wel-

Career Development Center/Job Board Do you have a position to fill in your lab or company? Are you looking for that next job opportunity in the field of biophysics? If you answered yes, then you need to stop by the Career Development Center during the Annual Meeting to post or view the latest job openings! Annual Meeting Special for Employers and Job Seekers: Post early to save and increase visibility! Here are the advan- tages to posting your job or resume on the Society Job Board between now and February 2: For Employers • Copies of your job posting for participants to view onsite if your job is live during the time of the Annual Meeting • Space available to conduct interviews onsite at the meeting • Time saved at the Annual Meeting For Job Seekers • Connect with employers searching to fill vacant positions now and meet up at the Annual Meeting • Grab vacant job descriptions and identify those employers that are onsite at the Annual Meeting • Ability to be interviewed onsite at the meeting • Time saved at the Annual Meeting Resume posting is FREE for all attendees. Job posting is available at a deeply discounted special rate. For more information, please visit www.biophysics.org/2020meeting and click the Career Development Center tab. Child Care The Biophysical Society will provide child care services while you attend the Annual Meeting! Subsidized child care for infants and children 6 months to 12 years of age will be available through KiddieCorp. Trained professionals will be on hand to watch infants and children and the fee includes fun activities and light snacks. Pre-registration is required. A family room will also be available in the San Diego Convention Center, stocked with diapers, wipes, a small refrigerator, private areas for nursing, electrical outlets, and a small area for rest and play. To register your child for child care services, visit the Annual Meeting website and click the General Information tab.

come at these presentations. Sunday, February 16, 2020 9:30 am –11:00 am

Mizar Imaging Wyatt Technology

10:30 am –12:00 pm 11:30 am –1:00 pm 1:30 pm –3:00 pm 2:30 pm –4:00 pm 3:30 pm –5:00 pm 5:30 pm –7:00 pm 9:30 am –11:00 am 10:30 am –12:00 pm 11:30 am –1:00 pm 12:30 pm –2:00 pm 1:30 pm –3:00 pm 2:30 pm –4:00 pm 3:30 pm –5:00 pm 4:30 pm –6:00 pm 5:30 pm –7:00 pm

NanoSurface Biomedical Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC Dynamic Biosensors GmbH Bruker Corporation (BioAFM)

ELEMENTS SRL

Monday, February 17, 2020 8:30 am –10:00 am

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Bruker Corporation (BioAFM)

Bruker Corporation Leica Microsystems Nanion Technologies Olympus America Inc HORIBA Scientific Applied Photophysics Molecular Devices

LUMICKS

Tuesday, February 18, 2020 9:30 am –11:00 am

Sophion Bioscience A/S

1:30 pm –3:00 pm HORIBA Scientific *Presentation list as of December 6, 2019

biophysics.org/ 2020meeting

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Career Development

Options for Scientists with Hidden Disabilities Dear Molly Cule,

employees to provide reasonable accommodations to enable employees to perform essential job functions. Thus, disclo- sure can allow you to get accommodations that you need for optimal health, well-being, and job performance. It should be noted that the accommodations for a disability do not change the productivity requirements of the job. They only require the employer to provide alternative ways, location, or equipment to enable the individual to do their job. Employees who have disclosed their disabilities report feeling happier and less stressed, owing both to these structural accommodations and because they do not have to expend energy hiding their disability. But there are costs to disclosure too. Although it is illegal, discrimination exists in many forms. Stigma and prejudice exist. Many people with hidden disabilities fear ramifications and negative career consequences. They worry about being seen as less capable. The very nature of invisible disabilities means a disabled individual might be accused of “faking it” in order to obtain accommodations, such as a special park- ing place or a flexible work schedule that makes it easier for them to do their job. In addition, requesting accommodations for a disability can entail a loss of confidentiality and privacy because you may be required to provide medical documen- tation of your disability in order to get accommodations from your employer. For these reasons, many people with hidden disabilities choose not to disclose their diagnosis. In the end, it becomes a matter of weighing the benefits of specific accommodations you need versus the stigma and loss of privacy associated with disclosure. — Molly Cule

Like about 10% of Americans, I have a “hidden disability.” What are the advantages and disadvantages of disclosing my disability at work? Signed, Invisible

Dear Invisible, Hidden, or invisible, disabilities are chronic conditions that have subtle or no outward signs but that, nonetheless, signifi- cantly impair the activities of daily life. Indeed, 74 percent of individuals with disabilities do not use assistance devices, like wheelchairs, that visually portray their disability. Invisible dis- abilities are wide ranging, including conditions such as hearing loss, depression, joint disorders, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, diabetes, endocrine conditions, arthritis, and HIV. Because outward signs are subtle or not detectable, people with hidden disabilities can be labelled as lazy or irrespon- sible. At face value, this would seem to be an argument for letting others know about your disability. After all, employers are legally required to accommodate those with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and ADA Amendment Act of 2009 prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, includ- ing jobs, schools, transportation, and places that are open to the public. The ADA requires employers with 15 or more Grants & Opportunities 2020 Lasker Awards The Lasker Awards are offered in three categories. The Albert Lasker Basic Research Award is for a fundamental discovery that opens up a new area of biomedical science. The Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is for a major advance that improves the lives of many thou- sands of people. The Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science is for research accomplishments and scientific statesmanship that engender the deepest feelings of awe and respect.

Who can apply: Anyone who has made an original and sig- nificant contribution in basic or clinical medical research, or in public service, is eligible for nomination. They may reside in any country. Self-nominations will not be considered. Deadline: February 3, 2020 Website: http:/www.laskerfoundation.org/new-note- worthy/articles/now-accepting-nominations-2020-lask- er-awards/

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