Biophysical Society Bulletin | January 2022

Communities

of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, highlighted the consequences of apoE4 mutations in Alzheimer’s disease. By exploring the behavior of pluripotent astrocyte stem cells, she was able to show data suggesting that apoE4-mutation carriers experience defective endocytosis and impaired clath- rin transport. Interestingly, the yeast and human proteins YAP1802 and PICALM, respectively, are able to reverse the unfavorable effect of apoE4 mutations. The last presentation was by Daryl Bosco , an Associate Professor at the Universi- ty of Massachusetts Medical School (USA), who focuses on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a deadly disease that targets motor neurons and leads to rapid and seemingly irreversible neurodegeneration. Daryl showed that ALS-relat- ed mutants of the profilin protein, which is highly expressed

in human microglia, are destabilized relative to the wild-type protein. These mutants are targeted by the proteasome and cause an imbalance in proteasome availability to degrade oth- er harmful proteins. In addition, the profilin mutants disrupt the lysosomal path in microglia, generating additional disrup- tion of proteostasis. In conclusion, the 2021 SACNAS session on proteinopathies and neurodegenerative disorders showed key aspects of the molecular bases of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS disor- ders. This session provided an exciting and timely overview of how biophysics is getting us closer and closer to understand- ing the bases of neurodegeneration and improving human condition on earth. Biopolymers in Vivo There are some exciting updates about the upcoming Biopoly- mers in Vivo Symposium “High-Throughput and High-Resolu- tion Approaches to Studying Biopolymers in Vivo,” to be held at the 2022 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, on Saturday, February 19, from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM. Please join us for a reception after the symposium. Tickets are required. For more information and to reserve a space, go to www.biophysics.org/2022meeting. Finally, we want to remind you of the excellent lineup of speakers for the Biopolymers in Vivo Symposium: Ibrahim Cissé , Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and Epi- genetics, Germany: Super-resolution Imaging of Transcription in Live Mammalian Cells; Ilaria Piazza , Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Germany: Protein Structures in Context with Proteome-wide Biophysics; Jané Kondev , Brandeis Uni- versity, USA: Neither Too Short, Nor Too Long, But Just Right: Assembly of Scale Invariant Filaments; Polly Fordyce , Stanford University, USA: Leveraging Microfluidics for High-Through- put Protein Expression, Purification, and Deep Biophysical Characterization; Mohammed AlQuraishi , Columbia University, USA: Protein Structure Prediction in a Post-AlphaFold2 World; Ylva Ivarsson , Uppsala University, Sweden: Proteome-Scale Identification of Short Linear Binding Motifs in the Intrinsically Disordered Regions of Human and Viral Proteomes; Rommie Amaro , University of California San Diego, USA: Computational Microscopy of SARS-CoV-2; and Young Faculty Award Speak- er (To Be Announced). We look forward to seeing you in person! — Benedetta Bolognesi , Alex Holehouse , Caitlin Davis , Robb Welty , and Edward P. O’Brien , Subgroup Officers

Subgroups Bioenergetics, Mitochondria, and Metabolism New Award in Bioenergetics

The Bioenergetics, Mitochondria, and Metabolism Subgroup has introduced new awards to better recognize the achieve- ments of emerging and junior researchers in the field of bio- energetics and metabolism. The new Student Bioenergeticist Award will be given to an outstanding master’s or graduate student, while the Young Bioenergeticist Award will now distinguish outstanding postdoctoral researchers or young principal investigators (PhD obtained fewer than six years prior to nomination). The award recipients will receive a $150 or $300 cash prize, respectively, and will be invited to present their work within the Subgroup’s symposium at the Biophysi- cal Society Annual Meeting. Both awards are based on the candidate’s track record of accomplishments as well as the candidate’s abstract that will be presented at the meeting. Candidates require a nomina- tion letter from a Subgroup member, a CV, and two letters of recommendation. Additionally, candidates for the Young Bio- energeticist Award require a full publication list and a PDF of at least one published paper. Please submit your application to uwe.schlattner@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr before January 8, 2022. The awardees will be selected by the members of the Bioenergetics Subgroup Council. All details are also accessible at the BPS Subgroup Awards homepage (www.biophysics. org/awards-funding/subgroup-awards). — Uwe Schlattner , Co-Chair

January 2022

17

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