Biophysical Society Bulletin | January 2025

Communities

Membrane Structure and Function The Membrane Structure and Function (MSAF) Subgroup is thrilled to announce Sarah L. Veatch as the recipient of the 2025 Thomas E. Thompson Award. This prestigious honor, named after Thomas E. Thompson —pioneering membrane biophysicist, Biophysical Society president, and Biophysical Journal editor—recognizes her groundbreaking contributions to the field. Veatch’s research has profoundly advanced our understanding of membrane structure and cell signaling. Beginning with model membranes, she mapped phase dia grams and compositional dependencies, laying the foundation for understanding membrane heterogeneity. Extending this work to live cells, she uncovered molecular details pertaining to lipid rafts, immune cell signaling, protein clustering, and receptor interactions. By bridging physical chemistry with complex biological processes, she has reshaped how we view nanoscale membrane domains and their critical roles in cel lular function. A Sloan Fellow, Dayhoff Awardee, and National Science Foundation CAREER recipient, Veatch is Professor of Biophysics and Physics and Director of the Biophysics Grad uate Program at the University of Michigan. We invite you to attend her award lecture during the MSAF Symposium at the BPS Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on February 15, 2025. — Adam W. Smith , Chair Multiscale Genome Organization The Multiscale Genome Organization (MGO) Subgroup is delighted to present an outstanding lineup of speakers for the 2025 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. The program showcases renowned experts exploring genome organization at all scales, from atoms to whole genomes, using a diverse range of experimental and computational techniques. This year’s speakers include Serena Sanulli (Stan ford University), Lu Bai (Penn State), Rob McGinty (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Anna Panchenko (Queen’s University), Shoji Takada (Kyoto University), and Marcus

Woodworth (University of Pennsylvania). We look forward to groundbreaking discussions on the latest advances in genome organization. Please join the MGO Subgroup to connect with researchers and stay engaged with cutting-edge develop ments in the field! — Rosana Collepardo-Guevara , Co-Chair — Michael Poirier , Co-Chair Physical Cell Biology The Physical Cell Biology Subgroup looks forward to seeing you at the 2025 symposium in Los Angeles themed “Interplay between Theory and Experiment in Physical Cell Biology.” Invited speakers include Simone Reber , MPIIB-Berlin; Kiyoshi Mizuuchi , National Institutes of Health; Wenting Zhao , Nanyang Technological University Singapore; Sebastian Streichan , University of California, Santa Barbara; Qiong Yang , University of Michigan; and Ulrich Schwarz , University of Heidelberg. We especially welcome contributions from early-stage investiga tors. Abstracts not selected for a talk during the BPS Annual Meeting will have the chance to be selected for a presentation during our Annual Virtual Networking Event in Fall 2025. — Shiladitya Banerjee , Chair Theory & Computation Join us on at the BPS Annual Meeting on Saturday, Febru ary 15 at 8:30 AM in Petree Hall D for exciting talks by Grant Rotskoff , Angela Saric , Aditi Borkar , and Prabhu Raman . Cele brate the contributions of our early-career and mid-career awardees, Denise Okafor and Rommie Amaro , as well as the outstanding work of five trainees in a round of flash talks. We also hope that you can participate to the Subgroup business meeting after the talks from 12:00 to 12:30 PM. Looking forward to seeing you all soon in Los Angeles! — Benoit Roux , Chair

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January 2025

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