Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2019

BPSMeetings

Physical and Quantitative Approaches to Overcome Antibiotic Resistance

Stockholm, Sweden August 30–September 2, 2020

Antibiotic resistance is a pressing global challenge to human health, threatening to reverse many of the great health advances of the 20th century. In response to this challenge, the global scientific community has mobilized to address both the microbiological and the medicinal-chemistry aspects of antibiotic resistance. This meeting will bring together bio- physical and bioengineering researchers working to diagnose, understand, and overcome antibiotic resistance. Key questions that will be addressed include: how do the limitations of (1) target recognition, (2) enzymatic degradation, and (3) small-molecule uptake shape the available space of antibiotics; how do bacteria communicate and interact as multicellu- lar communities; how does bacterial small-molecule transport function so differently than mammalian cell small-molecule transport; and how does the extracellular environment reinforce antibiotic resistance. Engineering approaches and the biophysical methodologies of spectroscopy, single-molecule and single-cell microscopy, computational modeling, and development of functional assays are uniquely suited to help answer these questions. This meeting seeks to explore the interface between biophysical research and the microbi- ology of drug resistance, highlighting the breadth of work that spans these two fields and encouraging new synergies to tackle this global health problem.

Molecular Biophysics of Membranes June 7-12, 2020 Granlibakken Tahoe, Tahoe City, CA

Conferences

Cells and subcellular compartments are defined by their membrane boundaries. Many processes critical to life involve the membrane and the membrane proteins embedded in these barriers, including transport of material in and out of cells, transfer of information that enables cells to sense and respond to their environment in a coordinated manner, and the energy conversion and storage needed to power the cell. Studies of these processes at the molecular biophysical level integrate a rich variety of approaches to understand the physical chemistry foundations of membrane biology. This will be the 17th conference bringing together scientists with a diverse range of perspectives, approaches, and disciplines includ- ing (but not limited to) computational and experimental methods in physiology, engineering, cell biology, chemistry, and physics. The goal of this conference is to bring together a diverse groups of scientists for cross-fertilization that spurs advances in the exciting and important field of membrane biology. In addition, the conference has historically provided a strong collab- orative network for trainees and early-career investigators.

June 2019

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