Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2019

Public Affairs and Outreach

Around theWorld European Biophysical Societies’ Association Awards, 2019

Massachusetts Legislature Biomedical Research Briefing

The European Biophysical Societies’ Association (EBSA) is pleased to announce their 2019 awards to be presented at the EBSA/IUPAP Congress, Madrid, July 20–24.

The EBSA Young investigator Award, 2019, goes to Pere Roca-Cusachs of the University of Barcelona and Institute for Bioengineer- ing of Catalonia for his contributions to the field of mechanobiology. The award carries a €2,000 cash prize from EBSA.

Also on March 28, Massachusetts State Senator Pat Jehlen and State Representative Mike Connolly , Patrick Kearney , and Tommy Vitolo hosted a briefing featuring many members of the biomedical community, including three past BPS Pres- idents, who presented compelling talks on advancing crit- ical knowledge for improving health and alleviating illness, supporting economic and technological development, and educating the next generation of biomedical scientists, among others. The event was organized by PAC member Jonathan King . On Thursday, March 29, to close out the Biophysics Week live PAC events, BPS and the Johns Hopkins Science Policy Group hosted a Science Poster Night at Baltimore City Hall where graduate students presented their research findings on opi- oid-related deaths in Maryland, STEM education, pancreatic cancer, and other locally impactful topics. Thirteen research projects were presented in total. The night was designed to highlight important research efforts underway in Baltimore and share the importance of science-based policymaking with city officials. Science Poster Night at Baltimore City Hall

The Avanti/EBSA Award goes to Bruno Antonny , group leader at the Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Valbonne-Sophia Antipolis, France, for his work on membrane biophysics. The award carries a US$3,000 cash prize from Avanti Polar Lipids Inc. More information about the awards and previous winners can be found on the EBSA web site (www.ebsa.org). Registration is now open for the forthcoming biennial EBSA/ IUPAP Congress in Madrid, where both recipients will present plenary lectures. Nobel laureates Greg Winter , United King- dom, and Stephen Hell , Germany, are also plenary lecturers. Places are also still available for the EBSA Summer Biophysics School (July 17–20, 2019) at El Escorial, near Madrid. Some of the invited speakers from the EBSA/IUPAP Congress, includ- ing Greg Winter (Nobel Laureate, 2018), will act as tutors. For more information, visit https:/ biophysics.wixsite.com/ebsa- summer2019.

September 19, 2019 Annually the Biophysical Society participates in the Rally for Medical Research, which brings over 200 scientific research and patient advocacy organizations together to call on our nation’s policymakers to prioritize medical research. Last year, BPS members from Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Mississippi participated in the day. BPS offers travel funds to members interested in participating. To express interest in the 2019 event, please contact Leann Fox at lfox@biophysics.org.

June 2019

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