Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2020

June 2020

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

2020 BPS Elections NowOpen Voting is open June 1 through August 1 The Society is pleased to announce the 2020 slate of candidates for President-Elect and Council. The two candidates for President-Elect are Jonathon Howard of Yale University and Gail A. Robertson of University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The President-Elect will serve a one-year term, beginning February 2021, followed by a year as President, starting February 2022, and one subsequent year as Past-President, beginning in February 2023. The candidate for Treasurer is Samantha Harris of the University of Arizona. The Treasurer serves a four-year term beginning July 1, 2021. Jonathon Howard

Gail A. Robertson

Inside

This year’s slate includes eight candidates for Council, shown below. The four members who are elected will each serve a three-year term beginning February 2021. Full biographical information and candidate statements are available at www.biophysics.org. All Society members, includ- ing students, with 2020 dues paid by May 31, 2020, are eli- gible to vote. Eligible members may vote electronically through

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President’s Message Biophysicist in Profile

Samantha Harris

August 1, 2020, by means of the secure site found at www.biophysics.org. The Society is indebted to the Nominating Committee for developing the slate. The committee members were Zev Bryant , Chair; Julie Biteen , Jane Clarke , David Eliezer , Angela Gronenborn , and Joseph Mindell .

Public Affairs Publications Member Corner

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Outreach

Career Development Upcoming Events

Submit to the BPS Bulletin

Andrea Brüggemann Henry Colecraft

Johan Elf

Kumiko Hayashi

The BPS Bulletin invites Committee and Subgroup news; news about Student Chapters; announcements of conferences, awards, and labs relocating; or other articles of interest to the membership. Deadlines for upcoming issues available at www.biophysics.org/ bps-bulletin

Ryota Iino

Susan Marqusee

Tatyana Polenova

Kandice Tanner

President’s Message

NowMore than Ever, your BPS Network is a Valuable Resource

This is the second piece for the BPS Bulletin that I amwriting frommy home office in Albany, New York. Just down the street, Governor Cuomo holds his daily press conferences about the fight against coronavirus. While the news remains bad, there are some glimmers of hope. New

relief packages recently passed by Congress, although some with huge endowments have indicated this help will not be necessary. Postdoctoral fellows gearing up for the academic job market are facing a situation that appears worse even than that following the 2008 crash. I suspect there will be very few openings ad- vertised this season. I have little insight into how the pandemic will affect career opportunities in the private sector, in particular biotech, which is highly relevant to new PhDs and postdocs in biophysics. I suspect that in general the career pipeline will be essentially shut off this year, or reduced to a trickle. Postdoctoral associates will remain where they are, to the extent that support is available. Although I amwriting this from the standpoint of a professor in a US university, I suspect, given the impact of COVID-19 on the world economy, the lack of career prospects for young biophysicists this year will probably be a worldwide phenomenon. During these difficult times, it is important for all of us to rely on our networks of friends and colleagues to help get us through. Indeed, networks are one of the major benefits of scientific societies such as the Biophysical Society. Unfortunately, BPS has had to postpone several Thematic Meetings, which are great venues—along with the Annual Meeting— for science and networking. Although we cannot meet in person for the moment, I encourage you to keep in virtual contact with your scientific communities. Beyond video-conferencing for your group meetings and individually between trainees and PIs, I urge you to organize discussions about recent results in your field with BPS colleagues you know from all over the world. I have been involved in on-line tutorials on the use of analysis software and we have had students, postdocs and PIs (up to 40 in one session) from the United States, Europe, and Asia participate in these incredibly useful sessions. They provide new skills to trainees that will be useful to them now and after this is all over. More locally, my department colleagues and I have regular facul- ty lunch meetings to support each other and trade information. Virtual happy hours are also a good idea. Going forward, we at BPS will work to keep the links between our members strong. Another worrisome trend that appears to be occurring is that men in academia (and probably women with no children at home like yours truly) are using the time in confinement to write papers, and probably grant proposals, while female scientists with children may be taking on most of the childcare and home schooling tasks (See the article at https:/www.thelily.com/wom- en-academics-seem-to-be-submitting-fewer-papers-during- coronavirus-never-seen-anything-like-it-says-one-editor/).

Catherine A. Royer

cases are decreasing daily in New York City and State. This is true in some parts of the country now, and in the absence of much guidance at the federal level, our state and local govern- ments are working to conceive the best path forward to gradual opening up of society. Unfortunately, some state governments have issued orders to reopen, despite a continuing increase in COVID-19 cases. In contrast, in Germany, where Chancellor Merkel (a scientist incidentally) and her government have done a pretty good job in containing the pandemic, small shops and businesses are reopening. In France and Italy, new cases are decreasing fairly steadily, and discussions of how to reopen are ongoing. Cases in Asia remain low, despite a few spikes. This good news is offset by the news that the pandemic is now reaching Africa, where most governments are ill-prepared to handle it. All in all, it appears that we will be impacted by this crisis for quite a while. Even after the direct impacts on our daily lives due to social distancing recede, normalcy will not return for many months or more. The last such pandemic was over 100 years ago, ravaging a world just coming out of a World War that had already killed millions. The destruction and upheaval linked to WWI likely contributed to the spread and lethality of the epidemic. This time, the virus has struck a world in political dis- array, with a gaping leadership void in most countries, the United States being the most egregious example. As I noted in my last letter, those of us in academia are relative- ly protected compared to many in more precarious positions, either due to exposure to the virus, such as health care workers or workers in sectors deemed essential, or because of loss of revenue as businesses have closed. Nonetheless, as time has gone on, the realization of the sheer magnitude of the crisis is sinking in, as we in the research and higher education commu- nity face more and more changes and uncertainty. Here in the United States, universities are experiencing massive shortfalls in income, resulting in furloughing many employees considered non-essential. In some cases, stipends have been decreased, and support for teaching assistants for the fall semester is being cut back as incoming classes for the fall semester are predicted to be significantly smaller than usual. Department Chairs and PIs are scrambling to find support for their graduate students. Universities will receive some emergency funds from the federal

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President’s Message

Officers President Catherine A. Royer President-Elect Frances Separovic Past-President David W. Piston Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Kalina Hristova Council Linda Columbus Michelle A. Digman

We do not collect (yet) gender information on submissions to the Biophysical Journal , so it is dif- ficult to ascertain whether the journal is seeing an impact. Based on “sight identification,” there appears to be a ~25 percent decrease in female corresponding authors since mid-February compared to the same period last year, although the total fraction is always quite low. In any case, I urge you to support our female colleagues who might find themselves in such circumstances. If you are experiencing something similar to this, then reach out to your friends and colleagues. At this juncture, it is also very important for PIs to be strong mentors to their own trainees and others they know from the community.

Our advice and support will help them to navi- gate this complicated period. Likewise, trainees should not hesitate to reach out to their PIs, as well as to other senior scientists they know within their scientific communities, to ask for input. Also, I recommend that trainees use the time sequestered at home wisely to keep their projects moving forward. Make a to-do list and work through it daily. Read, write, analyze. Do all the things you have been putting off. This will

Erin C. Dueber Marta Filizola Gilad Haran

serve you well in the end. And above all, stay safe. — Catherine A. Royer , President

Francesca Marassi Joseph A. Mindell Carolyn A. Moores

Anna Moroni Jennifer Ross David Stokes Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede Biophysical Journal Jane Dyson Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran Editor-in-Chief

Call for BPS Ambassadors Program APPLICATION DEADLINE: JULY 15, 2020 Are you an advocate for biophysics education and knowledge sharing? If so, please consider applying for the BPS Ambassador Program. BPS works hard to continue to develop biophysics as an inclusive, interdisciplinary international field and the Ambassador Program is a global network of BPS members that will serve as local Society

Ambassador Program

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

Empowering Biophysics Globally

resources in their countries or regions to promote the field and foster conversations around biophysics. Ambassadors will play a key role in providing the Society with relevant local content to share with membership and will serve as BPS’s go-to contact in their country and region. Through this program, the Society hopes to grow the biophysics network by educating and inspiring others to pursue careers in biophysics and further develop its advocacy efforts around the world. BPS currently has Ambassadors in Canada, India, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. At this time, we are only accepting applications from outside of those countries. An ideal Ambassador is a mid-career to senior scientist, actively engaged in biophysics research and committed to remain- ing in the field for the duration of the Ambassadorship, an active paid member of the Society in good standing, able to attend the Annual Meeting at the start of their term, has working proficien- cy in English, and has a demonstrated ability to contribute to organizations or scientific societies outside of their normal job duties. To learn more about the program, Ambassador eligibility and benefits, please visit www.biophysics.org/ambassadors. Numbers By the In the past 18 months, 616 people have registered for BPS career webinars.

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.

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Biophysicist in Profile

Christopher Barnes Areas of Research Structural biology and biochemistry focusing on host-pathogen interactions

Institution California Institute of Technology

At-a-Glance

When Christopher Barnes was a child, he wanted to be a chef — but not just any chef — a great one. “My mom likes to tell everyone the story of how I used to watch The Great Chefs of the World and make shopping lists for her so I could recreate the dishes I saw,” he shares. “Obviously I didn’t know how much some of the things on my list cost, as I was asking for truffles, wines, and other ingredients to recreate Michelin star dishes.” He has similarly striven for greatness to his career in science, now serving as a HHMI Hanna Gray Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech.

Christopher Barnes

Christopher Barnes , HHMI Hanna Gray Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology, always enjoyed science. As a teenager, he was a member of STEM clubs and competed in Science Olympiad. He planned to become a medical doc- tor, so upon entering college at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC), he studied chemistry and biology to start building toward his goal. At the end of his sophomore year, he inquired about undergraduate research opportunities. “It was at this point that my life changed forever, as I joined the lab of my first mentor, Gary Pielak ,” he says. “Gary instilled in me a desire to pursue scientific research and introduced me to the challenges of biophysical research by developing methods for in-cell nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. His lab single-handedly put me on the path towards a scientific career in biochemistry and biophysics.” Pielak remembers his then-graduate student Lisa Charlton rav- ing about Barnes, who was a student of hers in a teaching lab. “Lisa would not stop going on about Christopher Barnes, and that I must recruit him as an undergraduate research assis- tant. I did. He soon earned co-authorship on a key paper about crowding and protein stability in his senior year,” he shares. The projects they worked on involved protein NMR of macromolec- ular crowding in vitro and in living cells. “One of the coolest ef- forts involved bolting a globular protein to a disordered protein. We could observe the disordered part in cells, but the globular part remained invisible,” Pielak explains. “Christopher’s goal was to attend grad school, but playing Division 1 football and being a BS chemistry major is hard on the GPA, even for a star. I suggested he stay on and earn a master’s degree, which forgives a lot of sins. After three more papers (in about a year), two of them as first author, Christo- pher left triumphant for Pitt,” he says. “Christopher has many admirable qualities as a biophysicist: high intellectual horse- power combined with a normal-sized ego, unafraid of hard work, a reluctance to give up, the ability to listen, and ‘cheerful in all weathers.’ I wish I was still working with Christopher. Hope springs eternal.”

Following his master’s degree in chemistry at UNC, Barnes be- gan a PhD program in molecular pharmacology at the Univer- sity of Pittsburgh. His work there set him on the path into his current field of study. “As a structural biologist and biochemist, I use electron microscopy and X-ray crystallographic tech- niques to investigate interactions between proteins involved in signaling and disease pathogenesis. I got interested in this type of research during my PhD in molecular pharmacology, when I worked under the tutelage of Guillermo Calero in the molecular biophysics and structural biology program,” Barnes shares. “My work focused on resolving fundamental questions about the mechanism by which the general transcription factors regulate RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) activity. Due to the size and complexity of such systems, I had to utilize unique techniques to reconstitute and achieve high-resolution structural infor- mation. I purified, assembled, and crystallized Pol II complexes for data collection at synchrotron and X-ray free electron laser sources, while also developing transmission electron microsco- py methods.” During graduate school, Barnes and his wife, who is also a biophysicist, became parents to two sons. Balancing new par- enthood and a PhD program was a very difficult undertaking. “Learning how to balance work and life was a challenge, but I faced it by learning how to ask for help. I think most of life’s challenges are not meant to be faced alone and it’s okay to reach out to those around you, as well as family, to help when things seem overwhelming,” he says. The experience of parenting, especially as his children get older, has deepened his admiration for his parents. “They provided my siblings and me with a great childhood and the tools we needed to succeed in life, while working and being present for all of our activities. I didn’t appreciate how much running around they had to do with us and our activities until my kids started playing soccer,” he says. “When we started having to shuttle kids between parks for games, multiple practices a week, on top of working, I developed a better appreciation for my parents and definitely admire what they did for us.”

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Biophysicist in Profile

Currently, Barnes is a HHMI Hanna Gray Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Pamela Bjorkman at Caltech, investigating the structural correlates of antibody-mediated neutralization of HIV-1, and more recently, SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. “Using crystallographic and single-particle cryo-EM techniques I hope to gain a better understanding of how antigens interact with host receptors, and how antibodies latch onto viral proteins to prevent infection. By understand- ing these interactions with structural biology, I hope to design antibody-therapies, as well as HIV-1 immunogens capable of eliciting a protective response in vaccination.”

He is now on the academic job market, looking forward to starting his own lab at a leading research institution. “I hope to establish a research program focused on the structure-based design of therapeutics targeting protein complexes involved in infectious disease,” he says. “I hope that my future work and lab will inspire the next-generation of scientists, especially indi- viduals of color who may not feel like they belong in our field.” Barnes is a new member of the Biophysical Society, and has enjoyed committee and local events. “The fact that the Bio- physical Society provides resources and helps promote local organizations and events is great,” he says. “Being a member has provided me an opportunity to present my research in a forum with experts in my field, while allowing me to expand my network. At the 2020 BPS Annual Meeting I got to meet face- to-face individuals who I’ve only communicated with online, which was a fantastic experience.”

Barnes working in the lab.

Bjorkman shares, “Christopher had been working on deter- mining the structural correlates of virus neutralization by antibodies directed against the envelope protein (Env) of HIV-1 using a variety of techniques including X-ray crystallography (both using conventional synchrotron radiation and X-ray free electron lasers) and single-particle cryo-EM. He is now leading an analogous effort in my lab to use structural biology to exam- ine antibody recognition of the coronavirus spike protein— the analog of HIV-1 Env.” “I think biophysics is very intriguing and provides explanations for the world around us, at the molecular level. Very few disci- plines have that ability and I think it’s fantastic that when we solve structures we can see why protein X is interacting with protein Y and why compound Z disrupts this interaction,” he shares. “Solving novel structures is one of the best things ever, especially frommacromolecular crystals. There is this buildup of anticipation where you don’t know what will happen when these crystals you’ve worked so hard to optimize are exposed to X-rays. Then you see it, this beautiful diffraction pattern to high resolution. I don’t think many things can beat that feeling of not only joy, but relief that all that work wasn’t in vain. As I do more cryo-EM, I’m beginning to have those same moments, when you finally see your particle distribution in the vitrified ice and know that it’s going to be a good data collection day.”

Barnes on a hiking expedition with his family.

His favorite thing to do outside of work is spend time with his sons, “who I love more than anything in this world.” He and his wife spend a lot of time supporting their interests in sports, robotics, chess, math, and art, and they also enjoy cooking and playing video games together. He jokes, “I find it hilarious when they think they can beat me in Madden or NBA 2K, but I know one day they will so I’ll just enjoy it for now.”

Profiles in Biophysics No two biophysicists have the same story. Read about the many paths that led each of them to become a biophysicist. www.biophysics.org/profiles-in-biophysics

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Public Affairs

Science Societies Join Congress to Condemn Anti-Asian Discrimination Public Affairs Committee of the Biophysical Society

BPS joined with 50 science organizations to call on Congress to condemn the anti-Asian discrimination and violence occurring across the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) and Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) have introduced a non-binding resolutions (S.Res. 580/H.Res. 908) to condemn such actions. Scientific research is not limited to any one country, nationality or race; it is an endeavor that thrives on collaboration by researchers working together, across the globe to advance basic and biomedical research initiatives. The solu- tion to the pandemic will not be found in violence and discrimination; it will be found by researchers from different countries working in collaboration. BPS Announces Samantha Anderson as Congressional Fellow

• Additional graduate student and postdoc fellowships, trainee- ships, and research assistantships for up to two years. Graduate students who could not complete their degrees due to pandem- ic-related impacts should be given priority for graduate fellow- ships and other forms of support so they can complete their research and degrees. Around theWorld United Kingdom Lays Out Increased Funding Plan for Research The United Kingdomwill increase public funding for research and development by 15 percent in the next fiscal year, its largest year-on-year increase ever, according to budget plans unveiled in March. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government plans to ramp up research and development (R&D) spending even faster over the next three years, more than doubling the current total to £22 billion by 2024 – 2025. Last year, the Conservative Party said it would double public fund- ing in R&D, bringing it to £18 billion by 2024 – 2025. (The govern- ment’s fiscal year runs fromApril to April). However, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said the government would be more aggressive, raising the figure to £22 billion. Under that scenario, public R&D spending would be 0.8 percent of gross domestic prod- uct in 2024 – 2025, according to economic forecasts in the budget plan—more than the United States, China, Japan, or France. To reach the goal of raising R&D spending overall to 2.4 percent, however, the private sector will need to increase its spending from £26 to £44 billion. The government will try to stimulate this invest- ment by putting £200million in a life sciences venture capital fund and spending £900million on grants to foster business innovation. The government will top up funding for the 2020 – 2021 fiscal year, by spending an extra £400million on research infrastructure and equipment, concentrating on basic research and the physical sciences.

The Society is pleased to announce that it has selected Samantha Anderson as its 2020 – 2021 Congressional Fellow. Anderson will spend a year working in a congressional office on legislative and policy areas requiring scientific input. She will also participate in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Science and Technology Fellowship Program, which includes an orientation on congressional and executive branch operations and a year-long seminar series on issues related to science policy. Since receiving her PhD in biochemistry, Anderson has worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. To learnmore about the Congressional Fellowship visit this webpage: https:/ www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship. BPS Advocates for Research Enterprise Inclusion in Stimulus Phase BPS has joined forces with science andmedical organizations and academic institutions to recommend additional funding for scientific andmedical research in the fourth phase of the stimulus package. In a move to protect the backbone of the US research enterprise—graduate students, postdocs, principal investigators, and technical support staff—we worked with Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Fred Upton (R-MI) on a bipartisan letter to House leadership. The letter, supported by 182members of the House of Representatives calls for the inclusion of US$26 billion in funding to cover the following: • Supplements for research grants and contracts (i.e., cost exten- sions) due to COVID-19-related impacts, including the need for additional salary support and/or research related ramp-up costs; • Emergency relief to sustain research support personnel and base operating costs for core research facilities and user-fund- ed research services until such time facilities reopen and research activities return to pre-pandemic activity levels; and

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Call for Nominations: Biophysical Journal Editor-in-Chief

The Publications Committee of the Biophysical Society is calling for nominations for the position of Edi- tor-in-Chief of the Society’s flagship publication, Biophysical Journal . This appointment will begin January 1, 2022, for one five-year term. The mission of Biophysical Journal ( BJ ) is to publish the highest quality original research that elucidates important biological, chemical, or physical mechanisms and provides quantitative insight into fundamental problems at the molecular, cellular, and systems and whole-organism levels. Articles published in the Journal should be of general interest to quantitative biologists, regardless of their research specialty. The Editor-in-Chief is the steward of the scientific content of the Journal and must have a broad understand- ing of biophysics as an evolving discipline. The Editor-in-Chief must have scientific stature and be committed to the mission of the Biophysical Society, especially to enhance the position of the Journal to better serve the interests of the global community. As the principal ambassador for and public face of the Journal, nominees will have broad interests in biophysics; project and/or people management skills; strong organizational skills; strong written and oral communication skills; and interest in engaging with the scientific community, particularly through a social media presence using established social media accounts to promote the Journal. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for carrying out the editorial policies established by the Society, and thus this position requires a commitment of 20–30 percent time and effort. The Editor-in-Chief is tasked to: • Establish and maintain the scientific standards of the Journal; ensure uniformity of scientific and Journal standards across all Journal content. • Recruit Associate Editor and Editorial Board Members and submit nominations to the Publications Committee. • Lead and mentor BJ’s Editorial Board, and develop processes to increase the efficiency, quality, and uniformity of the editorial processes. • Actively promote the Journal and encourage the submission of manuscripts; recruit manuscripts at conferences; commission special issues and guest editors. • Identify emerging areas of importance and solicit papers for submission. • Write editorials that discuss issues pertinent to BJ and its constituents. • Work with the Society office staff on the day-to-day editorial management of BJ. The Publications Committee welcomes nominations of candidates with diverse backgrounds who are dedicated to the Society’s values. Confidential nominations should be made to the Publications Committee through the Society Office (eicBJ@ biophysics.org). The candidate’s CV (or website for CV) is helpful but not required for the nomination. A brief statement of endorsement is encouraged; self-nominations are welcome. The deadline for nominations is August 1, 2020.

Call for Applications Editor in Chief of Biophysical Reports The Biophysical Society is launching a new open access journal Biophysical Reports to support the Society’s strategic goals: • Sharing Knowledge in and About Biophysics • Fostering a Global Community • Supporting the Next Generation We are looking for an Editor-in-Chief to lead this exciting initiative. Biophysical Reports will publish Letters and Reports for rapid publication, which can be written for specialists or general audiences. Full-length scholarly articles will also be welcome, including those that report new methods or technologies that are ready for biological applications. The Journal will complement Biophysical Journal , while providing a vehicle for shorter articles with rapid turnaround and an outlet for biophysicists who prefer or are required to publish in a fully open access journal. The two Journals will coordi- nate possible article transfers. Biophysical Reports will publish the highest quality original research in all aspects of biophysics, from the molecular to whole-organism levels. The Editor-in-Chief should embody the scientific standards of the Society and support its mission. This appoint- ment will begin January 1, 2021, for one five-year term. We believe this is an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of biophysics and to launch a high-quality open access publication. The Editor-in-Chief will: • Establish the structure of the editorial board. • Build and lead the editorial team, in conjunction with the Publications Committee and staff. • Develop the process for rapid review and publication of Letters and Reports. • Recruit exciting manuscripts through attendance at global conferences and scientific meetings. • Work with the Society office staff on the day-to-day editorial management. • Collaborate with staff and the Society’s publishing partner, Cell Press, on effective workflows, journal website features, marketing, and social media promotion of the journal. You will have: • broad interest across the full spectrum of biophysics, • project and/or people management skills, • strong organizational skills, • strong written and oral communication skills, • interest in engaging with the scientific community. The Publications Committee welcomes applications from candidates who support and are dedicated to the Society’s values. There are no restrictions on scientific interests, background, gender, race or ethnicity, or geography. To apply, please submit a cover letter outlining the motivations for your interest. We will also accept nominations. We will consider applications until August 1, 2020 . Confidential applications should be made to the Publications Committee through the Society office (eicBR@biophysics.org).

Publications

Know the Editor Yamini Dalal

ticipated when using standard biochemistry to probe nucleo- some structure or function. What have you read lately that you found really interesting or stimulating? I’m re-reading one of my favorite books of all time, Irving Stone’s The Agony and the Ecstasy which is a fictional biogra- phy of the Florentine sculptor, Michelangelo. It’s a poignant story about his creative struggles in the face of extraordinary challenges at every level, many of which would have defeat- ed any normal person. He struggled with personal, physi- cal, mental, professional, and historical crises, and yet, his contributions to humanity are profound. It’s incredible how he could make cold white marble resonate with the most primal of human emotions. I cried when I first saw the Pieta in Rome 15 years ago. I found his story very uplifting, and it particular- ly resonates at this time of the COVID-19 crisis. Who would you like to sit next to at a dinner party? All historical figures—all long dead! Hatsheput (the first female Pharaoh of Egypt), Cleopatra (the last female Pharaoh of Egypt), Julius Caesar, the Emperor Akbar, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo and da Vinci were rivals for Medici patronage and they were both polymaths.

National Cancer Institute, NIH Editor, Genome Biophysics Biophysical Journal

Yamini Dalal

What are you currently working on that excites you? We are investigating a causal link between nano-elasticity nucleosomes, the smallest epigenetic unit of the genome, and the functional outcomes for that locus in vivo, such as transcription. And we’re doing it in cancer cells, where certain loci are more fragile and prone to breaks. This is the most challenging and fun project I’ve worked on in my entire career! What has been your biggest “aha” moment in science? Realizing that the energy constrained inside a nucleosome, dictated by its own unique molecular signature, can dictate how the entire chromatin fiber behaves, altering its function. I think that’s totally wild and not something I would have an-

In the last five years there has been an explosion of interest in phase separation as an organizing principle in signal transduction, nuclear organization, and chromatin structure. Phase separation and generalizations thereof are governed by multivalence of interaction motifs and/or domains within protein and nucleic acids, especially RNA molecules. We are inviting contributions that treat any aspect of the relevance of phase separation to biology. These could include new experimental results, critical reviews of the state of the field, guides to the design and interpretation of experiments, explorations of the basic principles underlying phase separation, qualitative and quantitative explorations of the consequences of phase separation for biology, or historical perspectives on the development of current models. Special Issue: Phase Separation in Nucleic Acid Biochemistry and Signal Transduction Biophysical Journal Editors: Jason Kahn, University of Maryland, College Park Rohit Pappu, Washington University in St. Louis Edward Lemke, Johannes Gutenberg University and Institute of Molecular Biology Mainz Call for Papers

Deadline for submission: August 31, 2020

To submit, visit biophysj.msubmit.net

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Publications

Open Access FAQs This is the third and final article in the series on open access. Please see the April and May issues of the BPS Bulletin for previous articles. In this installment answers are offered to some of the frequently asked questions about open access. I know there are different types of open access. What are they? Green and gold open access are the most common and are most commonly applied to access at the article level. In green open access, the version of record is behind a paywall on the publisher’s platform but is “open” in that a version, such as the author’s accepted manuscript, may be post- ed elsewhere — say on a personal website or institutional repository. Or, maybe the final published version is allowed to be shared openly, but is not made open on the publisher’s platform. Policies about posting articles other than on the publishers site differ among publishers. A gold open access article is the version of record that is openly available immediately upon publication on the publish- er’s platform. For an author to publish their article gold open access, an article processing charge (APC) is typically paid by or on behalf of the author. Biophysical Journal offers this option. A bronze open access article is made freely available for reading by publisher policy or practice. This is usually done for purposes of marketing or promotion. An example from Biophysical Journal would be when a special article collection is published, the articles are opened to the world for a period of 30 days. Bronze open access is usually temporary and is not related to author payment. Other examples include “opening up” articles by Nobel Prize winners or historically significant articles. What is Journal-level open access? A hybrid journal offers the option for authors to pay an APC and publish their article gold open access. Other articles in the journal are behind a subscription wall. A gold open access journal means that all the articles in the journal are open access and authors are responsible for pay- ing article processing charges (APCs). A diamond open access journal means that all of the articles within the journal are open access, but the journal is generally funded with fees other than APCs.

Is open access the same as open science? No. Open access refers only to the ability to discover or read an article without paying a subscription fee. Open science generally refers to making available not just the final results, but also raw data, software used to analyze it, lab notebooks, etc. If I publish open access, how do I know which license to sign? For gold open access articles authors retain the copyright. The license determines how readers can share and use your article without the need to request permission. Biophysical Journal offers two types of licenses for open access articles. The first option is referred to as a CC-BY license, which allows users to alter and build upon the article and then distribute the resulting work, even commercially. The work must be attributed to the original author and publisher. This license encourages maximum use and distribution. The second option is the CC-BY-NC-ND license, which allows users to copy and distribute the article, provided the work is attributed back to the original author and publisher. The arti- cle cannot be changed in any way or used commercially.

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Publications Member C rner

On The Move In the Fall of 2020, Ilya Levental will be moving his lab to the University of Virginia Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and the Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology. The lab will continue their investigations of the compositions-structure-function nexus in complex cellular membranes. Specifically, trying to understand how membrane compositions are determined and regulated and how these regulate the function of membrane proteins.

Have you changed positions recently or know of a BPS member who has? Send your news, including your past and present position and institution to ccurry@biophysics.org.

Student Spotlight Rachel Leicher Rockefeller University

Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics and Biochemistry Tri-Institutional Program in Chemical Biology (TPCB) What do you wish you knew before you began your studies in biophysics?

Rachel Leicher

I first learned about biophysics and single-molecule techniques in an undergraduate physical chemistry class. I became intrigued by optical tweezers. It wasn’t until I started my graduate research in biophysics that I grew to appreciate the broad array of questions that can be studied using optical traps. I continue to be amazed by the creativity of biophysicists as we push techniques further to understand more complex mechanisms.

Members in the News Yu Sun , University of Toronto and Society member since 2018,

Two Society members were named 2020 Goldwater Scholars: Annie Liang , Johns Hop- kins University and Society member since 2019, and Tyler Brittain , James Madison University and Society member since 2018.

was named a 2020 Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Yu Sun

Annie Liang

Tyler Brittain

Be Involved. The Biophysical Society (BPS) provides many opportunities for members to get involved and give back to the biophysics community. Gain Leadership Experience. Make a Difference. Expand Your Network. To learn more about the different opportunities, please visit www.biophysics.org/get-involved.

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Outreach

Funding Opportunities for Faculty at PUIs The BPS Education Committee sponsors a session at the Annual Meeting entitled “Funding Opportunities for Faculty at PUIs.” This article presents highlights from the 2020 meeting. As researchers, we are consistently on the lookout for funding opportunities. Faculty at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) are often tasked with the complicated challenge of finding ways to generate funds to support their undergradu- ate research efforts. Here I have provided some key insights into the realm of PUI funding opportunities. There are three common avenues of funding looked at by PUI faculty: 1. National Science Foundation (NSF) – RUI/ROA

2. National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Research Enhancement Award (R15) The NIH Research Enhancement Award includes the Academ- ic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)/R15 Program for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions. The AREA/R15 program supports small-scale research projects in the biomedical and behavioral sciences conducted at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the nation’s research scientists, but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. The main goals of the R15 program are to support meritorious research, expose students to research, and to strengthen the research envi- ronment of your institution. The project period is limited to up to three years and the R15 funding budget is the amount of direct costs — limited to $300,000 — over the entire project period. What is the review process for an R15? At NIH, R15s are reviewed together in a study session. For more details, please look at the NIH website: https:/grants.nih.gov/grants/fund- ing/r15.htm and funding opportunity announcement (FOA) number PAR-18-174, which provides detailed descriptions of the program and institutional eligibility. The funding success rate of the R15 program is 18 percent. 3. Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) – Cottrell Scholar Award. There are specific guidelines and a deadline of July 1 for the Cottrell Scholar Award. Eligible applicants for the Cottrell Scholar Award are tenure-track faculty who hold primary or courtesy appointments in chemistry, physics, or astronomy departments that offer bachelor’s and/or graduate degrees in the applicant’s discipline. You must also be in your third year of a tenure-track position. For example: For the 2020 propos- al cycle, eligibility is limited to faculty members who started their first tenure-track appointment anytime in calendar year 2017. RCSA notes accommodations are made for faculty who have taken maternity or paternity leave, or who have experienced medical conditions that prompted a tenure clock extension. To request an eligibility extension, you will need to contact the program director. The proposal submission in- cludes both a research plan and detailed education plan. RCSA is looking for proposals to include modern scientific approach- es through innovative and cutting edge research with an em- phasis on teaching. Cottrell Scholar Awards are for three-year projects in the amount of $100,000 for the project. A budget is not required, and no budget page is included in the propos- al. The funds may be spent by the PI as they wish to support both the research and educational projects proposed. There is a thorough three-step proposal review process of Cottrell

The Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) and Re- search Opportunity Awards (ROA) funding opportunities support research by faculty members at PUIs. RUI proposals support PUI faculty in research that engages them in their professional field(s), builds capacity for research at their institution, and supports the integration of research and undergraduate education. ROAs similarly support PUI faculty research, but these awards typically allow faculty to work as visiting scientists at research-intensive organizations where they collaborate with other NSF-supported investigators. There are no stated budget limits for your RUI proposal. However, it is recommended that when thinking about the budget for your proposal, ask for what you need in context to the project. It is important to mention that an RUI is not for obtaining major equipment. However, some programs may consider proposals requesting funds for shared research instrumentation. You may request funding for smaller equip- ment not available but necessary for the completion of the project. If a large piece of equipment is needed, you may want to look into applying for a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Award through NSF. What is the review process for an RUI? At NSF, RUIs are reviewed with regular proposals in the same review panel. There are instructions given to each reviewer to take into account the PI is at a PUI (i.e., no graduate students, slower publication rate, limited instrumentation, etc). For more details, please look at the NSF website https:/www.nsf. gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5518 and program solicitation online, NSF 14-579, which provides a detailed description of the program and eligibility. If an RUI/ROA is not for you, look into the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER). This program offers promi- nent NSF awards in support of early career faculty.

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Outreach

From left to right. Joe Gindhart (NIH), Silvia Ronco (Research Corporation for Science Advancement), Elizabeth Yates (moderator, Education Committee), and Wilson Francisco (NSF) at the 2020 BPS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California

Scholar Awards. Proposals (PUIs and R01s) are all looked at together in the same review process. After a proposal has been received and processed, program directors evaluate the teaching plan. Those that pass this review are sent out for ex- ternal peer review of both research and teaching plans. Lastly, when a proposal has the appropriate complement of reviews, a selection committee evaluates the proposal in light of its reviews and then makes the final recommendation. In the review process, both PUIs and R1 universities are all placed together in the same applicant pool and review process. The funding success rate is 14 percent. The application for the Cottrell Scholar Award is a one-time opportunity to apply. For more details, please look at the RCSA website, https:/ rescorp. org/cottrell-scholars/cottrell-scholar-award, which provides a detailed description of the program and eligibility. Common Funding Questions/Pointers When is the best time to submit your proposal? Look into the specific program you are applying to and pay attention to guidelines and deadlines. Adhere to any dead- lines that have been set by each specific funding agency. If no deadlines are set, you can submit when you are ready. The whole process takes a lot of time, so be sure to be patient. How soon to contact program officers? It is highly recommended for prospective PIs interested in applying for funding to contact program officers early on in the application process. This will help get you to the correct NSF program officer or NIH institute for the proper funding of your research, as well as assist in determining the feasibility of your project and timing. While looking into funding pro- grams, read the funding announcements carefully to help you find the suitable program. From here, it is suggested that you

reach out to a program officer via email. You may ask ques- tions such as Can I send you my specific aims? Can I send you a short proposal? Could I schedule a conference call to discuss your program and my eligibility? Once you identify the pro- gram manager that may fit best, this is a great time to send a 1 – 2 page proposal to see if your work is suitable for their program. This will allow the program officer to provide feed- back regarding the fit. If the work is not appropriate for their program, the program officer will be able to better direct you to other program officers. By directly contacting the program officers, you are allowing yourself the opportunity to find the best program and fit for your research! How much preliminary data is needed in my proposal? You will need to show your project has merit with preliminary data. A key is to find a happy medium: You do not want to propose a completed project; rather, you want to show evi- dence of the progression of a project and display a story being told. You can use one aim to build on the other. It is important to show the reviewers a little bit of your work and intrigue them about your project. — Elizabeth Yates , Education Committee

Submit to

Special rates for authors from PUIs. www.thebiophysicist.org

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