Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2021

June 2021

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

2021 BPS Elections NowOpen Voting is open June 1 through August 1 The Society is pleased to announce the 2021 slate of candidates for President-Elect and Council. The two candidates for President-Elect are Taekjip Ha of Johns Hopkins University and Arthur G. Palmer III of Columbia University. The President-Elect will serve a one-year term, beginning February 2022, followed by a year as President, starting February 2023, and one subsequent year as Past-President, beginning in February 2024. This year’s slate includes eight candidates for Council,

Taekjip Ha

Arthur G. Palmer III

shown at right. The four members who are elected will each serve a three-year term beginning on February 22, 2022. Full biographical information and candidate statements are available at www.biophysics.org/elections/bps-elections. All Society members, including students, with 2021 dues paid by May 31, 2021, are eligible to vote. Eligible members may vote electronically through August 1, 2021, by means of the secure site found at www.biophysics.org/elections/ bps-elections. The Society is indebted to the Nominating Committee for developing the slate. The committee members were Jenny Ross (Chair), Zev Bryant , Laura Finzi , Helmut Grubmüller , Joseph Mindell , and David Piston .

Patricia Bassereau

Martin Gruebele

Syma Khalid

Vera Moiseenkova-Bell

Hugo Sanabria

Valeria Vasquez

Paul Wiseman

Jie Yan

President’s Message Biophysicist in Profile Inside

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Public Affairs Publications Member Corner

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Career Development

Grants and Opportunities

Communities

Upcoming Events

President’s Message

Future of Professional Society Conferencing Recently, Jennifer Pesanelli (Exec- utive Officer), Dorothy Chaconas (Director of Meetings & Exhib- its), and I attended the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Assembly of Society Officers to discuss the future of scientific meetings. Before the Assembly, we were asked to view pre-recorded content and read attending from anywhere in the world but believe that virtual events have not been able to reproduce the level of network- ing seen at in-person meetings. As well as ease of accessibility, the lower carbon footprint offered by virtual meetings is a great benefit. As an example, the 2019 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), held in San Francisco with more than 25,000 attend- ees, is estimated to have produced the equivalent of 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide due to participant travel (KQED, https:/ www.kqed.org/science/1966164/covid-19-is-pushing-scien- tific-conferences-online-maybe-thats-where-they-belong).

Frances Separovic

a report published by AIP entitled “The Future of Association Convening: Envisioning for The Sciences (FACETS).” The report is accessible to all through the AIP website at https:/www. aip.org/facets. The authors of the report, who were also the session panellists, envision that future meetings will allow for content to be consumed in advance and leave more time for active exchange, one of the great benefits of scientific society conferences. However, unlike the anticipation with which I typically ap- proach the long-haul flight over the Pacific prior to the Biophysical Society (BPS) Annual Meeting, I did not have the same eagerness in 2021 for yet another Zoom meeting. Instead, rather than being bolstered by the excitement of my fellow participants, which is a tremendous help to overcome jet lag, I found myself struggling to keep awake at 2:00 AM and formulate my thoughts. Rather than coming away ener- gized, I felt exhausted. Although a new study discussed in the April 17 issue of The Economist (https:/www.economist.com/graphic-de- tail/2021/04/17/a-new-study-suggests-that-zoom-fa- tigue-is-worse-for-women-than-men) suggests that “Zoom fatigue” is worse for women than men, I suspect this is a common problem, especially when trying to balance differ- ent time zones. According to Microsoft, video meetings are hard work and tire people quickly (https:/www.itnews.com. au/news/microsoft-eeg-studies-show-video-meetings- stress-people-out-550248). Using electroencephalogram (EEG) equipment, they found that markers associated with overwork and stress are significantly higher in video meetings than in other work such as writing emails. However, many scientists want virtual meetings to stay after the COVID-19 pandemic according to a Nature poll (https:/ www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00513-1). Online research conferences have brought big benefits, but it will be a challenge to blend virtual and in-person meetings in the future. Respondents to the poll appreciate the ease of

In-person meetings also disadvantage researchers from countries with low rates of vaccination against COVID-19. We need to rethink traditional conference models that require multiple trips per year and instead provide a better virtual experience for scientists. However, paying for in-person con- ference venues in addtion to a virtual platform is expensive, and trying to forecast audience size for multiple modes of participation is also a challenge. Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, a leading consulting firm in the conference industry, questions whether synchronous hybrid meetings are even sustainable and notes that “between diminished revenue, additional costs for in-person events and platform/content capture expense, the pressure on event leaders is significant” (https:/ vel- vetchainsaw.com/2021/03/15/the-high-cost-of-hybrid/). Scientific conferences have been vital for exchanging results and ideas and learning about the latest advancements in the field. They inspire attendees; strengthen collaborations and forge new ones; provide opportunities for professional devel- opment and new job prospects; and allow for meetings with vendors, publishers, and funding agencies. We need to plan for future conferences that serve scientists better than they do now. How effective is the BPS Annual Meeting format, which is based on a face-to-face (F2F) meet- ing? In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly made the decision to hold the 2021 Annual Meeting virtually, and we began offering more virtual content outside the meeting. In 2020, we hosted the “Biophysicists Address COVID-19 Challenges” symposium and nine member-led virtual events with organizers in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, with attendees logging on from 44 different countries. This year, we shifted most BPS Committee-orga- nized programming from the Annual Meeting to virtual events spread throughout the year and added some new events as well. While participation increased for some events so far, feedback indicates that the in-person aspect of certain ses- sions is preferred.

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President’s Message

Officers President Frances Separovic President-Elect Gail Robertson Past-President Catherine A. Royer Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Kalina Hristova Council Henry Colecraft Michelle A. Digman Erin C. Dueber Marta Filizola Gilad Haran Kumiko Hayashi Francesca Marassi

Society conferences, both F2F and virtual, are at their best when they foster a sense of be- longing among all participants. The challenge is to do this on a global scale and with travel restrictions in place. Over the past year, BPS has learned much about virtual platforms and different online approaches to build a diverse and inclusive Society. Many societies are planning virtual and hybrid events for the coming years. We are planning

a F2F meeting for San Francisco in 2022, but with some virtual components and additional events offered online. Future conferences need to be reimagined, and we will need your ideas on how to blend the best features of conventional and virtual formats. Let us know of examples from which we can draw inspiration. — Frances Separovic

Susan Marqusee Joseph A. Mindell Carolyn A. Moores Kandice Tanner Biophysical Journal Jane Dyson Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran Editor-in-Chief Biophysical Reports

As a BPS member, you are part of an interdisciplinary global community. Take -advan- tage of your member benefits to connect with other biophysicists and those in related fields. The breadth of science and expertise from members around the world creates a dynamic community of sharing, learning, and networking. Your BPSMembership Benefits Enhance Your Network Networking is vital in the science profession! Connect with other members on a local and global level and gain lifelong friends and professional acquaintances with similar interests. Connect with others through: • BPS Subgroups • BPS Student Chapters • BPS Meetings and Events • BPS Membership Directory

Jörg Enderlein Editor-in-Chief

Society Office Jennifer Pesanelli Executive Officer Newsletter Executive Editor Jennifer Pesanelli Managing Editor John Long

Be a Leader Develop and strengthen your skills as a leader. As a member, you have many opportunities to: • Serve on a BPS Committee • Get involved in BPS Subgroups

• Organize a BPS-sponsored meeting

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 © 2021 by the Biophysical Society.

Help Shape the Future of Biophysics Help shape the future of the biophysics community by giving back. BPS members can volunteer as a: • Mentor • Public speaker • Judge at science fairs • Advocate for biophysics • Peer reviewer for BPS journals

To learn more about your membership benefits, visit www.biophysics.org/members-benefits.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

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Biophysicist in Profile

Louise Hughes Areas of Research

Institution Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis

Biological electron microscopy with particular emphasis on 3D imaging methods, energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry, analytical correlative microscopy, and data analysis

At-a-Glance

Louise Hughes grew up in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. None of her family worked in the scientific field, though her grandfather was an amateur scientist. He died when Hughes was very young so she did not get to know him, but she now has his antique brass light microscope. “No one else in my family was involved in science while I was growing up, but my youngest sister is in her final year of a physics degree, so we have a second scientist in the family,” she shares.

Louise Hughes

Louise Hughes’ love of science started when she was young. “I went to a rather weird and wonderful school that had some amazing and inspiring science teachers. We often pushed our classroom experiments and several times had to evacuate as a result,” she recalls. “My biology teachers inspired me to do a degree in biology and I had the option to do several physics modules during my undergrad degree, which have provided me with a good physics foundation.” She attended Aberystwyth University in Wales for all three of her degrees, beginning with her undergraduate studies in biology, then her master’s in biological electron microsco- py, and finally her PhD. “The master’s degree was partially completed in the AO Research Institute in Davos, Switzerland doing some research into cell adhesion on different implant surfaces. Iolo ap Gwynn supervised my master’s and PhD and Geoff Richards co-supervised my master’s. Both are inspira- tional electron microscopists,” Hughes says. Gwynn got her started in the field of biological electron mi- croscopy (EM). “His enthusiasm and expertise, combined with the expertise of... the technicians who ran the EM facility at Aberystwyth...provided me with a solid foundation in all areas of electron microscopy. They inspired me, challenged me, coached me, took me to casualty when I had one of my more serious sharp-blade incidents when learning ultramicrotomy, and provided me with an immense thirst for exploring every- thing to do with biological electron microscopy,” she recounts. “This was further enhanced when I joined Prof. Geoff Richards at the AO Research Institute for the thesis part of my mas- ter’s degree, so much so that I pursued a PhD.” Following her PhD, she took her first postdoc position at Aberystwyth University, then moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she held two postdoc- toral positions. “My time at UCLA focused on using electron microscopy to study cilia in photoreceptor cells, with partic- ular attention on Usher’s syndrome, and studying the cilium/ flagellum of the eukaryotic parasite Trypanosoma brucei . Most of my time at UCLA was spent working with Prof. Hong Zhou ,

who taught me a great deal. I was a rare biologist in a large team of physicists and computer scientists who were pushing the resolution limits of electron microscopy. Following my postdocs, I took up a position of Facility Manager at Oxford Brookes University where I had the fortune to work with Prof. Chris Hawes for several years, specializing in 3D electron mi- croscopy techniques and applying it to a range of organisms but with an emphasis on plants and trypanosomes.” Hughes now works as a product manager for life science at Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis. The subject areas she is focused on are applying energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to biological samples and developing correlative mi- croscopy software for analytical microscopy techniques. “The job is varied and very interesting, going from research-spe- cific applications work with collaborators, to helping develop techniques and achieve research goals for customers, to more business-orientated work producing reports and marketing material. I also get to be involved in developing future prod- ucts and translating the needs of researchers to our tech- nology and development teams,” she explains. “One of the interesting projects I am involved with at present is looking at tissue and biomaterial interactions, using EDS to investigate compositional changes in biomaterials during biodegrada- tion, but also elemental changes in the surrounding cells and extracellular matrix.” Being in an interdisciplinary field has kept the work engaging. “There is so much to learn in the crossover between scientific disciplines that it is an exciting subject to be involved in and I find it fascinating,” Hughes shares. “EDS is an established technique in physics and materials science, yet relatively unknown in biology. Being able to bring physics and biolo- gy together opens many research opportunities and being involved in that is a privilege.” The biggest challenge in her career has been dealing with workplace bullying. “I came very close to leaving science completely because of extensive bullying, and several of my colleagues did leave. I do not think academia has addressed

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Biophysicist in Profile

the ongoing abuse of power between people higher up the academic hierarchy and people at earlier stages of their ca- reer,” she says. “I stuck it out, kept as professional as possible and when it became clear that I was not supported by the institution I was in, I left for another job. It is a good rule of thumb to have an exit strategy if you find yourself in that situation.”

Hughes’ colleagues are impressed with her science communi- cation skills. Her supervisor at Oxford Instruments NanoAnal- ysis, Iain Anderson , notes, “A great strength that Louise brings to us is her ability to communicate the essence of what a re- search application is all about despite my lack of background knowledge. The passion and drive that Louise brings to all of her work is inspiring, and the ability to flex both the style and content of her communication to her audience is a huge asset to her work.” Errin Johnson , Hughes’ collaborator, is the EM facility manager at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford University. They have collaborated on and off since 2013. Johnson says, “I have always admired her passion for biological electron microscopy and drive to help improve the field, particularly in volume EM and microanalysis. She also sets an excellent example for using microscopy to engage with the non-scientists, through her blog, her microscopy artwork, and extensive outreach activities.”

Hughes in the lab.

Joining the Biophysical Society has helped Hughes stay con- nected with others in the field, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when maintaining connections has been more challenging. “I joined the Biophysical Society a couple of years ago and have found that it has a great community of people involved in events and the meetings. It has been wonderful to be part of that community and I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be connected to other researchers via societies such as this one, for knowledge exchange, career opportunities, and for general inspiration, especially in the current environment when physically meeting up with people has been impossible.” Being a BPS member “has given me access to the wide variety of techniques that people are using in this field and information about where people need to go next to address key research topics,” she says. “I have con- nected with a variety of different people and I look forward to seeing where we go next.” For her part, Hughes hopes to expand the range of techniques available to biophysicists and help researchers extract the information they need from their samples. “I see the future involving an increasing array of techniques being brought together and being used on the same samples, enabling us to access and interrogate data in ways that have not been possible up to now,” she shares. “Computing and data analysis are already key to this process and will become increasingly important in the future.”

Hughes enjoying some fun in the surf.

To young people starting their careers in biophysics, she offers this advice: “Make connections, use memberships of societies such as the Biophysical Society to learn and net- work, speak to people in the fields you are interested in, and collaborate as much as you can. Remember that there are many career paths in industry as well as academia!” If Hughes were not a biophysicist, she would be an artist. While the two careers may seem very different, she says, “An electron microscopist is a type of photographer, just one that uses different technology and subjects.” Indeed, she already produces art inspired by her work by “either coloring electron micrographs, making 3D-printed jewelry inspired by biological forms, or using resin as a medium to make art rather than embed EM specimens.” She adds, “I also like baking, doing many different crafts, and am currently working on updating my campervan so that it is ready for travel when lockdown restrictions lift.”

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Public Affairs

Public Affairs Committee Brings NIH and NSF Grant Experts to BiophysicsWeek For this year’s Biophysics Week, the Public Affairs Committee hosted two panels of experts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to discuss grant funding for biophysics. NIH panelists included the expertise of Ruth Grossman and Michele McGuirl of the National Institutes of General Medical Scienc- es and Eleazar Cohen of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. If you missed the livestream, a replay can be viewed at www.biophysics.org/video-library/expert-insight-into-crafting-nih-grants-nih. NSF brought in experts Engin Serpersu , Marcia Newcomer , and Jaroslaw Majewski of the Division of Molecular & Cellular Bioscienc- es. A replay of that event can be found at www.biophysics.org/video-library/inside-perspectives-and-opportunities-nsf-grants.

NIH Lifts Restrictions on Fetal Tissue Research In mid-April, the Biden Administration reversed the ban on human fetal tissue research that had been in place within the National Institutes of Health. The change in policy also eliminates the review board that had torpedoed funding applications from external scientists seeking to use the tissue in their research. The previous policy, announced in June 2019 during then-President Donald Trump ’s administration, created new hurdles for funding applicants, including review by a new ethics board. That panel was dominated by scientists and ethicists who oppose abortion, and in August 2020, it reject- ed all but 1 of 14 applications that scientific reviewers had already deemed worthy of funding. Under the policy change released last week, the board will not convene again and intramural NIH research involving fetal tissue can resume, an agency spokesperson confirmed. The longstanding requirement for obtaining informed consent from the tissue donor remains in place.

BPS Announces Max Olender as the 2021–2022 Congressional Fellow

This year, the Biophysical Society received more Congressional Fellowship applications than in any prior year. The Public Affairs Committee responsible for reviewing the applications and interviewing candidates, had a wide array of outstanding scientists to choose from. Ulti- mately, a decision had to be made and the

Max Olender

selection committee was unanimous in selecting Max Olender as the next BPS Congressional Fellow. Since receiving his PhD in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Olender has worked as a postdoctoral re- searcher at the Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center, Edelman Lab. “I’m excited both to learn about how ideas and knowledge are transformed into functional policy and to contribute scientif- ic perspective and technical expertise to that process,” said Olender. “It’s absolutely critical for the scientific community, including the Biophysical Society, to continuously engage with Congress to ensure policymakers and elected decision-makers

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Public Affairs

have access to scientific knowledge when balancing and ad- vancing the interests of the nation. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in this endeavor as a BPS Congressional Fellow.” Olender will spend a year working in a congressional office on legislative and policy areas requiring scientific input. He will also participate in the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science’s 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. Read more about the Con- gressional Fellowship: www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/ congressional-fellowship. Around theWorld Indonesia Creates National Research “Superagency” In early April, the Indonesian Parliament approved a pro- posal to eliminate the Ministry of Research and Technology (RISTEK) in favor of creating a new National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Although details have not been released, BRIN seems set to have broad powers to fund, exe- cute, and control research in the country. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has often criticized the Indonesian scientific community for what he says is lacklus- ter performance, deeming the country’s $1.7 billion annual research budget enough to produce results. Widodo has also been critical of the large number of research agencies scat- tered around the national bureaucracy and provincial govern- ments across the archipelago. Scientists worry this move will only serve to strengthen political control over research in a country where academic freedom is already under pressure and politics have taken an authoritarian turn. The Center for Innovation Policy and Governance hopes that BRIN’s power still can be limited by making it responsible only for coordinating and carrying out research, while making another agency responsible for policy. Reforms in Indonesian research policy come at a time when the country needs solid science more than ever. France Ponders Biomedical Research Decline At the end of January, France’s third wave of the pandem- ic gathered steam while the Pasteur Institute and Sanofi announced more setbacks in COVID-19 vaccine development. Today, France remains the only nation on the U.N. Security

Council without a viable vaccine. These high-profile failures have cast a spotlight on the problems facing biomedicine in France. Some experts cite a squeeze in basic research funding and scarce venture capital, while others place blame on a pro- liferation of bureaucratic organizations that waste resources and add confusion. A January study by the Council of Economic Analysis (CAE), a government advisory body, says France ought to be well-po- sitioned to do biomedical research—and to commercialize it—but recent analyses paint a picture of long-term erosion in public biomedical investment. The CAE study found that public spending on biology and health research has shrunk dramatically since 2011, even as it grew in Germany and the United Kingdom. Biotech startups, critical in pharmaceutical innovation, are also less well funded in France than in its European peers. Funding through France’s public investment bank (BPI) and tax rebates can be generous in the early stages of business development, but private funding is too sparse to enable enough companies to grow significantly at later stages. In 2020, French health tech startups each raised only €8 million in venture capital on average, compared with €12 million in the United Kingdom and €25 million in Germany. Changes are coming. The French government pledged to reverse what it calls “decades of underinvestment” with a 10-year plan and reform enacted in December 2020. The plan aims to raise R&D spending from 2.2% to 3.0% of gross domestic product, in line with Germany’s, increasing pub- lic spending from €15 billion to €20 billion by 2030. It also intends to make research careers more attractive by boost- ing meager salaries and creating junior tenure track jobs. In addition, the government induced a group of insurance companies and semipublic institutions to pledge €6 billion in tech investment in France through 33 funds, 9 of which are dedicated to health. Many scientists hope, cautiously, that the COVID-19 wake- up call will bring lasting improvements that can be sustained long-term.

Connect with BPS

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Publications

Know the Editor Phil Nelson

University of Pennsylvania Editor The Biophysicist

Open for Submissions

Phil Nelson

What are you currently working on that excites you? I recently updated and reissued my textbook Biological Physics (Student Edition, 2020) and was happy to find that I could distribute it at a small fraction of its previous price, making it very broadly accessible. I’m now working on a similar project, reissuing another textbook called Physical Models of Living Systems (Second Edition, 2021). I’m particularly excited for the opportunity to add several new chapters, on topics and scales ranging from the molecular (catch-bonding), to instrumen- tation (mathematics of cryo-EM), to systems (competence transition in Bacillus subtilis ), to global (stochastic modeling of the effects of superspreaders in a pandemic). Students in my own class have responded enthusiastically to these topics, so I’m glad for a chance to make the discussion more widely available. What have you read lately that you found really interesting or stimulating? Neil Shubin ’s Some Assembly Required (Pantheon, 2020) is a masterful page-turner filled with fascinating stories that were new to me. Raghu Parthasarathy ’s forthcoming So Simple a Beginning: How Four Physical Principles Shape our Living World (Princeton, 2022), which I read in manuscript, is brilliantly clear and beautifully illustrated. Leopold Infeld ’s Quest: An Au- tobiography (Chelsea Publishing, 1980) is deeply moving and unlike any other scientific memoir.

Biophysical Reports , the fully Gold Open Access journal from the Biophysical Society, provides a new publishing option for Society members and other biophysics researchers. Editor-in-Chief Jörg Enderlein invites submissions from all disciplines encompassed by biophysics, with a particular emphasis on methods and techniques. The new- est addition to the Society’s family of journals is committed to rapid publication of articles that are written for specialists as well as those writ- ten for the broader biophysics community. The journal will feature short contributions (Letters and Reports) with rapid turnarounds as well as Research Articles and Reviews. Publication fees will be waived for the first 10 new submissions accepted by the journal!

biophysreports.org

The Biophysical Society is grateful to its Industry Partners.

For Industry Partner Membership information, contact alevine@biophysics.org. SILVER

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Member Corner

Members in the News

Madeline Shea , University of Iowa and Society member since 1983, received the University of Iowa’s 2020 Presi- dent and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence.

Madeline Shea

Student Spotlight

Shasha Feng Lehigh University Biological Sciences Department What has been the most exciting experience of your studies in biophysics?

Seeing that utilizing multiple cutting-edge computational tools, such as MD simulation and data-driven machine learning, can tackle difficult drug-binding mechanism problems. Many events in biology like drug binding and enzyme kinetics, are driven by physics!

Shasha Feng

Important Dates

Ambassador Program Application Deadline Friday, July 16, 2021

Election Voting Closes Sunday, August 01, 2021

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Career Development

Seeking a Postdoc Fellowship in the USA and in Europe Seeking your own postdoctoral funding is a great way to demonstrate inde- pendence as a researcher. In the United States, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding is the gold standard for postdocs in the biomedical research field, and National Science Foundation (NSF) funding is the equivalent in the physical sciences. Some specific exam- ples of fellowships include the NIH F32 If you are not eyeing US academic positions, there are great alternatives in the European Union (EU). For example, the European Commission funds the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Individual Fellowships, which provide two years of funding. The Fellowship includes the possibility of a mobility dimension for researchers returning to the EU, as well as global fellowships for EU-based researchers wishing to undertake projects abroad. I have been a happy recipient of an MSCA Fellowship, as have several of my advisors, who found it to be an invaluable experience.

Postdoctoral Fellowships, the NSF EAR Postdoctoral Fellow- ships, and National Insitute of Standards and Technology NRC Postdoctoral Research. As of 2020, there are more than 355 federal and private postdoctoral fellowship opportunities, according to Johns Hopkins University, which maintains a list of funding opportunites (https:/ research.jhu.edu/rdt/ funding-opportunities/postdoctoral/) updated by the team of the Vice Provost for Research. Not all fellowships are open for non-US citizens. One prom- inent fellowship that is open to non-US citizens is the K99/ R00 Pathway to Independence Award. According to the NIH, this award provides one to two years of mentored support for postdoctoral scientists, followed by up to three years of independent support.

Other EU-based fellowships include those from EMBO, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Georg Forster Research Fel- lowship, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Hans Werthén Foundation, the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi, the Wallenberg Foundation, the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship for Foreign Scholars, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lund- beck Foundation, The Swedish Research Council International Postdoc Grant, the Newton International Fellowship, and the UK Research Council. This list is by no means exhaustive. Also, note that some of these fellowships have a work permit requirement. I hope this inspires you to further explore the possibility of securing your own funding for your research interests! — Molly Cule

Grants & Opportunities Basic Research to Inform Vaccine and Therapeutic De- velopment for Non-Polio Human Enteroviruses (NPEV) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Applications are sought to expand basic research on non-polio enteroviruses (NPEV) that will inform the devel- opment of pan-enterovirus vaccines and broad-spectrum antivirals against enteroviruses A, B, C, and D. Deadline: July 13 Website: https:/grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/ rfa-files/RFA-AI-21-006.html#:~:text=RFA%- 2DAI%2D21%2D006,R01%20Clinical%20Trial%20Not%20 Allowed

Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) This program is a National Science Foundation-wide ac- tivity that offers the most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Deadline: July 26 Website: https:/www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20525/ nsf20525.htm

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Communities

Bioenergetics, Mitochondria, and MetabolismSubgroup

University, on Permeability transition currents at the level of the whole mitochondrion . It continued with the lecture of Rafael de Cabo from the National Institute on Aging, NIH, titled The im- pact of NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) on health and mitochondrial glucose and lipid metabolism . Ann Chiao from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation closed the afternoon session with Mitochondrial function and mTOR signaling in aging and lifespan . Aon gave the closing remarks of the meeting, highlighting the multifaceted role played by mitochondria in the biology of ag- ing, particularly in the extension of overall health and lifespan conferred by mitochondrial health. Specifically, the lectures by Muoio, Denu, and de Cabo converged on the role of acetyla- tion-mediated posttranslational modifications of mitochon- drial enzymes related to lipids and NAD + metabolism as well as metabolic shifts between glucose and lipid metabolism in the context of high fat diets, metabolic disorders, and caloric restriction, as well as their impact on health and lifespan. The Navas lecture concentrated on the role of coenzyme Q, a key component of the respiratory chain, on the mitochondrial modulation of the metabolic partitioning between glucose and fatty acids along with its impact on human health. Chiao addressed the impact of aging on mitochondrial function and its consequences for cardiac function, and how restoration of mitochondrial function can reverse the adverse consequences of aging on cardiac function. Overall, the excellence of the speakers’ presentations rep- resented an enlightening and appealing opportunity for the mitochondrial research field to explore novel emerging molec- ular targets involved in the healthy function of this organelle and their impact on the biology of aging and the onset of related diseases. — Miguel A. Aon and Gyorgy Csordas , Outgoing Subgroup Co-Chairs

On February 22, 2021 during the 65th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, the first Virtual Symposium of the Bioen- ergetics, Mitochondria, and Metabolism Subgroup took place, titled “Mitochondrial and metabolic mechanisms of lifespan and healthspan extension.” Co-chaired by Sonia Cortassa and Miguel A. Aon from the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health (NIH), the symposium featured a stellar group of speakers at the forefront of biology of aging research, who displayed the multifaceted ways in which sustained mitochondrial health can contribute to overall health and lifespan. In her opening remarks of the symposium, Cortassa under- scored the evolution of the research field of aging towards the envisioning of an organism’s aging as a unique biological trajectory that in the case of humans involves (in addition to genetic makeup) lifestyle, nutritional habits, and medical history to determine quality of life. Deborah M. Muoio from Duke University presented the first talk on Mitochondrial adaptations to bioenergetic stress , fol- lowed by John Denu from the University of Wisconsin–Madi- son with Mitochondrial metabolism and the epigenome. Plácido Navas from Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Sevilla, Spain closed the morning session with Coenzyme Q at the hinge of mitochondrial health and metabolic disease. The afternoon session began with the recipient of the Young Bioenergeticist Award, Maria Neginskaya from New York

When you renew your membership for 2022, select the Subgroup(s) that most closely fit your research focus. • Bioenergetics, Mitochondria, & Metabolism • Bioengineering • Biological Fluorescence • Biopolymers in vivo • Channels, Receptors, & Transporters • Cryo-EM • Intrinsically Disordered Proteins • Macromolecular Machines & Assemblies • Mechanobiology • Membrane Fusion, Fission, & Traffic • Membrane Structure & Function • Membrane Transport • Motility & Cytoskeleton • Multiscale Genome Organization • Nanoscale Approaches to Biology • Physical Cell Biology • Single-Molecule Forces, Manipulation, & Visualization • Theory & Computation

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Picture a Scientist During Biophysics Week 2021, the Biophysical Society hosted a screening of the documentary Picture a Scientist , a power- ful statement on gender-based harassment experienced by women in STEM fields, including at the intersection of gender and race. The Professional Opportunities for Women Committee (CPOW) organized a panel of biophysicists to explore what we all learned from the movie as well as positive steps we can all take to make science and biophysics more diverse, inclusive, and equitable. Panelists Enrique De La Cruz studies actin cytoskeleton, molecular motor proteins, and nucleotide signaling enzymes. He is Department Chair of the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Department at Yale University. Miriam Goodman is a sensory physiologist seeking to understand how we feel. She is Department Chair of the Molecular and Cellular Physiology Department at Stanford University. Theanne Griffith is a sensory neuroscientist, tackling how the nervous system transmits thermal sensations. She is an Assistant Professor at University of California Davis. She is also a children’s book author. Giulia Palermo is a computational biophysicist with expertise in molecular simulations. She is an Assistant Professor at University of California, Riverside. I moderated the discussion and first asked the panelists and the audience to provide a one-word reaction to the movie. Those words make up the word cloud in Figure 1, showing a broad range of reactions. This range beautifully describes the movie. From the frustration and horror of seeing how women and minorities were treated, to validating one’s own feelings and experiences, to inspiring and hoping for the change each of us can bring about.

The panel then discussed what new concepts they’d learned, such as those presented in the iceberg infographic developed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medi- cine report on Sexual Harassment of Women in STEM (Figure 2). The iceberg helps us visualize how the majority of harass- ment is below the surface of public consciousness yet is still incredibly detrimental. Being able to identify the problem is a necessary step before solving it. We discussed what a few of these below-the-surface problems look like. Griffith said her experiences come at the intersection of being a woman and Black. In one instance, she described being identified as support staff instead of as a scientist during training sessions. This type of unconscious behavior, while subtle and likely not malicious, leads to feelings of not belonging to the group and can lead to self-doubt. Goodman mentioned still being asked whose lab she worked in, after having run her own lab for decades and being Department Chair. Male colleagues responded by saying she should be flattered because the questioner thought she looked young. However, as De La Cruz responded, that is possibly the worst answer you could give! That response shows a lack of understanding of how those types of slights, called microaggressions, impact your fellow scientists. I next asked our panelists for advice for bystanders. What can we do if we see a situation unfolding or hear about one after the fact? Palermo indicated that many such events should be reported to the Title IX office on campus. Faculty are required to go to trainings that delineate what is reportable. Power differentials are important to keep in mind as well. On a day-to-day level, Goodman suggested a distract and delay tactic rather than a direct approach to an unfolding situation. The distraction gives you the opportunity to confer with the person on the receiving end of the harassment to see how they would prefer you contribute to the situation. As Griffith mentioned, it’s best not to jump in right away and take away someone else’s voice. They might have the situation under control. Everyone discussed being prepared for such situa- tions. Having a few premeditated actions or words can help you avoid freezing in the moment. For example, if someone makes an off-color joke, as a leader, you can step in and say something like “we don’t say things like that here.” Focus on the action rather than the person. Continuing with the theme of making a positive change, we next discussed what steps each of the panelists are taking in their own lives and careers in response to the movie. Palermo said it was important to act as a role model, with your lab and your colleagues. Setting the tone in the lab as the Principal In- vestigator (PI) tells the students and postdocs how to behave. I would expand on that and say that the everyone, not just the PI, is a role model. Griffith brought up privilege. When a male scientist in the movie expressed regret at not realizing blatant abuse had

Figure 1. Word cloud of audience and panelist reactions to the movie.

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With two department chairs on the panel, the audience wanted to know what they thought their role was in driving change. De La Cruz described his department’s most recent faculty search, which was anonymized. This approach not only helps prevent bias on the hiring side, but it also serves to empower candidates if they face comments alleging that they only acquired a position because of their minority status, a common and quite damaging “below the waterline” micro- aggression. The department chair role also allows them to set an exam- ple of what is acceptable. Goodman spoke about how being department chair allowed her to lead at an institutional level, rather than just in her own lab and classroom. She has been able to lead conversations about big issues like how service is evaluated during the tenure process. Women and minorities are known for doing more service and are often expected to do more service. Yet service is often devalued when tenure is being evaluated, putting them at a disadvantage in comparison with their colleagues. Another audience member asked, “How do we reach people who generally do not actively engage in these types of discussions?” The panel had several suggestions including: • Rather than mandating attendance at events you are organizing around diversity, equity, and inclusion, incen- tivize them. People need to be open to receiving new information to have a good outcome, rather than seeing it as a chore. • Personally invite colleagues to come with you to attend an event. Make a personal appeal; telling others how much their participation would mean to you might convince them to engage. • Lead by example. Lead to inspire your lab, your depart- ment, and your institution to adopt the same attitudes and values you express and uphold. Thank you for your interest in issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity! I hope you learned something new as I know I did while moderating the discussion. I also hope this inspires you to be more aware and to make changes in your own life and career. To wrap up this post, I want to leave you with a question I first heard posed by Sharon Milgram , Director of the Office of Intra- mural Training and Education at NIH. I think it is worth posing to yourself every day: “What am I doing, through my actions and inactions, to perpetuate cultures where incivility, bullying, harassment, and discrimination can flourish?” — Susy Kohout , Montana State University

impacted a female former colleague, he was coming from a position of privilege, never having thought about harassment or abuse before. So look behind you. Who is further down the ladder than you? Think about how you can become aware of the issues they might be facing that you have not had to face. While many of us have the habit of keeping our heads down, making a fuss about the things that matter is important. Goodman teaches mini-courses on inclusion and diversity in STEM. She talked about the importance of recognizing that the hurdles people face in their careers are fundamentally un- equal and directly impact their success. The idea that science is purely a meritocracy is not grounded in reality: it is a myth. One of the lessons she gives her students was particularly poignant to our discussion: Humans are biased. Scientists are humans. Being trained as a scientist does not undo your humanity. Figure 2. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine infographic on the the public consciousness of sexual harassment and specific sexually harassing behaviors.

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Student Chapter Event Highlights The Structural Biology and Biophysics Club (SBBC) at Purdue University, a newly minted BPS student chapter, hosted the SBBC Inaugural Symposium in preparation for Biophysics Week 2021. The event was hosted on March 18, 2021 in the Hiler Theater of Purdue University, which can accommodate more than 300 people during non-COVID times. This was the community’s first in-person scientific symposium after an entire year without face-to-face interactions, providing the group with some excitement at seeing some light at the end of the tunnel that is the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, more than 70 people attended, with fewer than half of the at- tendees joining via the online option. This symposium highlights the research projects happening in the various biophysics labs across Purdue University. Speakers give either a 20-minute talk or an elevator pitch to allow trainees from different academic timelines to present. There was rep- resentation from three different departments (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology) and nine different labs. Talks were given by undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, show-

Chapter President Sebastian Kenny welcoming attendees to the SBBC Inaugural Symposium.

casing Purdue’s strong commitment to their trainees in biophysics. Faculty members served as judges for the program. At the end of the day, three awards were given: Christine Muli (Darci Trader Lab) received the Best Elevator Pitch Award, Caroline Plescia (Rob Stahelin Lab) received the Best Talk by Graduate Student Award, and Jonathan Dickerhoff (Danzhou Yang Lab) received the Best Talk by Post-Doctoral Fellow Award. It was exciting for the SBBC at Purdue to kick off Biophysics Week with this (hybrid) in-person symposium!

Award winners Christine Muli (left), Caroline Plescia (center), and Jonathan Dickerhoff (right) being recognized for oustanding presentations.

Virtual attendees taking advantage of the remote option for the Symposium.

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Upcoming Events

July July 22 – 23 Origins of Cancer – The Emerging Frontier: Cancer Neuroscience Virtual https:/ originsofcancer.org/ July 24 – 28 13th European Biophysics Conference Vienna, Austria (and Virtual) https:/www.ebsa2021.org/

August August 23 – 25

September September 1 – 3

October October 14 – 15

Science Policy: Improving the Uptake of Research into UK

CRISPR and Beyond: Pertur- bations at Scale to Under- stand Genomes Virtual https:/ coursesand conferences.wellcome connectingscience.org/ event/crispr-and-beyond- perturbtions-at-scale-to- understand-genomes- virtual-conference- 20210901/ September 13 – 15 Virus Genomics and Evolution Virtual https:/ coursesand conferences.wellcome connectingscience.org/ event/virus-genomics- and-evolution-virtual- conference-20210913/

Virtual Symposium on Quanti- tative Cell Biology, Biophysics and Bioengineering Virtual https:/ site-4344564-2354- 5474.mystrikingly.com/ October 27 – 28 New Horizons on Alzheimer’s Disease Leuven, Belgium https:/www. vibconferences.be/events/ new-horizons-in- alzheimers-disease

Policy Virtual https:/coursesand conferences.

wellcomeconnectingscience. org/event/science-policy- improving-the-uptake-of- research-into-uk-policy- virtual-20210823/ August 26 Quantifying the Kinetics of GPCR Signaling Virtual https:/www.eventbrite. com/e/the-dr-gpcr-virtual- cafe-with-dr-samuel-hoare- tickets-150609981509

Please visit www.biophysics.org for a complete list of upcoming events.