Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2022

June 2022

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2022 BPS Elections NowOpen Voting is open June 1 through August 1 The Society is pleased to announce the 2022 slate of candidates for President-Elect, Secretary, and Council.

The two candidates for President-Elect are Ruben L. Gonzalez, Jr. of Columbia University and Gabriela K. Popescu of the University at Buffalo. The President-Elect will serve a one-year term, beginning February 2023, followed by a year as President, starting February 2024, and one subsequent year as Past-President, beginning in February 2025. The candidate for Secretary is Teresa Giraldez of Universidad de La Laguna. The Secretary serves a four-year term beginning July 1, 2023. 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 on February 21, 2023. Full biographical information and candidate statements are available at www.biophysics.org/elections/bps-elections. Ruben L. Gonzalez, Jr.

Gabriela K. Popescu

Teresa Giraldez

Margaret Cheung

Alberto Diaspro

Lukas Kapitein

Emmanuel Margeat Elizabeth Rhoades

Jerson L. Silva

Ildiko Szabo

Jing Xu

All Society members, including students, with 2022 dues paid by May 31, 2022, are eligible to vote. Eligible members may vote electronically through August 1, 2022, 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 of candidates. The committee members were Henry Colecraft (Chair), Jenny Ross , Taviare Hawkins , Anna Moroni , Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede , and Catherine Royer .

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President’s Message Biophysicist in Profile

Communities

Career Development

Public Affairs Publications

Member Corner Important Dates

President’s Message

You Can Go Your OwnWay Sometimes I wonder why so many PhD and postdoctoral trainees go into industry or public policy rather than academic science. Sure, who doesn’t want new therapeutics and a longer lifespan, but as a graduate student considering a career, the last thing I wanted was a boss. My department chair and dean might take offense, but they both know what I mean.

The more common rewards are in making new discoveries that fuel your research for years to come, with lots of new insights; shepherding your trainees through their intellectual and personal journeys as successful scientists; and having a high-impact career giving you just enough flexibility to protect your children from becoming feral. Oh, and making more money than any of your trainees know, unless they look you up in public records. On a virtual seminar visit to a major research institution last year, the usual lunch meeting with trainees quickly focused on a central question: how do you establish yourself in a com petitive field? It happened that all five were postdocs doing single-particle cryo-EM, but there are many fields where trainees similarly feel that the “really smart people” are ask ing “all the good questions.” How can they possibly compete? Some scientists come by it naturally, but many successful ones have had to learn. Here’s my advice: train your unwaver ing gaze on your data like a vexing crossword puzzle or a love interest whose thoughts you’re sure must be deeper. Don’t wait to examine your data until you’ve turned those current traces into inactivation time constants represented by means and standard errors; at that point you might have assessed your hypothesis but missed unexpected, more important effects. Maybe there are questions waiting to be answered in your cryo-EM structures, yielding testable hypotheses about dynamics. You never know, one of these observations might uncover a new target for disease or therapeutic interven tion or illuminate a whole new field of basic inquiry. Equally important, they may engender self-confidence that you have what it takes to follow the data, generate critical hypotheses, and embrace your scientific creativity. So how do you do it? Fight paralysis and get busy. Try stuff. Those experiments aren’t gonna conduct themselves. Even if it’s not true for Saturday night’s date, your data might hold deep and nuanced answers to questions you haven’t even asked. Start with simpler questions that yield testable hypotheses. Don’t avoid careful planning and experimental design. Pivot without resistance when necessary. Read like crazy, including outside your field, so your mind is prepared when something unexpected happens, when one of your controls goes wonky. And when it does, follow that lead. There. You’re on your way. I think you want to be an academic scientist, but you’re afraid. Have a little faith in you.

Gail Robertson

Seriously, I am proud to have mentored many trainees on a path to successful non-academic careers to which they are well suited. Some hold high-level positions in pharma and medical device companies. Two are in federal regulatory agencies. One previous student is now Deputy Executive Di rector of Rainforest Action Network, calling out corporations for destroying critical ecosystems and exploiting vulnerable human populations working in subhuman conditions. She actually is saving the world. But in this column, I want to focus on the trainee still con sidering all options, and I’m making a full-throated case for academic science. As a faculty member at a research-inten sive university, I decide what warrants investment of my time, and the opportunity to observe and create new science waits around every corner. I use my privilege to find the resources to pursue questions that compel me or members of my team. If I bring in plenty of research funding, my department chair and dean pretty much leave me alone. Some days I fail. Some days are hard. It takes perseverance, but it’s easier than you think. If I may offer some unsolicited advice to aspiring independent scientists, your first task is to ignore your mentor’s constant complaining about grant writing and workloads. Treat them as you would a fussy baby who fights sleep in the crib or a pandemic puppy who is training you to feed him from the table. Your supervisor is probably just feeling guilty for how hard you work and wants you to think that she is suffering as well. It’s too bad the conversations aren’t more like: “I woke up in the middle of the night with a conceptual breakthrough on my grant, and I’m feeling really good about that” or “Have you planned your vacation yet? I’m going to take three weeks climbing in Patagonia, because I can!” How about, “The results of your experiment are going to win me the Nobel Prize!” I exaggerate, but you get the idea. It’s a good gig.

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President’s Message

Officers President

Gail Robertson President-Elect Taekjip Ha Past-President Frances Separovic Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Samantha Harris Council Patricia Bassereau Henry Colecraft Erin C. Dueber Martin Gruebele Gilad Haran Kumiko Hayashi Syma Khalid Francesca Marassi Susan Marqusee Carolyn A. Moores

Of course, like any job worth doing, this one has many challenges. However, there is no required pedigree, or schedule, or prescribed path that you must follow. Frances Separovic , Past-President of the Biophysical Society, completed her PhD in physics part-time as a single parent. She was 38 years old. She was among the earliest adopters of nuclear magnetic resonance in the study of membranes and their interactions with proteins. Despite what might be considered a “slow start,” she has many “first woman” accolades, boasts an h-index of 60 and 13,000 citations, and currently leads a group at the University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute. Another trailblazer is the award-winning author of Between the World and Me , Ta-nehisi Coates , who said that his place was not in the classroom but in the library, where he was “an unruly learner.” This description applies to many of us. Neuroscientist Andy Frank from the University of Iowa applauds the unruly among us in a must-read tweet: https:/ twitter.com/CAndrewFrank/ status/1519345963747393537. He identifies in his poetic piece “The Best Scientists” as nearly every kind of scientist, with many variations for the academic. What kind are you? What will be your singular strengths when you reflect on your career in 10, 20, or 40 years from now? Where is your place, unruly learner? — Gail Robertson , President Thank You, Committee Volunteers! The Society would like to express our great appreciation for the outgoing volunteer members listed below for their time, participation, and expertise. Volunteers are the backbone of BPS. Your dedication has made a profound impact on our mission and the biophysics community. We couldn’t have done it without you! Awards Committee Richard Kriwacki Antoine M. van Oijen Committee on Inclusion & Diversity (CID) Marina Ramirez-Alvarado Benjamin L. Sottrup Delany Torres Committee on Professional Opportunities for Education Committee Elizabeth A. Yates David L. Stokes Seth H. Weinberg Shelli L. Frey Christos Deligkaris Korosh Torabi Fellows Committee

Kandice Tanner Valeria Vasquez Biophysical Journal Vasanthi Jayaraman Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran Editor-in-Chief Biophysical Reports

Jörg Enderlein Editor-in-Chief

Society Office Jennifer Pesanelli Executive Officer Newsletter

Executive Editor Jennifer Pesanelli Managing Editor John Long Production Ray Wolfe Proofreader/Copy Editor 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 © 2022 by the Biophysical Society. Darren Early Laura Phelan

Diane Papazian David Warshaw Finance Committee H. Criss Hartzell Public Affairs Committee Jonathan A. King Publications Committee Shriyaa Mittal

Women (CPOW) Sarah E. Bondos Julio F. Cordero-Morales Yuly E. Sánchez Eleonora Zakharian Early Careers Committee

Nathan E. Hudson Joseph M. Muretta Yubin Zhou Hua Zhu Viktoriya Zvoda

Give back to the community. Learn how to get involved. www.biophysics.org/get-involved

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Biophysicist in Profile

StevenM. Moss Area of Research Science Policy

Institution National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

At-a-Glance

As an undergraduate, Steven M. Moss struggled to choose between studying chemistry or political science. He settled on chemistry, eventually earning his PhD in chemistry and chemical biology at the University of California, San Francisco. His interest in political science did not go away, however, and now he has combined these two areas of interest in his work as a Program Officer at the Na tional Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Steven M. Moss

Steven M. Moss grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where his father worked as a biology professor at a small liberal arts college called Wofford College. “Because my dad was a science professor, my first exposure to science was at a fairly young age. I had lots of opportunity to explore microscopes and petri dishes starting in elementary school. From there, I really enjoyed my chemistry class in high school, and chose to continue in college,” he shares. When he started his undergraduate studies at American University in Washington, DC, he had not yet chosen a major. “During college I was still deciding between political science and chemistry,” Moss says. “I happened to be taking political philosophy and organic chemistry in the same semester, and I liked organic chemistry a lot more, so I took it as a sign.” He earned his bachelor of science degree in biochemistry, and then continued on to pursue his PhD at the University of California, San Francisco. “In grad school I chose to pursue chemical biology because I was really interested in under standing the chemical underpinnings of biological systems,” he explains. Given his interest in political science, it is unsurprising that Moss decided to pursue a career in science policy. He current ly serves as a Program Officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). His projects are wide-ranging. Currently he is working on a plan for the future of research for biological science in space, a study on fundamental chemical research and its impact on the chem ical economy, a workshop on the future of quantum sensing and imaging for use in biology, a study on the future of bio logical physics, and a series of workshops on bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Working on such a diverse set of projects means that Moss is not always an expert on the topics he is tackling. This can be a big challenge but is also an opportunity for him to expand his knowledge base. “I recently ran a workshop on quantum sensing and imaging for biology. I knew next to nothing about quantum physics going into the workshop,” he shares.

“By the time we put the workshop together and had every thing planned, I was ‘conversational’ in quantum mechanics, which felt like a big step for me.” The most rewarding aspect of his career is seeing the sug gestions made in NASEM’s reports turn into action within the larger STEM community. “Sometimes this happens slowly over time, and sometimes it happens very quickly. For example, in a report we put out on ‘Safeguarding the Bio economy,’ we put together a lot of suggestions to keep the United States competitive in the growing bioeconomy, while still maintaining safety and security,” Moss explains. “Some of these main recommendations were acted on quickly, like the formation of a group to look at bio-related cybersecurity issues, and some took a lot more time, but seem to be slowly coming to fruition.” “One of the most exciting aspects of the life sciences is the large amount of data that is becoming available to the biolog ical community. I feel like lots of opportunities are opening up for analyzing and using this data that could help us under stand a lot about the quantitative underpinnings of biolog ical systems,” he says. From the point of view of someone working outside of basic research, Moss sees the value bio physicists bring to the future of science. “I think anytime the scientific community is using chemical or physical sciences to better understand biological systems, it adds a huge amount of knowledge and depth to the life sciences community,” he shares. “I believe that this type of science that is collaborative in nature is the future of all scientific endeavors.” The Biophysical Society’s 2020 Annual Meeting in San Diego was Moss’s last scientific conference before the COVID-19 pandemic first shut down travel and in-person meetings, and it was also his first BPS meeting. “I think the meetings for the Society are particularly special,” he explains. “I was particularly struck by the mixture of talks and sessions on science, policy, and education. Also, even though it is a huge community of people, it still seems quite tight knit, which I think is really special.”

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Biophysicist in Profile

Outside of work, he volunteers for scientific societies, includ ing BPS—he serves on the Public Affairs Committee. He also serves as a judge for the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition. “In addition to this, I enjoy working out, reading, watching true-crime documentaries, and playing with my dog, a Shih Tzu named Bagel,” Moss shares. Call for BPS Ambassadors Program Are you an advocate for biophysics education and knowledge sharing? Have you considered applying for the Biophysical Society Ambassador Program to put those skills into action? The BPS Ambassador Program was developed to help make biophysics a more dynamic, inclusive, and interdisciplinary community to better serve the needs of our international membership. Currently, BPS works with twelve Ambassadors representing Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, and United Kingdom. The Ambassador Program creates a global network of BPS members that serve as local Society resources in their home countries or regions to promote the field and foster conversa tions around biophysics. As a BPS Ambassador, you will play a key role in connecting the Society and its membership with relevant local content, serve as BPS point-of-contact, and help foster discussions on issues of importance to science around the globe. 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. For the next class of Ambassadors (2023–2026), we are only accepting applications from outside of Argentina,

To folks just starting out in their scientific careers, he sug gests: “Be open to whatever career options end up being most interesting to you. There are lots of opportunities in academia, industry, science communications, science policy, and so many other places. It is worth taking time during your academic career to explore what is available to you outside of the lab.”

Ambassador Program

Australia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, and Turkey. An ideal country Ambassador is a mid-career to senior scientist, actively engaged in biophysics research and committed to remaining 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, works proficiency in English, and has a demon strated ability to contribute to organizations and scientific so cieties outside of their normal job duties. To learn more about the program, Ambassador eligibility, and benefits, please visit www.biophysics.org/outreach/ambassador-program. Applications are open now and will be accepted through July 15, 2022. Empowering Biophysics Globally

The Biophysical Society is grateful to its Industry Partners.

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

PLATINUM

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Public Affairs

Register Now for the 2022 Rally for Medical Research Join the Biophysical Society, and more than 300 national STEM organizations and professionals, for the 2022 Rally for Medical Research on September 13–14 (https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/take-action). The Rally is an opportunity to advocate for significant, long-term, sustainable funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While the NIH has seen continued increases in funding since Fiscal Year 2016 totaling $15.4 billion (a 51% increase), the proposed increase in President Joe Biden ’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget is one of the smallest in recent years. In addition, significant funds are being directed at standing up the newly created Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). It is imperative that researchers like you let Congress know of the ongoing need to invest in basic and biomedical scientific research. If the United States wants to remain on the cutting edge of scientific research and attract the best and brightest minds in STEM, we must continue to invest in research. Participating BPS members will be scheduled for appointments based on their home address and will be provided with all necessary talking points for meeting with members of Congress. Register now to ensure that Congress provides a long-term plan for research funding (https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/take-action). For more information about the Rally, please contact Leann Fox, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, at lfox@biophysics.org with any questions.

ARPA-H to Be within NIH but Independently Managed by HHS

fund them almost immediately. It will fund fast-paced, high risk projects meant to accelerate the development of medical treatments. Becerra’s decision faces challenges from both the House and the Senate. While a bill in the Senate supports making ARPA-H part of NIH but specifies that its physical location will be far from the agency’s campus, a House proposal would make ARPA-H completely independent. Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the House bill’s sponsor, vocally opposes plac ing ARPA-H within the organizational chart of NIH. Some lawmakers have expressed concerns that NIH’s 27 other institutes will receive fewer resources due to the focus on ARPA-H. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) has voiced his opposition to shifting funding away from basic and biomedical research into a brand-new program that will take time to get up and running. His concerns are shared by others on Capitol Hill that the push to fund ARPA-H could result in diminishing emphasis and financial investments for other work being done by NIH.

With the passage of the 2022 federal spending bill came the creation of a new high-risk, high-reward biomedical research agency, ARPA-H. The new agency will exist as a new mem ber of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) family, with a distinct mission that will focus on rapid applica tion of knowledge and catalyzing breakthrough medicines and technologies. HHS was given the power to decide whether the agency would be independent or a part of NIH. On March 30, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that ARPA-H will be a part of NIH. The NIH has a long history of funding basic research projects aimed at achieving attainable goals that don’t have strict benchmarks for success. NIH contracts are typically multiple years long, allowing projects latitude for scientific exploration. In contrast, like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARPA-H will likely hire program managers on short-term contracts who will solicit research ideas and

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Public Affairs

Around theWorld Novo Nordisk Explores Randomization to Avoid Bias in Funding Decisions Earlier this year, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, one of the largest private scientific research funders in the world, announced plans to employ a partial randomization system to fund some types of research projects. For the next three years, the Copenhagen-based funding agency will use a combination of committee selection and a lottery system to choose some of the awardees of its $500,000 Project Grants in the fields of biomedicine, biotechnology, and natural and technical sciences, as well as its $800,000 Exploratory Inter disciplinary Synergy Grants. Together, these grants comprise roughly 10% of the organization’s total research project funding. In Denmark, 90% of the funding goes to just 20% of research ers, a concentration similar to those in many other countries. A partial lottery might alleviate the tendency for committee members to favor established researchers. Novo Nordisk also hopes the randomization will lead to funding more high-impact projects and increase the diversity of their selection pool. The foundation plans to collect information on how the partial randomization system impacts the types of projects funded over the effort’s first three years. United KingdomFunding Agency Apologizes for Role in Controversy United Kingdom funding agency UK Research and Innova tion (UKRI) issued an apology to members of the academic community for encouraging Researchfish, a research tracking company, to report comments critical of the platform back to the employers of the academics who made them. Researchfish, a company that helps universities and funders measure research impact, began tweeting at multiple re searchers that it was sharing their complaints about the BPS Job Board Special Save 15% off on a 60-Day Posting fromMay 1 to June 30. www.biophysics-jobs.careerwebsite.com

service with funding agencies. Most of the criticism, posted to Twitter, was centered on the usability of the platform, complaining that the service was cumbersome and time con suming. Instead of using Twitter’s built-in reporting functions to report harassing or abusive comments, Researchfish and UKRI discussed tracking negative tweets. Researchfish then informed several posters that they were sharing comments with UKRI and the commenter’s host university. In its statement, UKRI admitted that it had previously agreed that Researchfish should flag “abusive, threatening, or offen sive tweets” from users, but denied that withholding funding had ever been the intention. In total, six tweets from aca demic researchers have been flagged by Researchfish since 2018 and, of those, three were passed on to the academic’s employer by UKRI. Science and Academia under Threat in Nicaragua The Nicaraguan scientific community continues to be under duress by President Daniel Ortega . Back in 2018, students took to the streets in anti-government protests and the government responded in force. Since then, conditions for Nicaragua’s small scientific community have worsened. After the 2018 protests, international research conferences were canceled and funding for scientific institutions, such as the Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences, was cut. In the past three months, Ortega’s government has closed eight private universities and confiscated their assets, effectively ended university autonomy, and erected barriers to foreign research collaborations. International collaborations, which had helped sustain science in Nicaragua, are withering. In February, the government can celed the permits of foreign institutions running educational and research programs. Recent changes to the law have increased the power of the National Council of Universities, which is now responsible for reviewing academic programs, approving academic hires, and selecting deans in all public universities. Some of the 40 or so private universities that remain open face being economically starved.

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Publications

Know the Editor Andrew Feig

While Parker’s book was written before the pandemic, the lessons therein are equally applicable to physical and virtual gatherings. Implementing the ideas requires us to pay atten tion to the spaces we inhabit, though. Are your participants physically in a convention center auditorium or attending the meeting virtually while simultaneously managing their lives from home with all of the complications that entails? How many of us got up to give a talk at four o’clock in the morning so that it meshed with the timeslot of a conference taking place somewhere else in the world? What we learned at RCSA was that virtual meetings can be highly effective if we apply the principles from The Art of Gathering , but we should not expect them to look the same as in-person events. As we return to traveling for face-to-face conferences, we should think deeply about why we meet and what we are seeking to accomplish by gathering (the topic of the first chapter of Parker’s book). As with backwards design used to effectively link student learning and pedagogical choices and the design of classroom exercises, this approach will set the stage for how future conferences can and should be designed. Can the goals be accomplished with a virtual gathering? If so, maybe we should forego the time and expense of travel, not to mention its environmental impact. If not, how do we make the meeting more impactful for participants and more equitable, so that barriers to participation are removed? What structures from virtual meetings should we retain in these gatherings that help us achieve our goals? And finally, what does an effective hybrid meeting look like where both in-person and virtual attendees can interact effectively and on an equal footing? These are the things that Parker’s book made me think about. While not biophysics per se, this book is broadly applicable to biophysicists and one that should make us reflect on our practices. We should all be thinking about the gatherings in which we participate, whether they are lab meetings, committee meetings, social gatherings with colleagues, or large conventions like the BPS Annual Meeting. Let’s strive to make these events more meaningful, more effective, and more inclusive going forward. To me, that starts by considering the art of gathering.

Research Corporation for Science Advancement Editor The Biophysicist

Andrew Feig

What are you currently working on that excites you? My current position as Senior Program Director at Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) involves fertilizing basic scientific discovery by providing funding for early-career faculty through our grantmaking programs. This position lets me think broadly about how the physical sci ences can contribute to solving important societal problems and how we should deploy resources in an effective manner. Biophysics touches on many of these initiatives, including current programs related to bioimaging, the gut-brain axis, and detecting and mitigating zoonotic threats. As a founda tion, we also work hard as part of these initiatives to develop communities of scientists that cross disciplinary silos and initiate collaborations among faculty who might otherwise never have met and learned about their shared interests. This has forced me to think deeply about why we have confer ences and convenings (either in person or virtual) and how we structure those meetings to accomplish our goals. While in my former faculty role, I would not have had the oppor tunity to work so broadly across disciplines and to marshal resources toward these problems the way I can working for a foundation that supports basic science. What have you read lately that you found really interest ing or stimulating (a paper, a book, science or not science)? I recently read The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker . At the beginning of the pandemic, we had to rapidly transition to accommodate work from home and travel restrictions. This change required us to rethink many of our interpersonal interactions, whether they were how we communicated with co-workers from our offices/ laboratories/departments, how we taught, how we conduct ed our collaborations, or how we held conferences. In my role at RCSA, I am a convener of many workshops and gatherings, and it was important to ensure that our work continued to advance despite these changes, and that required intentional ity, respecting the virtual environment of these meetings. We all attended virtual events where organizers simply took the agenda from their face-to-face conference and implemented it on a webinar platform. Unfortunately, many of these events were exceedingly painful to attend and not overly productive.

FollowBPS Journals on Twitter @BiophysJ @BiophysReports @BiophysicistJ

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Publications

Editor’s Pick Biophysical Reports Diffusion and interaction dynamics of the cytosolic peroxisomal import receptor PEX5 Silvia Galiani , Katharina Reglinski , Pablo Carravilla , Aurelien Barbotin , Iztok Urbančič , Julia Ott , Jessica Sehr , Erdinc Sezgin , Falk Schnei der , Dominic Waithe , Philip Hublitz , Wolfgang Schliebs , Ralf Erdmann , Christian Eggeling “The peroxisomal import receptor PEX5 transports newly synthesized proteins from the cytosol to the peroxisomal matrix. Here, the cytosolic diffusion and interaction dynamics of PEX5 are characterized by advanced microscopic spectroscopy meth ods, revealing a so far unknown interaction partner.”

Version of Record Published March 27, 2022 DOI: https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.bpr.2022.100055

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Communities

Subgroups Physical Cell Biology Call for the Student and Early Career Award Deadline: Nov 1, 2022; self-nominations welcome! Mark your calendars! Our 2023 Subgroup Symposium is themed “New Methods that Reveal the Inner Lives of Cells” and will take place on the morning of Saturday, February 18, 2023. We strongly encourage early career scientists to submit ab stracts. Among all submissions, our Subgroup will award two prizes: a student award for master’s or PhD students who would like to present one of their first research works, and an early career award for postdoctoral researchers or pre-tenure principal investigators. The call and its criteria can be found here: https:/www.bio physics.org/awards-funding/subgroup-awards. We look forward to bringing together researchers working at the cellular level to exchange ideas, form new collaborations, and make new friends. We will also be hosting a Subgroup social on Saturday evening—join us for this networking event on February 18! See you in San Diego! — Ulrike Endesfelder , Stefanie Redemann , Pallav Kosuri , and Jianhua Xing , Subgroup Officers Theory and Computation Subgroup New Subgroup Awards The Theory and Computation Subgroup is pleased to an nounce the formation of two new Subgroup awards, present ly sponsored by the Chicago Center for Theoretical Chemistry. The two awards will be for early-career (within 5 years of their first independent appointment) and mid-career (within 20 years of their first independent appointment) scientists, respectively, in the topical scientific area of the Subgroup. More details and nomination procedures will be forthcoming. Please keep an eye out for a Subgroup email about these awards! — Gregory A. Voth , Chair

Lukasz Cwiklik Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW)

Lukasz Cwiklik

Is this your first volunteer position for BPS? If not, what other positions have you held? Yes, this is my first volunteering experience for BPS. I started my three-year term at the Professional Opportunities for Women Committee (CPOW) in 2019, and now I will continue for a second term. Why do you volunteer? I was a BPS member for several years—I joined right after starting my junior researcher position. As my career pro gressed, I was regularly attending BPS Annual Meetings, but I missed volunteering. Being a researcher in Europe, it some times can be easy to overlook the volunteering opportunities available with BPS. Then, a colleague of mine joined one of the committees and convinced me to look more closely at these BPS activities. CPOW is a diverse group of truly com mitted people trying to make a positive impact on the role of women, inclusion, and fairness in biophysics, including in the international context. What has been a highlight from your volunteer experience? I helped to organize and led the online panel discussion “Sharing Solutions for Research and Career Recovery Post Pandemic.” During this online event, scientists at different career stages shared their tips and strategies for dealing with their academic and research work under the conditions trans formed due to the pandemic. Do you have advice for others who might be thinking about volunteering? Volunteering is the easiest way to get involved in meaningful and rewarding work for our research community. Young col leagues, in particular, may use it as an excellent opportunity to gain skills and practice beyond their everyday scientific work. When not volunteering for BPS, what do you work on? I am leading a research group focused on biophysics of inter facial biological systems (lung surfactant, tear film, surfaces of implants). Outside of work, I spend time with family and friends, swim, and play tennis.

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Communities

Spotlight on Subgroup Awards Did you know that in addition to Society Awards, there are 13 awards sponsored by our Subgroups?

Intrinsically Disordered Protein Postdoctoral Award , which honors an outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow for their research accomplishments during their career. Mechanobiology Early Career Award , recognizing a young principal investigator who has made outstanding contribu tions to the way we understand how mechanics shape molecular and cellular processes. Sir Bernard Katz Award for Excellence in Research on Exocytosis and Endocytosis , bestowed on an investigator who has made a substantial contribution to our understand ing of exocytosis and endocytosis. Thomas E. Thompson Award , recognizing an outstanding contribution in the field of membrane structure and function. Motility & Cytoskeleton Early Career Award , which recog nizes significant contributions to the field of motility and cytoskeletal research and boosts the visibility of early career investigators. Physical Cell Biology Early Career Award , given to an outstanding postdoctoral researcher or young principal investigator working to understand the functioning of biological systems from a physical perspec tive, from single molecules in individual cells to whole living organisms. Physical Cell Biology Student Award , recognizing a master’s or PhD student who has just made their first significant research contribution to under standing how cells work from a biophysical perspective. To learn more about each award and to apply, visit www.biophysics.org/awards-funding/subgroup-awards.

Student Bioenergeticist Award , given to an out standing master’s or graduate student working in the bioenergetics field.

Young Bioenergeticist Award , given to an outstanding post doc or young principal investigator working in the bioenerget ics field. Gregorio Weber Award for Excellence in Fluorescence The ory and Applications , honoring distinguished investigators who have made significant and original contributions to the advancement and applications of fluorescence techniques. Young Fluorescence Investigator Award , given to an out standing researcher at the beginning of their career for significant advancements and/or contributions in or using fluorescence methodologies. Biopolymers in Vivo Young Faculty Award , intended to boost the visibility of an emerging faculty member whose research and recent achievements focus on cutting-edge investiga tions of biomolecular processes in living organisms. Kenneth S. Cole Award , given to one or more investigators in the field of membrane biophysics in recognition of their research achievements as well as their potential for future contributions.

Numbers By the From 2018 to 2022, BPS members nominated 453 of their colleagues for Biophysical Society Awards.

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Career Development

How to Embark on a Teaching Career in Academia You just received your PhD and are now thinking about what to do next. Or you are a postdoc or junior faculty member and are not sure whether the academ ic research track is the right path for you. Being in the lab is something you do but is not your favorite part of your day—teaching is! You love spending time with students, training them to become the next generation of scien

answer a scientific question related to teaching and learning. They have published in academic journals, presented at scien tific meetings, and received extramural funding for their work. If you choose to focus on education at a research universi ty, blend your teaching and your research. And check your institution’s organization beyond your primary department— there might be another department or unit that focuses on education and learning where you may benefit from a joint or adjunct appointment. Typically, PUI faculty are required to maintain substantial teaching commitments as well as to run a research lab and mentor undergraduates. Some institutions emphasize teach ing but have lower research expectations, while others allow for greater research productivity by providing faculty support (teaching assistants, lab managers, etc.). The balance of these requirements varies among PUIs, but all place a high priority on undergraduate teaching at every level of the curriculum. Since many of these schools are relatively small, as part of their “service” responsibility, faculty can actively participate in the shaping of institutional policies to develop new teaching initiatives, which can be rewarding. As you consider an academic teaching career, it is important to find an institution that will be the best fit for you and your interests and skills. That may well be your current institu tion—investigate the options available to you that will allow you to focus on education. Talk with others at your school who are active and passionate teachers. Or it might be time for a change. Do your research, study the school’s website, and schedule informational interviews to establish what would be expected of you and what sort of support would be available. Explore your options and show that teaching future scientists is an invaluable skillset. — Molly Cule

tists, motivating them to learn, to think, to synthesize ideas and concepts. So how do you pivot from the “expected” re search-focused career path to a successful teaching position in academia? While most academic positions include some level of teaching commitment, in addition to the ubiquitous service requirements (e.g., being on committees), that balance varies widely, depending on the type of institution and its internal organization. In the United States, there are approximately 3,000 four-year colleges and universities (public and private). Of those, nearly 800 are exclusively four-year primarily undergraduate insti tutions (PUIs), while the rest also have graduate programs (research universities). There are excellent teaching opportu nities in both. Advancement at reesarch universities generally requires contributions to both research and teaching, with research often carrying the greatest weight when it comes to salaries, tenure, and promotion decisions. This can represent a disad vantage for faculty members with a teaching focus in large part because effective teaching is time consuming, leaving little time for research—unless that research has to do with education itself. Some very well-known biomedical educators have established successful research programs using the same data-based hypothesis-driven, analytical processes to

2022 BPS Elections NowOpen Voting is open June 1 through August 1

www.biophysics.org/election

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Career Development

Science Fairs The Biophysics Award, sponsored by the Biophysical Society’s Education Committee, is presented to high school students at regional and state science fairs across the United States. The winners are chosen by local judges and BPS volunteers who take on the challenge of selecting the best biophysics-related project. Each student winner is given a $100 award and recognition by BPS for their outstanding achievement.

Seoyoung Jun, the Biophysics Award recipient at the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair in Virginia, solders her project, Mind Beacon

Mind Beacon is a portable spatial recognition device that introduces a new way for the visually impaired to receive 3D spatial information.

The Society could not give these awards and encourage young scientists without the help of members who volunteer to judge. We are so grateful to the judges who give back to their local communities to share their passion for biophysics. For many students, presenting at a science fair might be their first time giving a science talk outside of an in-school presenta tion, and might be their first step into a scientific career. Many shared their gratitude for the award and their pleasure at being able to present to real scientists in the field. If you’re interested in being a science fair judge for the Biophysics Award in the future, please visit your myBPS profile and the “Get Involved” section of the website (www.biophysics.org).

Join the BPS PUI Network Are you looking to connect with other Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI) faculties or interested in obtaining academic positions at a PUI? Join the BPS PUI Network! The network creates opportunities for current PUI faculty to net work and share experiences with one another. Members of the Network exchange tips and ideas such as teaching strategies, latest trends in education technology, online teaching, and more. Graduate students and postdocs interested in obtain ing academic positions at PUIs are encouraged to join. Questions can be directed to Margaret Mainguy at mmainguy@biophysics.org. www.biophysics.org/PUI-Network

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Member Corner

Members in the News

Dan Herschlag , Stanford University and Society member since 2003, received the Stein & Moore Award from the Protein Society.

Shimon Weiss , University of California, Los Angeles and Society member since 1997, was awarded the 2022 Raymond and Bever ly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics.

Dan Herschlag

Shimon Weiss

Grants & Opportunities

The Michelson Prizes: Next Generation Grants The Human Vaccines Project provides $150,000 research grants annually to support promising researchers who are applying disruptive concepts and inventive process es to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy research for major global diseases. Applicants from the full spectrum of related disciplines, including clinical research, biochemistry, molecular biolo gy, protein engineering, computer science, artificial intelli gence/machine learning, biophysics, nanotechnology, etc., are encouraged to apply. Who can apply: Applicants must be 35 years of age or younger at the time of submission and must be employed by, or affiliated with, an eligible organization (e.g., aca demia, biotechnology companies, foundations, govern ment and non-governmental organizations, and research institutes). Deadline: June 26, 2022 Website: https:/www.humanvaccinesproject.org/ michelson-prizes/

Pilot Projects Investigating Understudied G Protein-Coupled Receptors, Ion Channels, and Protein Kinases The goal of this grant for the National Institutes of Health’s program Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) is to fund pilot projects on IDG-eligible understud ied proteins (non-olfactory G-protein-coupled receptors, protein kinases, and ion channels) to study them beyond what the IDG’s Centers can accomplish and to validate and demonstrate the utility of IDG-generated reagents, data, and approaches. Awards will support the generation of additional data and tools around understudied proteins to elucidate the function of these proteins in the context of human disease. Who can apply: See the website for a list of IDG-eligible proteins open for study. Only projects on those proteins will be considered. R03 clinical trials will not be allowed. Deadline: July 15, 2022 Website: https:/grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/ RFA-RM-22-024.html

Student Spotlight

Pritha Bisarad School of Molecular Sciences Arizona State University What skill have you learned in your studies that you find useful in other aspects of your life? Being in a PhD programhas helpedme to realize the importance of communication. All research comes with its own set of challenges and difficulties. If we are willing to communicate and seek out help fromour peers, we will be able to persevere through all such challenges. Communicating with peers also broadens our horizons and often gives us a fresh perspective on our research.

Pritha Bisarad

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Special Issue Call for Papers: Emergent phenomena in biophysics —curricular connections; pedagogical approaches; theoretical, lab and computer teaching materials; epistemological attitudes of teachers and students; educational research studies

Deadline for submissions: September 1, 2022

Emergence refers to systems of many components (molecules, cells, or organisms) whose collective behavior is governed by their interactions so that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” How this occurs and its importance in biophysics are areas of current research, often not covered in textbooks. Articles in educational journals such as The Biophysicist are an important resource that can provide instructors at many levels with curricular set tings, pedagogical approaches, new teaching materials, and case studies using research-based assessment of how to understand and teach students how “more is different.” Timely examples include active assembly and break-up of biological macromolecules, ion channel cooperativity, and liquid-liquid and liquid-solid phase separation (e.g., intrinsi cally disordered proteins, chromatin, and RNA), as well as the techniques used in experimentation including advanced spectroscopy, microscopy and microrheology techniques, and flow and elasticity of cell assemblies.

• Information for Authors can be found at https:/meridian.allenpress.com/Documen tLibrary/BISO/TBP-Revised-Author-Guidelines.docx. • Please include a cover letter indicating that your submission is for consideration for the “Emergent phenomena in biophysics” Special Issue. • Normal publishing charges will apply. • Questions can be addressed to The Biophysicist Editorial Office at thebiophysicist@biophysics.org or to Samuel Safran at sam.safran@weizmann.ac.il. • Publication is planned for early 2023.

To submit, visit www.thebiophysicist.org

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