Biophysical Society Bulletin | March 2022

Publications

Know the Editor Antje Pokorny Almeida

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Editor, Membranes Biophysical Journal

Antje Pokorny Almeida

At a cocktail party of non-scientists, how would you explain what you do? Patterns. I look for patterns in observations, which is some- thing I share with many of my biophysics colleagues. Non-sci- entists almost invariably assume that scientists either con- struct useful gadgets or develop a medication of some sort. So, rather than describe what particular problem I’m working on, I explain that we are finding patterns in nature—princi- ples according to which “stuff works”. Then, depending on the facial expression of the person I’m speaking with, I either go find another cocktail or illustrate what that means in the context of a problem I’m currently working on. Who would you like to sit next to at a dinner party (scientist or not)? More than anything, I would like to have one more dinner with two of the people who have had more of an influence on my life and how I view science than anyone else. Tom Thomp- son and Rod Biltonen , both of the University of Virginia. Tom passed away this December at the age of 95, and Rod doesn’t remember much thermodynamics. But yes, I would like to see Rod throw back his head again and laugh out loud when I ask him how important his beloved Second Law of Thermody- namics could possibly be, since it only came in second. During their active time, both were teachers and mentors of a kind that I aspire to be. Yes, one more dinner would be good.

Editor’s Pick Biophysical Journal Modelling coronavirus spike protein dynamics: implications for immunogenicity and immune escape Genevieve Kunkel , Mohammad Madani , Simon J. White , Paulo H. Verardi , Anna Tarakanova “Presents dynamic mechanisms of coronavirus S proteins that encode antibody binding and cellular fusion properties. These mechanisms may offer an explanation for the wide- spread nature of SARS-CoV-2 and more limited spread of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. A comprehensive computational characterization of SARS-CoV-2 S protein structures and dy- namics provides insights into structural and thermal stability associated with a variety of S protein mutants. The findings allow for recommendations about the future mutant design of SARS-CoV-2 S protein variants that are optimized to elicit neutralizing antibodies and resist structural rearrangements that aid cellular fusion and are thermally stabilized. The integrated computational approach can be applied to optimize vaccine immunogen design and to predict escape of vac- cine-induced antibody responses by SARS-CoV-2 variants.”

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Version of Record Published November 9, 2021 DOI:https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.11.009

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