Biophysical Society Bulletin | March 2024

President's Message

Opportunities for the Future It is a distinct honor and privilege to address you as the freshly minted president of the Biophys

the Society, and therefore in our level of engagement. These four values permeate all the programs and activities organized by the Biophysical Society, and it is my intention to communi cate with you more about them in the months ahead. For now, I want to remind all of us of four imminent vulnerabilities we are prioritizing. Recover from the financial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past three years BPS has been drawing on its finan cial reserves due to the significant cost of organizing the 2021 virtual meeting and reduced attendance in the years since. Thanks to the wise stewardship of previous Councils, BPS still enjoys healthy reserves. However, to continue to offer all the programs our members have come to rely upon, it is imperative that we return to a balanced operating budget. This goal will require stronger and more deliberate engagement from our members: to increase registration to BPS-organized meetings, to increase manuscript submissions to BPS journals, and to encourage colleagues and students to join the Society. The Annual Meeting, Biophysical Journal , and membership dues each account for about one-third of the Society’s revenues, and we must be vigilant to ensure the health of all three. Implement a new information technology system. In 2023, Council approved a multi-year strategic investment to overhaul BPS’s information technology platform. The goal is to improve online member experiences and to support all our strategic objectives more effectively. This substantial effort is critical to BPS’s long-term success and sustainability, and it is ongoing. I will continue to update you with its progress as it develops. Adapt to the evolving publishing landscape. After extensive analysis and deliberation, Council accepted a proposal to con tinue publishing Biophysical Journal and Biophysical Reports with Cell Press. The proposal includes seven years of guaranteed revenue from publishing, which will allow the Society flexibility to adapt to rapidly evolving changes in funding policies, will continue to improve author experience, and will maintain the high quality our readers have come to expect. Promote the reputation of BPS as THE trusted leader in quanti tative life sciences. While many of our members have been rec ognized as unsurpassed pioneers and innovators in quantita tive life sciences for more than half a century, we can do more to explain how BPS has been instrumental in their success and how BPS remains critical to nurturing the vibrant community that will empower future discoveries. Going forward, it will be important to be more deliberate and effective in emphasizing the critical role BPS plays in supporting our members to train the next generation, review papers, critique grant applications, advise on policy, and so on. Although fundamental to the

ical Society, a global organiza tion that has fostered impactful discoveries in quantitative life sciences for over 65 years! Since I joined as a trainee more than 20 years ago, the Biophysical Society has been a significant source of support and inspiration for my

Gabriela K. Popescu

research program and for my professional growth. It is now my duty and responsibility to ensure that the Society continues to meet its fundamental mission even as it adapts to ongoing in ternal and environmental challenges. What do I mean by that? Our common aspiration to “harness the power of biophysics to improve the human condition and preserve the planet” remains a motivating source of inspiration worldwide! From phase separation to designer organisms and environmental biology, the quantitative approaches that biophysics offers remain critical in finding solutions to current global challenges faced by humanity. To continue to fulfill our mission (https:/www.bio physics.org/About-BPS/mission-vision) and meet our strategic priorities (https:/www.biophysics.org/about-bps/strategy-fi nance) over the next few years, it will be important to remain vigilant in preserving and acting on our core values—scientific excellence; integrity and transparency; diversity, equity, and in clusion; and community building. Conversely, ongoing cultural, technological, and economic changes in society and unprece dented alterations in our planetary physical environment bring new challenges to science and scientists and force us to adapt our research programs and how we interact as scientists. How can we ensure continuity of purpose as we face new challenges? First, we must recommit to our four fundamental values. Pre serve scientific excellence by adhering to the highest standards of integrity and rigor both in practicing science and in our var ious service roles as mentors, reviewers, editors, consultants, administrators, etc. Quantitative rigor, a defining strength of biophysics, will help to reaffirm the value of science against misinformation, and to prevent further erosion of the trust the public places in science. Continue efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, to safeguard the respectful space that nurtures creativity and innovation, and to foster feelings of belonging, collaboration, and contribution, which are integral to community building. Remain committed to open communi cation about the events, programs, and processes in which the Biophysical Society engages to ensure continued integrity and transparency, which are fundamental to the trust we place in

March 2024

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