Biophysical Society Bulletin | May 2021

Public Affairs

Annual Meeting Press The 2021 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting garnered a lot of media interest, particularly for the ten promoted research presentations we highlighted this year. Not surprisingly, a significant portion of the research focused on various pan- demic research efforts including, but not limited to, COVID-19. We fielded nine reporter inquiries on some of the featured research presentations with nearly all resulting in original articles being written in news outlets around the globe. In fact, one researcher garnered a small piece in an online outlet of The Economist . In addition, BPS registered four reporters in advance of the conference to participate in general and scien- tific sessions to hear about the latest research efforts. Around theWorld Hackers Bring Dutch Research Funding Agency to Standstill On February 8, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) was subject to a ransomware attack that left the country’s largest scientific research funding agency unable to review or receive grant applications or to communi- cate with applicants and grantees. According to a statement, NWO has refused to pay the ransom demanded by the DoppelPaymer hacker group “on fundamental grounds,” opting instead to rebuild its network, a process that could take weeks. With its ransom demands unmet, the hacker group leaked NWO documents, including personal information about staff members, to the dark web on February 24. The security breach is the latest in a series of cyberattacks on research and funding institutes. In the last month, there have been similar attacks on the University of Amsterdam, the Am- sterdam University of Applied Sciences, and the UK Research and Innovation funding agency. In 2019, Maastricht University in the Netherlands paid the bitcoin equivalent of €200,000 (US$237,000) to hackers.

search in biomedicine, and educating the general public about best practices, including the importance of vaccination. The panelists agreed that the ongoing pandemic has highlighted that collaborations across disciplines, agencies, and borders is key to containing the current outbreak and preventing future ones. Responding to the Coronavirus Threat through Investments in Fundamental Biomedical Research PAC also put together a panel discussion to explore invest- ments needed in fundamental biomedical research to better prepare ourselves for future pandemics. PAC Chair Eric Sund- berg was joined on the panel by Michael Lauer of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Victoria McGovern of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and Jennifer Cama , Majority Staff for the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. Cama walked the audience through the steps of the appro- priations process and expressed appreciation for advocacy groups, such as BPS, for supporting NIH funding efforts over the years. She explained the various ways in which the scientific community could get involved in the process and to help shape future efforts to be better prepared for future outbreaks. McGovern talked about the breakdown of basic and biomed- ical research funding and the long-term impact of the COVID crisis on research funding from academic institutions, founda- tions, and charitable organizations that have seen donations significantly reduced as a result of the pandemic. She shared some recommendations for collaborations and shared infra- structure in order to make the most of the research efforts being funded from various quarters. Lauer continued one of McGovern’s key points: when government, industry, and academia work together on science, we can achieve amazing results. Science that normally would take years to coordi- nate, test, and replicate was made a joint priority among the various players and estimations quickly turned from years into months. Although this joint coordination of efforts is not without precedent, it is unlikely to be achievable on a wide array of research; however, there are a lot of valuable lessons to be learned from what was achieved that can be used to re- spond to future crises. Lauer discussed the results of several studies and surveys on the disproportional impact the COVID crisis has had on researchers by race and gender, as well as the impact on career development for young researchers and PhD students.

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