Biophysical Society Bulletin | May 2024

Biophysics Week

Biophysics Bridge Builders: Connecting Students & Scholars The Membrane Transport Subgroup of BPS hosted a success ful virtual meeting on March 22 as part of Biophysics Week 2024. The "Biophysics Bridge Builders: Connecting Students & Scholars" event aimed to connect students and postdoctor al researchers with established scientists in ion channels and transporters. A diverse group of experimental and compu tational biophysicists participated in the event. They shared their experiences navigating postdoc life and transitioning to faculty positions, and provided valuable insights into the latest advancements, future directions, and challenges within ion channel and transporter research. Students gained

Single-Molecule Forces, Manipulation & Visualization Subgroup Virtual Seminar To commemorate Biophysics Week 2024, the BPS Single- Molecule Forces, Manipulation and Visualization Subgroup orchestrated a virtual seminar on March 20, featuring four accomplished speakers from across the world: Jinqing Huang from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; David Rueda from Imperial College London; Murat Sunbul from the University of Heidelberg; and SRAA Poster Award ee Guoming Gao from the University of Michigan. Attendees, comprising both seasoned single-molecule enthusiasts and newcomers, were treated

to insightful presenta tions on cutting-edge applications of optical tweezers and fluores cence microscopy tools in elucidating the mechanism of DNA-ligand and protein interactions, as well as the localization of RNA and proteins within cells and condensates.

valuable insights into the field of membrane transport and potential career paths. Postdocs benefited from discussions on balancing research and family life, including navigating sit uations where both partners are principal investigators. The event was organized by Deepak Kumar and Tharaka Wijerathne under the guidance of Yun Lyna Luo from Western University of Health Sciences.

BPS BiV Subgroup Mini-Symposium The Biopolymers in vivo (BiV) Subgroup hosted a symposium highlighting research done by its SRAA poster competition winners on March 21. Kara Hunter , a graduate student at University of California, Merced, gave a talk about designing intrinsically disordered proteins which help organisms survive

BPS Cryo-EM Subgroup Webinar For Biophysics Week, the BPS Cryo-EM Subgroup hosted a webinar by Bridget Carragher , Technical Director of the Chan Zuckerberg Imaging Institute, titled “Better, Faster, Cheaper, Smarter: Advances in Cryo-EM/ ET.” Carragher gave a personal perspective on the history and development of cryo-EM as a technique, from the early days of “blobology” to the latest developments in single-particle cryo-EM and in situ cryo-ET.

desiccation, and Upasana Mallimad ugula , a graduate student at Wash ington University in St. Louis, gave a talk about how cryptic pockets affect filovirus immune evasion. Both talks were excellent and brought up inter esting points regarding protein design and how protein structure may dy namically fluctuate in vivo. The Zoom event allowed for a wide variety of people to attend the talks and brought together researchers from different career levels.

In the latter half of the talk, Carragher gave a preview of the exciting developments at the new Chan Zuckerberg Imaging Institute that opened its doors in early 2023. The Institute will focus on the development of the necessary technologies to achieve routine near-atomic resolution structure determina tion in a native cellular context, including the development of practical laser phase plate imaging to improve contrast, and optimization and automation of the cryo-ET image processing workflow.

May 2024

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