Biophysical Society Bulletin | October 2022

Communities

Premila Samuel Mohan Dass Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW)

Premila Samuel Mohan Dass

Is this your first volunteer position for BPS? If not, what other positions have you held? Yes. I was one the Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW) from July 2020 to August 2022. I am currently also the postdoctoral representative for the Bio polymers in vivo Subgroup. Why do you volunteer? I volunteer when I feel strongly about a cause. I am passion ate about the the efforts of recruiting and retaining under represented groups, including women in STEM. I believe where I am today as a scientist is primarily because of all the intentional guidance I have received from my mentors (under graduate, graduate, and postdoctoral) over the years. They believed in my scientific potential, even at times when I did not. Coming from humble beginnings, I got my first “break” in science when I was admitted to study chemistry at Berea Col lege, a tuition-free undergraduate institution that specifically admits underprivileged students. And so now it is my time to give back to the scientific community that took me in and to stand by others, especially the next generation, who need the same support I once received. What has been a highlight from your volunteer experience? As part of CPOW, I served on a task force responsible for initiating the family care travel grant. I thought it was a very

meaningful effort by BPS to make such a grant available for those who couldn’t otherwise afford to travel to the annual meetings due to family obligations, such as young mothers who need childcare. Another highlight was the opportunity to co-organize a round table webinar discussion on post-pan demic research recovery, especially with a focus on early career scientists and trainees. Do you have advice for others who might be thinking about volunteering? Find the cause that drives you first, commit to it, and be inten tional in addressing it through your volunteer efforts. I prefer not to spread myself thin by overcommitting, and I found what works best for me is focusing my energy on one or two causes and giving those my best. When not volunteering for BPS, what do you work on? Well, my postdoctoral research work keeps me busy, but it is a fun kind of busy! Right now, I am working on building, simu lating, and analyzing small models of human cell cytoplasms to better understand how the cellular environment can affect dynamics, interactions, and stabilities of macromolecules at the atomic level. It is like solving an intricate jigsaw puzzle— there are so many moving parts to consider, but I love the work. When not working, I like to spend intentional time with my husband by going for walks or playing board games.

Subgroups Theory and Computation

of Wisconsin–Madison, USA) was selected for the mid-career award. In addition to our award talks, we will also feature invited talks presented by Margaret Johnson (Johns Hopkins University, USA), Janice Robertson (Washington University at St. Louis, USA), Frauke Graeter (Heidelberg University, Germa ny), and Juyong Lee (Kangwon University, South Korea). Please consider joining the Subgroup when you renew your BPS membership to support our program, and we look forward to seeing you in San Diego! — Edward Lyman , Secretary-Treasurer

The Theory and Computation Subgroup will hold its second symposium at the BPS Annual Meeting in San Diego on Subgroup Saturday. Please join us in congratulating our first two winners of the Theory & Computation Awards awards! Giulia Palermo (University of California, Riverside, USA) was selected for the early career award and Xuhui Huang (University

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