Biophysical Society Bulletin | October 2023

Biophysicist in Profile

Officers President Taekjip Ha President-Elect Gabriela Popescu Past-President Gail Robertson Secretary Teresa Giraldez Treasurer Samantha Harris Council Patricia Bassereau Margaret Cheung Henry Colecraft Martin Gruebele Kumiko Hayashi Syma Khalid Susan Marqusee Emmanuel Margeat Elizabeth Rhoades

realized I couldn’t make myself matter. I could only control my own actions, not those of others. So, I looked for other faculty positions, even looking for non-academic positions. I love being a professor. I love research; I enjoy teaching. I did not want to give all that up, but at the end of the day, I had to feel like my actions could make a difference. In the end, I was lucky. The right faculty position opened up at CMSRU and now I’m back to feeling like what I do matters.” On the contrary, Kohout shares that her most rewarding aspect of her work is getting an experiment to work. “Seeing the data come alive is very satisfying. It’s also very satisfying to see someone else collect the data, to see their joy in the moment. Or when a student, who has been struggling to see how the pieces fall togeth er, figures out the whole picture. These are all deeply rewarding aspects of my work,” Kohout declares. She shares that her favorite thing about bio physics is the broad range of topics that fall under the category. She details, “I have changed topics a few times since my first BPS meet ing, but I still do biophysics because of how I address my scientific questions. Learning new techniques, being quantitative, being open to different interpretations of the same data: these are all the things I love about biophysics.” When asked to share her thoughts on how she sees biophysics going in the future and what she hopes to contribute to biophysics, Kohout stated: “Diversity. I am a member of the Socie dad de Biofisicos Latinoamericanos (SOBLA), where we highlight and celebrate science from all Latin Americans. I really enjoyed and support the Black in Biophysics Symposium and the JUST-B Poster sessions at the 2023 BPS Annual Meeting. I was part of a group that wrote a Max imizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Institutionally Focused Research Education Award to Promote Diversity (UE5) grant for BPS with the goal to pair K99 awardees with professional societies to improve their professional development and networking opportunities while enhancing the diversity of the scientific workforce. While we did not get the grant, this is something I believe BPS should continue to focus on. I would like us to get to the point where separate symposiums, poster sessions, mentoring programs, and the like aren’t needed. We aren’t there yet, and I hope to help move us in that direction.”

When not doing science or working in her lab, Kohout loves to hike and wander around in the wilderness. If she were not a biophysicist, she would do something related to plants since gardening is a serious hobby. She proclaims, “I love growing plants—particularly edible plants, and ones with medicinal properties…I also like propagating plants…For example, I’ve been propagating the same African violet for a couple of decades now. I give away the progeny when I end up with too many pots, just to then start the whole cycle again. I often end up as a plant rescuer, reviving dying plants for others or taking over their care entirely.” Kohout has been a long-time member of the Biophysical Society and engages with the com munity through volunteering. She claims that BPS has supported her throughout her career: “I admit to not realizing how many resources were available to me as a graduate student, but I did discover them as a postdoc. Sessions on funding, how to handle interviews, panels with scientists just one or two steps ahead ready to give advice and suggestions…These have all been extremely helpful, particularly during my transition from postdoc to assistant professor.” She goes on to note, “I find the community created by the Biophysical Society to be both special and useful. The Annual Meeting has so many ‘beyond science’ sessions that it’s hard to make it to all the ones I’m interested in and see all the science I want to see. BPS is definitely my “home” society.” Her advice to those just starting their careers in biophysics is that everyone’s path is different. Kohout tells us, “Twists and turns always hap pen, and I almost changed careers several times. When I started down my path of studying chem istry, I wanted to do something I loved doing. That always felt like my primary motivation. Lat er, I realized that I needed to feel like I mattered. I only realized this when I lost that feeling. So, I had to make some choices on how to get it back. There were a lot of different paths that could get me there. None of them were ‘right’ and none of them were ‘wrong.’ The world is not so clear cut even if we want it to be…Identify what you want and then figure out how to get there. Ask for help if you are struggling with the decision or how to get there. No one can make those types of decisions for you, but understanding your options is critical. You might be surprised that some options are easier than you expect.”

Kandice Tanner Valeria Vasquez Jing Xu Biophysical Journal Vasanthi Jayaraman Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Padmini Rangamani Editor-in-Chief Biophysical Reports

Jörg Enderlein Editor-in-Chief

Society Office Jennifer Pesanelli Executive Officer Newsletter

Executive Editor Jennifer Pesanelli Managing Editor John Long Production Ray Wolfe Meredith Zimmerman Proofreader/Copy Editor The Biophysical Society Newsletter (ISSN 0006-3495) is published eleven times per year, January-December, by the Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Distributed to USA members and other countries at no cost. Cana dian GST No. 898477062. Postmaster: Send address changes to Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, MD 20852. Copyright © 2023 by the Biophysical Society. Darren Early Laura Phelan

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

October 2023

3

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY