Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2018

Biophysicist in Profile

Officers President Angela Gronenborn President-Elect David Piston Past-President Lukas Tamm Secretary Frances Separovic Treasurer Kalina Hristova Council

in the Xenopus oocyte,” he explains. “After this we started studying IP3 signaling and chloride channels in the oocyte. It led us to focus our interest on how cells deliver intracellular calci- um coming from the extracellular space to dis- tant or isolated effectors. We are still working on it and are now expending our approach of calcium signaling to the context of non-com- municable disease such as diabetes.” Despite Machaca’s many responsibilities in his dual role, Courjaret notes that he always man- ages to find time to discuss ongoing projects, help solve issues that arise in the lab, and provide guidance on research focus. “He is an enthusiastic researcher and we were allowed to investigate numerous ideas we had in the lab even when they meant going a little bit ‘off road,’” he says. “But he is also able to tell us when a project is going nowhere and needs to be stopped or refocused. It probably connects with the fact that we are starting a research community here [in Qatar] nearly from scratch and that we need to explore a lot during this development.” Like most researchers who take on additional administrative roles, Machaca sees less of the bench, and takes advantage of any time he finds to perform experiments. “One evening, while the entire lab was gathering for a dinner, he started getting very nice signals from Xeno- pus oocytes expressing a channel of interest,” Courjaret shares. “The ionic currents were huge, with the promise of an exciting research project. We waited for him for a very long time and he skipped a large part of the dinner. The day after, we realized he spent his evening recording cells expressing the wrong channel. Nobody got fired.” When he is not working, he fills his time with exercise, fishing, and quality time with his family. He also enjoys experimenting with different cuisines. Machaca’s career advice for young biophys- icists? Have fun. “Science is demanding and challenging and if you don’t particularly enjoy it there is little reason to pursue a career in science,” he says. “Focus on quality rather than quantity in your science, in the long term it always pays off. Rigor in your science is a priority especially with the variety of advanced techniques and plethora of publishing venues these days.”

Zev Bryant Jane Clarke Linda Columbus Bertrand Garcia-Moreno Teresa Giraldez Ruben Gonzalez, Jr. Arthur Palmer Marina Ramirez-Alvarado Jennifer Ross David Stokes Joanna Swain Pernilla Wittung-Stafeshede Biophysical Journal Jane Dyson Editor-in-Chief Society Office Ro Kampman Executive Officer Newsletter Executive Editor Rosalba Kampman Managing Editor Beth Staehle Contributing Writers and Proofreaders Dorothy Chaconas Laura Phelan

Machaca with wife Randa and daughters Seema and Raya.

Currently, his lab is focused on four broad areas: (1) Non-genomic signaling downstream of the membrane progesterone receptor, (2) regulation of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) during the cellular differentiation, (3) role of Ca 2+ signaling in cancer metastasis, and (4) Ca 2+ tunneling. He hopes to continue with discoveries in the lab that would advance un- derstanding of cellular signaling in general and Ca 2+ signaling in particular. In a broader sense, and through both his own lab and his role as an administrator, Machaca hopes to “make an impact on the national and institutional research efforts, particularly in terms of trans- lating discoveries in the lab toward clinically actionable efforts targeted at improving the health of individuals,” he shares. “Balancing a dual role as an academic ad- ministrator in my role as associate dean for research while maintaining an active lab was initially quite challenging,” he shares. “We are trained as scientists and yet success in that arena is rewarded by administrative roles where the approach and expertise needed are often diametrically opposed to what one needs in science. Furthermore, administrative roles are often coupled to significant time demands, which takes away from the lab. Sci- ence is a competitive undertaking, so balanc- ing the two demands can be challenging.” He has dealt with this challenge by restruc- turing his lab to include senior colleagues who can both manage the research independent- ly and help the more junior lab members in terms of both day-to-day support and techni- cal training. Raphael Courjaret joined Machaca’s lab in 2010 as a postdoc. “He needed an electrophysi- ologist on a project aimed at identifying the interactions between different TRP subunits

Caitlin Simpson Elizabeth Vuong Sean Winkler Production

Ray Wolfe Catie Curry

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. Canadian GST No. 898477062. Postmaster: Send address changes to Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, MD 20852. Copyright © 2018 by the Biophysical Society. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

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