Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2020

Biophysicist in Profile

When she is not working, Khalid builds with Legos (“Don’t laugh at me,” she jokes), reads English and some Urdu literature, appreciates art, plays video games, and “avoids gardening,” she says. She enjoys watching football, naming Liverpool Football Club manager Jürgen Klopp as a non-scientist she admires. Going forward, she hopes “to advance knowledge of bacterial cell envelopes both from a fundamental biology perspective but also in terms of how we may be able to breach the defenses of these pests for therapeutic purposes,” she explains. “I hope I can contribute highly trained, motivated, and kind people who emerge frommy laboratory to the workforce of the United Kingdom and more widely.” To those just starting out in their careers, she offers this piece of advice: “Be ambitious, apply for lots of grants (the more tickets you have…), and build up a set of collaborators with whom you enjoy working. If work stops being fun, stop and take stock.” Profiles in Biophysics No two biophysicists have the same story. Read about the many paths that led each of them to become a biophysicist. www.biophysics.org/profiles-in-biophysics

Nils Anton Berglund , Aarhus University and a former PhD student in Khalid’s lab, has also been impressed with her enthusiasm and drive, both of which have been a benefit to her trainees in more ways than one. “In academia there is a tendency that projects are abandoned when they are halfway done just because of lack of enthusiasm and perhaps chang- es in priority. I think Syma was always very good at pushing projects to the finish line. She knew when to press ‘go’ on a project to make sure it didn’t fizzle out,” he shares. “I think it’s a skill that is evidenced in her publication record and crucially, in the publication records of the students and postdocs who have passed through her group.” Khalid with current and previous group members at the 2019 BPS Annual Meeting in Baltimore

Call for Papers

Special Issue: Biophysicists Address Covid-19 Challenges

Editors:

Tamar Schlick, New York University, USA Eric J. Sundberg, Emory University, USA Susan J. Schroeder, University of Oklahoma, USA M. Madan Babu, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA

With the rapid rate of Covid-19 infections and deaths, treatments and cures are urgently needed beyond handwashing, social dis- tancing, masks, isolation, and quarantines. The treatments and vaccines rely on fundamental understanding of the complex viral ap- paratus, from the protein exterior to the RNA viral genome. Better mathematical analysis to understand the spread of infections and howmany factors influence such disease spread are also needed. Biophysicists have been at the forefront of these multidisciplinary efforts, with research on the basic biophysical elements of the viral machinery, drug and vaccine design, infection analysis, and more. Submit papers by: September 15, 2020 or December 15, 2020

To submit, visit biophysj.msubmit.net

September 2020

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