Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2021

September 2021

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y

2021 Election Results The Biophysical Society members elected Taekjip Ha , Johns Hopkins University, to the office of Presi- dent-Elect in this year’s elections. He will assume that office during the 2022 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in February 2022. He will begin his term as President in February 2023. Members elected to Council are Patricia Bassereau , Institut Curie, France; Martin Gruebele , University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Syma Khalid , Oxford University, United Kingdom; and Valeria Vásquez , University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Each will serve a three-year term, beginning in February 2022.

Taekjip Ha

The Society is indebted to all the excellent candidates who agreed to run for these positions. Thank you to all members who participated in the election by voting.

Patricia Bassereau Martin Gruebele

Syma Khalid

Valeria Vásquez

Inside

BPS to Celebrate the PDBwith Fall Symposium

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Biophysicist in Profile

Public Affairs Publications

Career Development

Grants and Opportunities Cheers for Volunteers

Established in 1971, the Protein Data Bank (PDB), an archive of macromolecular structural data that is freely and publicly available to the global community, is marking its 50th birthday this year. In celebration, BPS will host a virtual symposium on October 6 highlighting some of the high-impact applications of protein structural data, with a particular focus on the areas of structure prediction and membrane protein biophysics. Gaetano T. Montelione , joined by RCSB PDB Director Stephen K. Burley and Director Emerita Helen M. Berman , are organizing this commemorative event. Visit www.biophysics.org for more information and to register. Renew Your Membership for 2022 Make connections. Share your science. Stay in-the-know. Get involved. biophysics.org/RENEW

Member Corner Annual Meeting Communities In Memoriam Upcoming Events

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Biophysicist in Profile

Daryl Eggers Areas of Research How water influences binding and conformational equilibria

Institution San José State University

At-a-Glance

Realizing his strengths lay in science and math, Daryl Eggers studied chemical engineering and planned on a career in industry. Two trips “back to school” later and he was surprised to find his calling as a researcher and professor. Nearing retirement, he reflects that his most valuable contri- bution to the field has been educating those starting out on their scientific careers.

Daryl Eggers

Like many biophysicists, Daryl Eggers , Professor of Chemistry at San José State University (SJSU), excelled in math and sci- ence courses in high school. “Everyone said I should become an engineer, so I enrolled as a chemical engineering major at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) in 1977 without a true understanding of what my job options would be after graduation,” he explains. RHIT was just an hour’s drive west of his home town of Plainfield, Indiana, “making it easy for me to visit family on weekends during my undergraduate educa- tion. I realize now how incredibly fortunate I was to be able to focus on my studies without working in a part-time job at the same time, a luxury that most of my current students do not enjoy.” Biology courses were not offered at RHIT at the time, but he took an elective course in biochemical engineering “where I was introduced to the four classes of biomolecules in the first chapter of a classic textbook by Bailey & Ollis,” he says. “That material excited me and remained in the back of my mind as I pursued my first job.” Following his graduation from RHIT in 1981, he accepted a job offer with M.W. Kellogg, an engineering and construction company in Houston, Texas. “Naively, I thought I would work for Kellogg the rest of my career, but I quickly learned that there was no job security in a company where the contracts and workload parallel the ups and downs of the oil indus- try. After losing many lunch date friends to layoffs, I started thinking seriously about returning to school and decided to apply to master’s degree programs that offer a concentration in biochemical engineering; my new goal was to land a job in the booming biotechnology industry,” Eggers shares. At that point he did not plan on pursuing a PhD, as he did not view himself as qualified or worthy of the degree and did not have a clear picture of what life in graduate school would be like. “I ended up at University of California, Berkeley and was accepted into the bioengineering group of Harvey Blanch where I was surrounded by some amazing people and where I gained my first research experience,” he says. “Although several labmates suggested that I stay on and get my PhD,

I followed my plans to leverage the MS degree into a job in biotechnology.” He joined the research wing of Syntex, a pharmaceutical com- pany based in Palo Alto, California and found it to be an ideal job for a bioengineer: working with a small team in charge of expressing, purifying, and increasing production of recombi- nant proteins from bench scale to pilot plant. “This experience improved my confidence as a scientist, but I realized that I could not advance far up the research ladder without a PhD. One of my projects during this period involved the refolding of a protein that I had purified from inclusion bodies. A frustrat- ingly low refolding yield led me to the library, but I found the literature on protein folding in the 1980s to be very unsatisfy- ing. ‘Maybe I could go back to school (again), pursue some of my own ideas on protein folding for a thesis, and then rejoin industry research as a project leader?’” he thought. “At the time, I wasn’t entangled with house payments or any financial obligations, so I decided to apply to some top PhD programs in California. I decided to target pharmacology programs, and I was delighted and honored to be admitted to the Pharma- cology Department of the School of Medicine at University of California San Francisco (UCSF).” He persevered through ups and downs at UCSF and com- pleted his PhD degree in 1997. “My thesis research was performed in the laboratory of William J. Welch , one of the first scientists to characterize the heat shock response and to identify specific proteins that act as molecular chaperones. Thus, my attention was turned more toward protein folding in the cell, versus the refolding of recombinant proteins in vitro,” he explains. “During this time, I had a fateful discussion in the office of Ken Dill , then at UCSF, where I expressed my concern that the scientific community was overstating the importance of chaperones and where I put forward the idea that the crowded environment of the cell had something to do with the high fidelity of protein folding in vivo; I had recently read some papers by Allen Minton that I thought might have relevance to protein folding, even though the early Minton papers did not mention proteins. Ken showed me the cover of a Science issue that featured some colorful proteins encapsu-

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Biophysicist in Profile

Officers President Frances Separovic President-Elect Gail Robertson Past-President Catherine A. Royer Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Samantha Harris Council Henry Colecraft Michelle A. Digman Erin C. Dueber Marta Filizola Gilad Haran Kumiko Hayashi Francesca Marassi

lated in silica glass. It didn’t hit me im- mediately, but this paper, from a group at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), led to the single most important move of my career.” Eggers had always planned to return to industry right after graduate school, but after applying to some local bio- technology companies and receiving no response, he started to think about an academic postdoctoral position. “I went back to the paper recommended by Ken Dill and realized that the glass encapsu- lation technique might serve as a model for molecular crowding and confinement ef- fects. I contacted Joan S. Valentine , one of the co-authors, and she responded to suggest we meet in San Francisco while she was there for a meeting of journal editors. I can still remember our first encounter outside of the Moscone Center. I think we both sensed this was a scientific match made in heaven, and I soon received an invitation to join her group at UCLA,” he shares. “Working in the Valen- tine laboratory was one of the most enjoy- able experiences of my life. Valentine group meetings were boisterous affairs filled with free-flowing ideas and energy, and our men- tor understood the importance of a work-life balance. I rarely visited the lab on weekends and found time to serve as an LGBT men- tor through a pioneering program run by Pat Alford-Keating of the UCLA Psychology Department. On the scientific front, my first experiments with glass-encapsulated pro- teins were analyzed on an old circular dichro- ism instrument in Jim Bowie ’s lab, ultimately leading to the two most-cited publications of my career. During this time, I was given a chance to teach metabolism to biochemistry majors during summer session. I was confi- dent that I could handle the teaching assign- ment, but I did not anticipate that I would like teaching so much. This enlightenment caused me to reconsider my future. Maybe I should pursue a tenure-track faculty position where I am valued as both a creative researcher and effective teacher?” He did just that, obtaining a position in 2002 with the Chemistry Department at SJSU. “My initial projects at SJSU were an extension of my glass encapsulation studies at UCLA. However, an early puzzling observation re- lated to apomyoglobin structure in the glass

Eggers with his husband David and dog Dempsey.

caused my interest and attention to shift from crowding effects to hydration effects. Today my lab’s main focus is water and how water influences binding and conformational equilibria. Using multiple biophysical tech- niques, my lab aims to demonstrate that the classical equations of thermodynamics for binding equilibria have obscured our un- derstanding of solvation effects; my group has published an alternative equation for equilibria that includes an explicit accounting term for water and that reveals the binding constant, K, is actually a variable that changes with product concentration when solvation is a significant contributor to the overall ther- modynamics. Toward this goal, two papers have been published and two more papers are in the making, all featuring results that suggest our approach is a step in the right direction. In addition, I am currently involved in a collaboration that examines the binding of potential therapeutic molecules to virus proteins. My lab is using microscale thermo- phoresis to measure the interaction of glyco- dendrimers, made by Katherine McReynolds at CSU Sacramento, with the surface proteins of HIV and SARS-CoV-2.” Eggers shares, “In the beginning, I thought my research was the most important, career-de- fining aspect of my job. Now, as I near retire- ment from academia, I realize my true legacy lies with the former students at SJSU who passed through my lab or classroom.” Outside of work, Eggers and his husband Da- vid follow the San Francisco Giants baseball team and enjoy traveling to figure skating competitions and watching the television game show Jeopardy!. And he says, “We spend a lot of our time spoiling our kid, a yellow Labrador Retriever named Dempsey.”

Susan Marqusee Joseph A. Mindell Carolyn A. Moores Kandice Tanner Biophysical Journal Jane Dyson Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran 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 Catie Curry Ray Wolfe Proofreader/Copy Editor Laura Phelan 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 © 2021 by the Biophysical Society.

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

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Public Affairs

Proposed Elimination of Student Visa “Duration of Stay” RegulationWithdrawn On July 6, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially withdrew its proposed rule to eliminate duration of status (D/S) for F students and their dependents, J exchange visitors and their dependents, and I media representatives. The Trump Administration wreaked havoc on immigration and visa policies, several of which had a disproportionate impact on the STEM community. One such proposed rule, issued in September of 2020, proposed to eliminate duration of status (D/S) for F students and their dependents, J exchange visitors and their dependents, and I media representatives. Under the original proposed rule issued September 2020, individuals applying for admission in either F or J status (F-1 students, F-2 dependents, J-1 exchange visitors, and J-2 dependents) would have been admitted only until the program end date noted in their Form I-20 or DS-2019, not to exceed 4 years. Some countries and courses of study were subject to a more limited 2-year admission. Individuals who needed time beyond their period of admission would have had to timely file a complete extension of stay appli- cation with USCIS before their prior admission expired. The Biophysical Society submitted comments during the 30-day comment period objecting to these changes as they put a dis- proportionate burden on STEM students studying for a PhD or MD degree; a point readily acknowledged in the proposed rule. DHS received more than 32,000 comments during the public comment period, 99% of which were in opposition to the proposed rule.

House and Senate Lay Out Competing Plans for NSF Funding and Visions for “Have-Not” States In June, the U.S. Senate approved legislation that would de- vote 20% of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) overall budget to the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which serves 25 states and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If enacted, it would immediately boost EPSCoR’s spending 10-fold to approximately $2 billion per year. Researchers concerned that the Senate bill devotes so much immediate funding to the EP- SCoR program favor a proposal by the U.S. House of Repre- sentatives that envisions the creation of two new competitive programs, authorized for $150 billion and $100 billion, to achieve the goals of EPSCor without being limited to insti- tutions in EPSCor states. One program would build research capacity at any institution outside the top 100 recipients of

federal research dollars, and a second would support schools that educate large numbers of minority students. Instead of using state boundaries to define “have-not” institutions, the new programs target any school that lacks the capacity to compete successfully for NSF dollars. The Senate’s proposal (S. 1260) to massively expand EPSCoR at NSF calls for more than doubling NSF’s budget over 5 years, to $21.3 billion in 2026. And it would create a technology directorate to accelerate the commercialization of NSF-funded research in 10 areas deemed essential for keeping up with China and other nations. The bill would make EPSCoR the biggest single program at NSF, requiring it to receive 20% of the agency’s overall budget each year and 20% of the budget of the new technology directorate. That means EPSCoR’s bud- get would balloon to $2.16 billion in 2022, should Congress provide NSF with the $10.8 billion authorized in the bill, and would reach a staggering $4.3 billion by 2026. The bill contains a similar mushrooming of the tiny EPSCoR program at the Department of Energy. It would require the agency to spend 20% of the $17 billion authorized by the bill for research over the next 5 years on what is now a $25 million per year pro- gram nestled within the department’s Office of Science.

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Public Affairs

House and Senate lawmakers are expected to have an opportunity to discuss their differences over EPSCoR later this year, as they attempt to cobble together a final bill that can garner support from both bodies and President Joe Biden . In the meantime, NSF is assembling a committee that will spend the next several months soliciting the community’s ideas for improving EPSCoR. Around theWorld The Deepening Rift Between Science andMexican President as Research Funds are Diverted Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador continues to deepen the rift between his administration and the research community. Compounding the damage done last year when he eliminated dozens of trust funds that supported science, alleging corruption, Lopez Obrador announced in June that he will be using some of those funds to buy an aging oil refinery. The announcement has only added to ongoing controversy and uncertainty over how the government plans to use the nearly 68 billion pesos ($3 billion) held in the 109 trust funds targeted for termination under a recently approved law. Roughly one-third of the funds—which were used to sup- port scholarships, equipment purchases, and a wide range of other activities—involved scientific research. All the funds are now frozen and scheduled to expire this month. The government previously said the money would be devoted to fighting the pandemic and that the terminations would not affect research. It also said any money in the funds that had come from charitable donations, grants, business income, or nonfederal sources would be returned to its source. The refinery purchase has only added to the indignation. López Obrador said the government will spend $596 million to gain full control of the Shell Deer Park Refinery, built in 1929, it also includes an agreement to take on $490 million in debt held by Shell. While the purchase is in line with the

government’s push for energy self-sufficiency, energy and climate researchers say the purchase is the latest wrong turn in the country’s energy policy. Mexico is already falling short of targets for expanding renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas. WHO Chief Changes Tack on Pandemic Origin Investigation The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is urging China to increase its transparency about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and allow greater access to its labs to help resolve the origin of SARS-CoV-2. Tedros, who has been criticized for being too deferential to Chinese President Xi Jinping, announced the creation of a new body to conduct the next phase of studies into the emergence of the virus. The new WHO Internation- al Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) “will play a vital role in the next phase of studies into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, as well as the origins of future new pathogens.” At a press conference on July 15, Tedros called for more aggressively probing the two leading theories of how SARS- CoV-2 first infected humans and then emerged in Wuhan, China: that the virus made a natural “zoonotic” jump from an unknown animal species into humans or, more controver- sially, that it first infected a human during laboratory or field studies of coronaviruses found in animals. The announcement is an unexpected move that concerns some scientists, includ- ing at least one member of an existing mission the agency organized to study SARS-CoV-2’s origin. Earlier this year, WHO sent a team of international scientists to China to work with colleagues there on a joint mission to study the origin of SARS-CoV-2. The report issued in March by the joint mission, which had just completed the first of two planned phases of studies, then declared the lab origin hy- pothesis “extremely unlikely” and favored the zoonotic theory. During his remarks announcing SAGO, Tedros stated it was “premature” to discount the lab theory.

Apply to be the 2022-2023 BPS Congressional Fellow! Are you interested in working on Capitol Hill and learning more about science policy? All members who have obtained their PhD and are eligible to work in the United States may apply. Application deadline: December 10, 2021 Visit www.biophysics.org for additional information.

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Publications

Know the Editor Kris Dahl

Biophysical Society Celebrates Peer Review Week 2021

Carnegie Mellon University

Editor, Cell Biophysics Biophysical Journal

Peer Review Week is an annual international event recognizing and celebrating the contribution of peer review to the scientific com- munity and the scholarly publish- ing process. This year’s event will take place September 20-24 with

Kris Dahl

What are you currently working on that excites you? We are examining the gene expression and epigenetics of regenerative medicine. This has included stem cell differen- tiation, but we are also looking at starfish. This fun model organism can completely regenerate. You can cut the head off a larva and it will completely regrow a head with all of the neural structures. In collaboration with starfish development experts, we are examining the individual cells within the organism responsible for regeneration and how they work together. We are hoping to learn from the genetics, as well as biophysics, of these cells, to better understand and enhance healing in humans. What have you read lately that you found really interesting or stimulating? I just finished reading The Power , a science fiction novel by Naomi Alderman in which women have an extra electricity- generating organ in their bodies. It switches the balance of power in the world from men to women. It includes interest- ing commentary on biology, gender, psychology, and sociol- ogy. Of course, I also love the feminist take. One takeaway is that no one group should have dominant power; balance and diversity is important. It also made me think about other circumstances in the world where power has been unbal- anced. For example, the U.S. and other wealthy countries have had the privilege of the possibility of full COVID vacci- nation, while other countries have not. I hope that with some of the world-level issues that impact us, like pandemics or climate change, we are able to respond as a world and not as countries.

the theme “Identity in Peer Review,” recognizing the need to acknowledge and encourage diverse identities in the scientific world. During the week, participating organizations will host virtual events and activities exploring the multifaceted nature of identity, how personal and social identity affect peer review practices and experiences, and what’s needed to foster more diverse, equitable, and inclusive peer review processes. Academic publishers, institutions, societies, and researchers created Peer Review Week to shine a light on an activity that is essential to identifying, improving, and communicating high-quality scientific research, an activity that often goes un- derappreciated. The organizers aim to emphasize the central role peer review plays in scholarly communication, to show- case the work of editors and reviewers, to share research and advance best practices, and to highlight the latest innovation and applications. The Biophysical Society would like to take this opportunity to thank the editors and peer reviewers who contribute their time, energy, and knowledge to help authors to improve their articles and to allow the Society to communicate the best possible biophysics content. More information about Peer Review Week can be found at www.peerreviewweek. wordpress.com.

BJ Editor’s Pick Crowding affects structural dynamics and contributes to membrane association of the NS3/4A complex Natalia Ostrowska, Michael Feig, and Joanna Trylska “Using simulations and experiments, we found that crowding aids folding of the NS3/4A unstructured tails, suggesting that it contributes to NS3/4A membrane anchoring. The results bring us closer to answering the question of whether crowding is what is missing in the in vitro biochemical experiments and simulations.” Published July 7, 2021 DOI:https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.07.008

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Career Development

Upcoming Events Virtual Graduate Fair November 11–12, 2021 | Registration Deadline: October 20

Students, mark your calendars! The Membership Committee will host a virtual graduate fair for students studying biophysics and related fields who want to get into graduate school. Conveniently meet with representatives from colleges, universities, and research institutes with leading programs in biophysics. Explore different programs all in one place and gather informa- tion to help you select a program that is best for you. This is your opportunity to gain an early start on the application process. Registration is free for all students. Plan to attend and tell your friends! Graduate School Recruiters—interested in participating? Sign up for this new recruiting opportunity. Showcase your program and meet with many prospective students via face-to-face video, audio, or text-based chats, allowing for personal interactions. This is your opportunity to share your biophysics program and those in related fields with prospective program candidates, and to broaden your recruitment reach with more candidates from around the world with the click of a button. Each graduate program can design a dedicated recruiting page and can include a campus image, logo, videos, and links. Mul- tiple departments from one campus can be represented on one recruiting page! The cost to register is $250. The registration deadline is October 20. For more information and to register, visit www.biophysics.org/virtualgraduatefair. PUI Network: Catalyst IdeaMash October 2021 UMB Biophysics Career Panel October 22, 2021, 2:00PM–4:00PM The Biophysical Society (BPS)

The Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUI) Network host- ed its first Catalyst Idea Mash on Wednesday, July 14. This virtual networking and idea sharing session gave attendees the opportunity to connect, learn, and collaborate with fellow PUI faculty members on topics such as: 1. PUI jobs and recruiting 2. How to mentor undergraduate researchers 3. How to get grants 4. Navigating teaching after COVID-19 5. Teaching medical biophysics Look out for the next Catalyst Idea Mash in October 2021— this virtual event will repeat quarterly. Visit www.biophysics. org/pui-network to join the PUI Network and stay up to date on networking events and webinars to support your career!

Student Chapter of the University of Maryland,

Baltimore is pleased to announce an upcoming virtual Bio- physics Career Panel, scheduled for Friday, October 22, from 2:00 PM–4:00 PM EDT. The event will be focused on discus- sions with researchers in different biophysical career paths, providing valuable insights on pursuing a career in biophysics. We are expecting to invite a total of five speakers/panelists from different professional sectors of biophysics—academia, industry, and government. Members of the audience will have

a chance to directly interact with the speakers. For more information about the event please visit https:/umbbiophysics.org/.

Resources

Postdoctoral Job Search with a Global Perspective Postdoctoral job seekers can now learn how career pathways and the hiring process are shaped around the world in the new “Postdoctoral Job Search with a Global Perspective” series. This pre-recorded video series, organized by the Early Careers Committee, allows you to view at your own pace and gain valuable perspectives from speakers in Canada, India, Australia, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, and Turkey. Visit the BPS Video Library at www.biophysics.org/video-library to start watching! This series also includes contact information so you can connect with each presenter with your questions.

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Career Development

ScientistsWorking Abroad and Research in a New Era

NAS Award in Molecular Biology This award recognizes a recent notable discovery by a young scientist. It is presented with a medal and a $25,000 prize. Who can apply: The award is limited to young scientists, which is defined as those who are no older than 45 years old. Only citizens of the United States are eligible. Na- tional Academy of Sciences membership is not required. Self-nominations are not accepted. Deadline: October 4 Website: http:/www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/ molecular-biology.html With the ongoing dynamic pandemic landscape, here are some suggestions and resources for getting back on track, staying motivated, and being productive. • Communicate with other scientists: if you are a young investigator, postdoc, or graduate student, communicate with colleagues and others in your department frequently. • Join a journal club: if a journal club in your area of research does not exist, why not create one either virtually or in-person in accordance with your local governance safety guidelines? This will allow you and others to keep up to date with the latest research in your field. • “Research in progress” chalk talks: regularly presenting your research is great practice for future interviews and communicating your research. It also allows you to con- nect with others regularly. • Scientific society blogs and online events: the Biophysical Society (BPS) and other societies have blogs for connect- ing scientists from around the world. View the BPS Blog at www.biophysics.org/blog. BPS also has a database of recorded webinars for career advice and education at www.biophysics.org/webinars. • Conferences: many societies, including BPS, have announced remote and in-person conferences in 2022. Another change is that employers, institutions, and govern- ments have adopted a hybrid working environment to ensure safe working conditions. Check with your local government agencies for the latest guidelines as these are updated fre- quently. — Molly Cule

According to one survey conducted in 2018, more than 80% of European re- searchers have lived and worked abroad at some time during their careers (Pain, Elisabeth. 2018. “Considering going abroad for work? Recent research can help you weight the pros and cons.” Science , November 30. doi:10.1126/ science.caredit.aaw2382). Researchers who took the survey expressed the pos-

Grants & Opportunities Alexander Hollaender Award in Biophysics This award is presented every three years and carries with it a $20,000 prize to recognize outstanding contribu- tions made to the field of biophysics. Who can apply: International nominees are eligible, and National Academy of Sciences membership is not re- quired. Self-nominations are not accepted. Deadline: October 4 Website: http:/www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/ alexander-hollaender-award.html itive impact and productivity their experiences created. Among the benefits of working abroad were new collaborations, the inspiration of new ideas, and developing skills. Researchers reported publishing more papers and making discoveries that they continued studying well beyond their time abroad. Fur- thermore, roughly 40% reported finding a new job as a result of their experience. Despite the many benefits to working abroad, the recent pandemic gave reason to pause and reconsider. The COVID pandemic not only impacted teaching paradigms, it also affected scientific research and experiments. While the internet allowed a somewhat seamless transition of commu- nication for mentoring and collaborations, the practicality of running certain experiments and collecting data was abruptly interrupted. This posed an opportunity to carefully reassess research aims and experiments to determine whether alterna- tive approaches could be used such as in silico or model-based platforms. While some research was amenable to a more im- mediate shift away from the bench, certain research required ongoing experiments in the laboratory.

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Member Corner

Sam Cho Committee for Inclusion and Diversity (CID)

Sam Cho Is this your first volunteer position for BPS? If not, what other positions have you held? Yes, I started as a Committee for Inclusion and Diversity (CID) member in 2015 because another member recommended me and because I was inspired by a former undergraduate research student who attended the Biophysics Summer Research Program at the University of North Carolina. I am currently serving my second term, and my experience has been even more rewarding and impactful than I anticipated. Why do you volunteer? The biggest reason to be on CID is to learn about the very impressive and inspiring biophysicists from around the world as we evaluate applications for travel awards. I get to learn about their inspirational backgrounds and research. I have had and continue to have many incredible role models (who often do not look like me or did not grow up very much like I did) who were hugely impactful to me at critical times in my career. This is one of the small and fun ways I am paying it forward.

What has been a highlight from your volunteer experience? Every year, I look forward to participating in the “Speed Networking” sessions at the Biophysical Society Meeting. It’s wonderful to meet (even if briefly) so many different undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and fellow professors and to get to know about how they got there and where they hope to go. Do you have advice for others who might be thinking about volunteering? If you have an interest in one of the BPS committees, but even if you feel wholly unqualified, just go ahead and ask a member of the committee to get connected anyway. You will quickly discover that no one is really an expert, and all of our unique backgrounds can provide critical perspectives to move the ball forward. When not volunteering for BPS, what do you work on? When I am not leading a small interdisciplinary research group or teaching physics and computer science, I enjoy training for half or full marathons with my wife, walking my dog, enjoying a good meal, and strumming my ukulele.

Members in the News

Felix Goñi , Basque Country University and So- ciety member since 1995, was awarded the A.v. Humboldt-J.C. Mutis Research Award.

Alberto Diaspro , Italian Institute of Technology and Society member since 1996, was elected President of the Italian Society of Pure and Applied Biophysics (SIBPA).

Felix Goñi

Alberto Diaspro

Important Dates Satellite Meeting Proposal Deadline Thursday, September 30, 2021 Annual Meeting Abstract Submission Deadline Friday, October 1, 2021

SRAA Poster Competition Application Deadline Tuesday, October 5, 2021 Travel Awards Application Deadline Tuesday, October 5, 2021

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Annual Meeting

Thank you to our sponsors: Axiom Optics Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Bruker Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC Chroma Technology Curi Bio Elements srl IOP Publishing Journal of General Physiology (JGP) LEICA MICROSYSTEMS INC LUMICKS Mad City Labs Inc Nanion Technologies Sophion Bioscience A/S Sutter Instrument

Connect through Research!

Networking is one of the most effective ways to advance your career! Submitting an abstract gives you a chance to connect withmore than 5,000 researchers in biophysics from around the world. Have your poster designated as one of the nearly 600 shown each day of the meeting or be considered for one of more than 500 oral presentation slots in platform sessions. Don’t miss this opportunity to benefit from sharing your research!

Benefits to You Professional Development. Enhance your CV as a presenting author. Publications Credit. Have your accepted abstract published and included in a supple- ment to Biophysical Journal . A Visible Platform. Submitting your abstract by the October 1 deadline grants you the opportunity to be considered for one of the more than 500 oral presentation slots in plat- form sessions. Strategic Connections. Increase your visibility and leadership potential by meeting other leading experts from around the world. Make a Difference. Enrich the experience of attendees and contribute to the sharing of ideas that is the basis of the biophysics community.

Benefits to Your Lab or Institutions Increased Visibility. Gain exposure for your organization and funding institutions. Shared Knowledge. Bring the ideas and methods you learn back to your home institution, along with valuable, constructive feedback on your presented research. New Collaboration. Find opportunities to collaborate with other labs and leading researchers. Benefits to the Biophysics Community Industry Knowledge. Continue to build a growing body of useful, practical solutions to problems and research studies. Idea Contributions. Enrich the experiences of attendees and contribute by sharing ideas.

Did you know…. that abstracts submitted to the Biophysics Education category will also be reviewed in an appro- priate scientific abstract category for platform presentation consid- eration?

The Annual Meetings are great; for me they are a scientific highlight for the year. The quality of the science speaks for itself, but it’s all the additional aspects that make these meetings special, such as the workshops, BPS Lecture, the fun Art of Science Image Contest and of course meeting up with friends and colleagues from around the world. — Syma Khalid, University of Oxford

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Opening NewVistas in Biophysical Discovery

Student Research Achievement Awards

Undergraduate Poster Award Competition

The Student Research Achievement Award (SRAA) competi- tion provides students the opportunity to present their poster to senior researchers in their field. If you are a graduate student (master’s or PhD) presenting a poster, this is an ex- cellent opportunity to hone your presentation skills. If you are a faculty member, please encourage your students attending the Annual Meeting to register for the competition. Participants must submit their abstract by the October 1 deadline and register for the SRAA Competition by October 5, 2021. Travel Awards Looking for funding to present your research at the Annual Meeting? BPS provides Travel Awards for member students, postdoctoral researchers, and scientists of all career levels to recognize excellence in biophysics and to promote great- er interaction among biophysicists throughout the world. Awards range in size, depending on travel distance to the Annual Meeting, up to a maximum of $750. Members from all over the world may apply, including those living in the San Francisco area. Applicants must submit an abstract by the October 1 deadline and apply for Travel Awards by October 5, 2021.

The Undergraduate Poster Award Competition provides students the opportunity to polish their presentation skills by participating in the competition and being recognized for high-quality undergraduate research. Students are judged on the quality and scientific merit of their research, knowledge of the research problem, contribution to the project, and overall presentation of the poster. Judges look for students to present a clearly stated question, hypothesis, results, and conclusions. Applicants must submit their abstract by the late abstract submission deadline, January 6, 2022.

For more information and to apply online for the Student Research Achievement Awards, Travel Awards, and Undergraduate Poster Award Competition, visit www.biophysics.org/2022meeting/awards-competitions.

Just-B Poster Session The inaugural JUST-B (Justice for Underrepresented

Scholars Training in Biophysics) Poster Session will celebrate the achievements of underrepresented and underserved students, postdocs, and early career researchers in the field of biophysics. To present your poster during this event, you must submit an abstract by the October 1 deadline and submit an application. For specific application requirements, please visit biophysics.org/2022meeting.

biophysics.org/ 2022meeting

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Subgroups Biological Fluorescence

Channels, Receptors, and Transporters The Channels, Receptors, and Transporters (CRT) Subgroup is excited to announce that the following biophysicists will present at their symposium at the BPS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, February 19, 2022: Juan Du , Van Andel Institute Daniel Minor , University of California, San Francisco Bryan Roth , University of North Carolina Inga Hänelt , Goethe University, Germany Aashishi Manglik , University of California, San Francisco Rosemary Cater , Columbia University Please join the CRT Subgroup at www.biophysics.org/subgroups. Kenneth S. Cole Award Nomination Deadline: October 29, 2021 The CRT Subgroup is soliciting nominations for the 2022 Ken- neth S. Cole Award. The Kenneth S. Cole Award is given to one or more investigators in the field of membrane biophysics, in recognition of their research achievements as well as their potential for future contributions. A list of past Cole Awardees can be found here: www.biophysics.org/subgroups/chan- nels-receptors-transporters-1. The Cole Award presentation and talk will be held following the CRT Subgroup symposium dinner at the 2022 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting on Saturday, February 19, 2022. Eligibility: Any investigator who has made a substantial contribution to the understanding of membrane biophys- ics is eligible. Nominations may be made by any Subgroup member. Full details on nomination requirements can be found here: https:/www.biophysics.org/awards-funding/sub- group-awards. The deadline for Cole Award nominations is Friday, October 29, 2021. Nominations should be sent to Sudha Chakrapani , CRT Subgroup Secretary-Treasurer, at sudha.chakrapani@ case.edu by 11:59 PM EST on October 29, 2021. — Vera Moiseenkova-Bell , Chair — Sudha Chakrapani , Secretary-Treasurer

The Biological Fluorescence Subgroup will hold its annual symposium at the 2022 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, which will take place in San Francisco from February 19–23, 2022. The Biological Fluorescence Subgroup Symposium will take place on Saturday, February 19 from 8:30 AM–12:30 PM PST, with talks from the following scientists: Jerome Wenger , Institut Fresnel, France, Using Plasmonic Nanophotonics to Improve Single-Molecule Fluorescence Detection ; Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan , EMBL at University of New South Wales, Australia, Single-Molecule Imaging of Cytoplasmic Dynein in Vivo Reveals the Mechanism of Motor Activation and Cargo Capture ; Xavier Darzacq , University of California, Berkeley, Live Cell Single Particle Tracking Reveals New Mechanisms in Transcrip- tion Regulation ; Christy Landes , Rice University, Conformational Changes Impact 3D Antibody Translational Dynamics during Sep- aration through an Ion Exchange Support ; and Thorsten Hugel , Freiburg University, Germany, Protein Dynamics and Regulation Across Scales: Integrating Fluorescence, Neutron Scattering and MD Simulations . In addition to these talks, we will have talks by the Gregorio Weber awardee and the Young Fluorescence Investigator The Young Fluorescence Investigator Award is given to an outstanding researcher at the beginning of his or her career for significant advancements and/or contributions in or using fluorescence methodologies. This award is sponsored by Horiba Scientific and consists of a $1,000 honorarium and an invitation to present a 20-minute research talk at the Sub- group meeting during the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. Eligibility: All pre-tenure faculty or junior-level investigators who have completed their PhD and are working in the field of fluorescence; self-nominations are not allowed. Nomination packets must include the following: a Letter of Nomination that highlights how the candidate’s work rep- resents novel and exciting applications of fluorescence to biology and biophysics, the candidate’s CV, a reprint that exemplifies the candidate’s contribution, and three letters of support. Please send all nominations to gilad.haran@weizmann.ac.il. — Gilad Haran , Chair — Joachim Mueller , Secretary-Treasurer awardee (see the call for nominations below). Young Fluorescence Investigator Award Nomination Deadline: December 15, 2021

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The IDP Subgroup is proud to continue promoting talented postdocs through our symposium and we hope you will con- sider nominations (or being nominated) for the Postdoctoral Award by December 15. Instructions can be found at www. biophysics.org/awards-funding/subgroup-awards. The win- ners will be selected for oral presentations at the IDP sympo- sium and will receive an honorarium! To learn more about activities and future seminars in the IDP community, please join the IDP Subgroup at www.biophysics. org/subgroups to receive updates and post comments via BPS discussion forums. Please follow us on Twitter: @BPS_IDP. — Edward Lemke , Chair — Carlos Castañeda , Secretary-Treasurer Mechanobiology The Mechanobiology Subgroup is looking forward to an exciting, in-person 2022 meeting in San Francisco. We have an excellent lineup of invited speakers. We encourage you to submit abstracts for consideration for presentation at the Subgroup meeting. We strongly encourage young investigators to submit nom- inations for the Early Career Award in Mechanobiology. We did not select an awardee for the online meeting in 2021, but we will be presenting the award in 2022. Please publicize this opportunity and submit applications at www.biophysics.org/ awards-funding/subgroup-awards. The Mechanobiology Subgroup is also soliciting nominations for the next Chair Elect of the Subgroup. The current Chair Elect is Virgile Viasnoff , who will be stepping up as Chair after the 2022 meeting. Per the Subgroup bylaws, we are seeking

Intrinsically Disordered Proteins The Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDP) Subgroup is excited to announce our speaker lineup for the Subgroup symposium on Saturday, February 19, 2022 from 8:30 AM–12:30 PM PST at the 2022 Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Our lineup of outstanding investigators will present talks on experimental and computational approaches to studying the structure-function relationship of IDPs in biological systems. Speakers include Birthe Kragelund (University of Copenhagen), who studies the connection between membrane proteins and disorder using NMR spectroscopy; Keren Lasker (Scripps Research), who currently investigates biomolecular conden- sates in bacteria and is exploiting this knowledge to design artificial membraneless organelles in higher order organ- isms; Guanghong Wei (Fudan University), who uses molecular dynamics simulations to study self-assembly and conforma- tional properties of IDPs; Louise Jawerth (Leiden University), who recently received a Vidi grant to investigate the interplay between protein condensation and amyloid fiber formation; Jeremy Schmit (Kansas State University), who develops and employs theoretical and computational methods to model IDP self-assembly and phase transitions; Manuel Mueller (Kings College), who uses chemical biology tools to study how peptide backbone modifications and other post-translational modifications modulate IDP structure and function; and Sarah Rauscher (University of Toronto), who develops computa- tional methods to accurately represent and obtain atomistic descriptions of IDP structure and dynamics. We thank program co-chairs Priya Banerjee , Galia Debelouchina , and Jeetain Mittal for bringing together a very exciting group of investigators on a variety of IDP-related topics.

The Biophysical Society is grateful to its Industry Partners.

For Industry Partner Membership information, contact alevine@biophysics.org. SILVER

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female candidates for the next Chair Elect who would like to have a leadership role in the Mechanobiology community. The current leadership is Deborah Leckband (Chair, leckband@ illinois.edu), Virgile Viasnoff (Chair Elect, virgile.viasnoff@espci. fr), Michael Sheetz (Past Chair, misheetz@utmb.edu), and Medha Pathak (Treasurer, medhap@uci.edu). Please contact any of us if you are interested in standing for election. Finally, we are interested in building our community, by at- tracting researchers who have an interest in the mechanisms that cells employ to develop their shape and mechanical properties. Cancer, aging, and many biological problems are manifest in altered biomechanics that can best be understood at a biophysical level. The Mechanobiology Subgroup is look- ing for abstracts to be presented at the Subgroup meeting. We look forward to seeing you in 2022. — Deborah Leckband , Chair Membrane Transport The Membrane Transport Subgroup will select two abstracts for 15-minute talks at the 2022 annual Subgroup sympo- sium. We specifically encourage PhD students and younger postdocs to apply (and their supervisors to nominate them). If selected, your talk will be included in a fantastic program, together with Isabelle Baconguis from Oregon Health & Sci- ence University, William DeGrado from University of California, San Francisco, Jan-Philipp Machtens from FZ Jülich, and Crina Nimigean from Cornell University. — Lucie Delemotte , Chair

Multiscale Genome Organization The Multiscale Genome Organization (MGO) Subgroup bimonthly seminar series continues with Mair Churchill , University of Colorado Denver, and José N. Onuchic , Rice University, presenting on Wenesday, October 13, 11:00 AM EDT. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will also be presenting throughout the fall. Register for the bimonthly seminars at http:/ tinyurl.com/ MGO21Webinars. All seminars are free to attend for members and non-mem- bers. Recordings of the seminars are posted on the MGO website: https:/www.biophysics.org/subgroups/multi- scale-genome-organization. Please also enter your submission for the 2022 MGO logo in the Biophysical Society’s annual The Art of Science Image Contest. Prizes will be awarded! See https:/www.biophysics. org/awards-funding/image-contest#/ for details.

— Tom Bishop , Chair — Tamar Schlick , Chair

Call for BPS Student Chapters Are you a mentor to biophysics students who have leadership potential? Are you a student interested in gaining leadership skills and growing biophysics education at your institution?

If either answer is yes, you can help organize a BPS Student Chapter. BPS Student Chapters support students in their studies, deliver resources and tools to help with their research, and provide opportunities for students to succeed in a career in bio- physics and related fields. APPLY TODAY! Chapters may be formed within a single institution, or regional chapters may be developed between multiple institutions. Applications open September 17, 2021 and will be accepted through November 12, 2021. For more information, please visit www.biophysics.org/student-chapters.

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