Biophysical Society - July 2014 Newsletter

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BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2014

JULY

Biophysical Journal Corner

Know the Editors

nosensitivity. Much of our research depends on interdisciplinary collaboration, including an ongoing relationship with the Stanford Micro- systems Laboratory, led by Beth Pruitt. Working together, we created feedback-controlled piezore- sistive cantilevers and used them to measure body mechanics and how it affects touch sensation. Our accomplishments, both past and future, rely on many other collaborators who help to make the research fun as well as productive.

Miriam Goodman Stanford University Editor for Channels and Transporters Section

Miriam Goodman

Q: What is your area of research?

Our sense of touch is the first sense to develop, the last to fade, and the least well understood. Work in the Goodman lab exploits the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans , to explore the mechanisms of touch, nociception, and proprioception. These sensory pathways depend on the activation of modality--and sensory neuron-specific ion chan- nels and downstream signals. We use genetics paired with behavioral assays to identify proteins responsible for sensory transduction, including DEG/ENaC sodium and TRP channels, as well as components of the cytoskeleton and plasma membrane. We explore the cellular roles of these proteins by in vivo whole-cell patch clamp record- ing, and uncover structure–function relation- ships in channel physiology using single-channel recordings of wild type and mutant channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Several of the mol- ecules we have placed into sensory pathways have evolutionarily conserved roles and known links to human disease. In addition to deconstructing molecular pathways, we exploit the tractability of C. elegans for behavioral studies and circuit dis- section to describe the neural pathways mediating sensorimotor behaviors. For these studies, we have developed a number of behavioral assays and our Worm Tracker, which traces the locomotion of multiple worms in parallel. Recently, we devel- oped a genetically encoded molecular strain sensor and used it to probe and visualize the interplay between neuronal cell mechanics and mecha-

The Biophysics of Drug Development A New Collection from BJ

This collection of 12 articles highlights recent advances in the biophysics of drug development and delivery—areas of central importance to bio- medical research. The collection includes a mix of computational and experimental research articles, which provide detailed biophysical insight into the development of new therapeutic approaches to disease. BJ Associate Editor Nathan Baker curated this collection, which can be accessed through the BJ webpage www.cell.com/biophysj/home without subscription until July 24. Please share this link with your colleagues who work in drug develop- ment. BJ Welcomes New Editorial Board Members As of June 30, we said goodbye to 19 members of the Editorial Board who served the Biophysical Journal tirelessly. We welcomed 20 new Editorial Board Members, said welcome back to 17 mem- bers who renewed for a second three-year term, and congratulated three Editorial Board Members who were “promoted” to Associate Editors.