Biophysical Society Newsletter - November 2014

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BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2014

NOVEMBER

Weisshaar’s lab recently discovered that certain AMPs induce formation of reactive oxygen spe- cies in the E. coli cytoplasm. Weisshaar explains, “That’s a new ‘symptom’ after AMP attack, and it’s an important part of bacteriostatic action in aerobic growth conditions. We’re trying to understand how that happens and how ubiquitous the phenomenon is.” They also suspect that AMPs may be inducing opening of mechanosensitive channels in the E. coli cytoplasmic membrane, allowing proteins and small solutes to traverse the membrane. He says, “That’s a very different pic- ture than the usually invoked mechanism of pore formation by insertion into the membrane. A lot more work needs to be done.” Anne Kenworthy , a

biophysics,” Record says, “[He has been] success- ful as a researcher and grad student mentor in both endeavors.” For his part, Weisshaar is happy to be part of the biophysics community. “Our field spans a tremen- dous range of intellectual activity,” he says, “Bio- physics draws on genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, physical chemistry, optics, and condensed-matter and statistical physics. We all need to continually broaden our intellectual, experimental, and computational horizons in order to be able to see research opportunities and take advantage of them. That’s not easy, but this ‘intrinsic interdisciplinarity’ is part of what makes biophysics so fascinating.”

“ Biophysics draws on genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, biochem- istry, physical chemistry, optics, and condensed-matter and statistical physics. We all need to continually broaden our intellectual, experimental, and compu- tational horizons in order to be able to see research opportunities and take advantage of them. That’s not easy, but this ‘intrinsic interdisciplinarity’ is part of what makes biophysics so fascinating. ” – Jim Weisshaar

friend and biophysicist at Vanderbilt Univer- sity, says, “Jim is a very thoughtful and creative scientist. His recent studies have made good use of super resolution microscopy and other high-end imaging approaches to study bacteria. This has allowed them to visualize some remark- able events, such as bacteria under attack by anti-microbial peptides.” Weisshaar has found

The Biophysical Soci- ety has become a scien- tific home for Weis- shaar. “The meetings are a good way to learn a lot in a short period of time. The poster ses- sions are great – that’s where you learn from the students what’s really going on! [The meetings have] helped me meet people I’ve wanted to meet based on their publications. Those stimulating meetings naturally gen- erate research ideas.”

that the most rewarding aspects of his work has been those rare moments of discovery. He elabo- rates, “I guess we all love those ‘aha’ moments when we figure out something that has been puzzling you for a long time, or we finally do the incisive experiment. This happens several times a year if I’m lucky.” Outside of the lab, he finds fulfillment in a variety of hobbies, including gar- dening, reading, and photography. He also enjoys riding his bicycle, he says, “but only seven months of the year in Madison.” For young scientists, Weisshaar offers this advice: “Work hard on your communication skills, both written and verbal. In an era of highly competitive funding, that’s becoming more important all the time.”

Currently, Weisshaar uses single-molecule fluores- cence to study how ribosomes and RNA poly- merase work together in space and time in live E. coli cells. His lab also studies how antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) attack live bacterial cells in real time in order to understand how they kill cells, something he became involved in unexpectedly. He says, “We were studying GFP diffusion in the E. coli cytoplasm and I gave a talk at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania…Dr. Robert Bucki came up to me afterwards and suggested we watch antimicro- bial peptides in action. I am eternally grateful! The single-molecule tracking projects popped up when the new localization methods appeared.”

Profilee at-a Glance

Jim Weisshaar Institution University of Wisconsin, Madison Areas of Research Biochemistry