Biophysical Society Newsletter | October 2017

15

BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2017

OCTOBER

to the understanding of membrane biophysics. The award will be presented at the subgroup din- ner following the Saturday afternoon symposium at the 2018 Annual Meeting, February 17, in San Francisco. Any member of the Membrane Bio- physics Subgroup may be a nominator. The recipient will be determined by a selection committee made up of the five officers of the subgroup. Nominations should contain a brief statement summarizing the qualifications of the nominee and a CV. The deadline for nominations is October 27, 2017. Please email nominations to subgroup Secretary-Treasurer Matt Trudeau (mtrudeau@ som.umaryland.edu). Motility and Cytoskeleton The mission of the Motility and Cytoskeleton Subgroup is to understand the basic mechanisms that underlie motility and contractility of biologi- cal systems. These processes are ultimately the result of molecular motors and/or contractile filaments that convert chemical energy stored in ATP/GTP into mechanical energy that drives, for example, cell motility, cytokinesis, and muscle contraction. The structure and function of the myosin, kinesin, and dynein motor families and the cytoskeletal filaments F-actin and microtubules are frequent topics subgroup symposia. Areas of focus also include the regulatory proteins that con-

trol the activity of motors and the cytoskeleton. The following excellent scientists will be speaking at the Motility and Cytoskeleton Subgroup Sym- posium, February 17, at the 2018 BPS Annual Meeting in San Francisco: Gregory Alushin, Rockefeller University; Tim Clausen, Research Institute of Molecular Pathol- ogy, Austria; Etsuko Muto, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan; Weihong Qiu, Oregon State Uni- versity; Margot Quinlan, University of California, Los Angeles; Samara Reck-Peterson, University of California, San Diego; and Marija Zanic Vander- bilt University. We are also honored that Wallace Marshall University of California, San Francisco, will be giving the keynote talk. We will also have flash talks from students to highlight the posters they will present throughout the rest of the meeting. Please encourage your students to submit abstracts to the Cytoskeleton, Motility & Motors category. We will hold the subgroup business meeting during the afternoon so please contact us if there are topics you would like to discuss or if you are interested in running for election as future Subgroup Co-Chair. Re- member that your subgroup dues pay for the costs of this symposium so please renew your dues if you are a subgroup member and consider joining if you are not. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco! —Carolyn Moores and Kristen Verhey , Subgroup Co-Chairs

Student Center Rebecca Alford

Q: What has been your favorite course while studying biophysics? Why?

My favorite biophysics course is thermodynam- ics because I can use basic physical principles to untangle complex biological processes. This is also exciting because it motivates research in protein folding and interactions.

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Johns Hopkins University

Rebecca Alford