Biophysical Society Newsletter
5
JANUARY
2014
Subgroups
has been to elucidate the fundamental structural and
dynamic properties of membrane domains in cells.
To this end, my group has worked to develop bio-
physical approaches to study membrane domains and
protein and lipid dynamics in cells using fluorescence
microscopy and live cell imaging, while at the same
time maintaining an interest in how domains function
at the cellular level. Our recent work has focused on
understanding the nature of domains formed upon
binding of the raft crosslinker cholera toxin to cell
membranes, as well as investigating how these domains
regulate the uptake of cholera toxin into cells. To com-
plement our work in cells, we have begun to extend
our work to model membrane systems, including giant
unilamellar vesicles and plasma membrane-derived
vesicles. We also use diffusion measurements as a tool
to study protein complexes in their native environment
in cells. In collaboration with biomathematicians,
we have developed methods to quantifying diffusion
and reaction-diffusion using quantitative fluorescence
microscopy approaches. Using these tools, we have
addressed a number of questions in diverse areas of cell
biology, including the principles that govern the revers-
ible binding of proteins to DNA and membranes in
cells and the size and stoichiometry of protein com-
plexes in the autophagy pathway.
BIV
The Biopolymers in vivo subgroup explores biology,
in vivo, where it happens!
We are really excited by the upcoming Annual Meeting:
especially the Biopolymers in vivo (BIV) subgroup meet-
ing and symposium! In the program, designed by
Gilad
Haran
and
Jeff Skolnick
, attendees will hear from six inter-
nationally renowned speakers, headlined by our keynote
speakers
Judith Frydman
and
Sunney Xie
. The six talks will
be accompanied by two postdoctoral talks selected from
the submitted abstracts. The theme of the BIV subgroup
symposium,
Molecular Machines and How They Function
Inside Cell
s, echoes the overarching theme of the Annual
Meeting. The talks will cover state-of-the-art computa-
tional approaches to simulate cellular biophysics, as well
as the newest and most exciting experimental techniques.
Combining this with titillating biological questions will
yield a super session that truly “Bridges the Sciences to
Explore Biology.”We count on seeing you there!
At our 12:15 pm Business Meeting, which precedes
the symposium, we will discuss how this subgroup can
serve the needs of this burgeoning community. Thanks
to generous sponsors, we’ll have delicious munchies to
stimulate a lively exchange of ideas. We are persuaded
that biophysics is moving increasingly toward complex
systems that better represent in vivo processes, and
we wish to catalyze new collaborations and methods,
to foster dialogues among scientists from different
disciplines, and to encourage young scientists to em-
bark on careers that take them into the in vivo world.
Please join us for a stimulating afternoon of science in
an exciting new area of biophysics.
Lila Gierasch
,
Silvia Cavagnero
, and
Pernilla
Wittung-Stafshede
, Current, future, and past BIV chairs
Jeetain Mittal
, Secretary/Treasurer
Simon Ebbinghaus
,
Joan Shea
,
Daryl Eggers
,
Members-at-Large
Gilad Haran
,
Jeff Skolnick
, Symposium Co-Chairs
—
Lila Gierasch
, BIV Subgroup Chair
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