BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
3
NOVEMBER
2014
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.”
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.”
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.”
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
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
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.”
Profilee at-a Glance
Jim Weisshaar
Institution
University of Wisconsin,
Madison
Areas of Research
Biochemistry
“
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
