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Subgroups

As the Biophysical Society continues to grow, the Society's Subgroups allow members to meet and interact within more focused areas in smaller groups. Subgroups hold scientific symposia and business meetings each year on the Saturday that starts the Annual Meeting. They also sponsor several awards, including the Student Research Achievement Awards (SRAA) Poster Competition. Membership to the Society's Subgroups is open to all members.

BPS Council is excited to launch a new Subgroup Incubator Program for those interested in establishing a recurring meeting for an underserved research topic area or demographic. The incubator program is envisioned as a mechanism to explore new topic areas and determine whether there are opportunities within an existing Subgroup to foster an ad hoc group or see whether a new Subgroup may emerge. Ad hoc groups may run incubator events for two years to demonstrate continued, sustained interest in the topic before pursuing Subgroup status. Details about the incubator program are currently in development. Contact [email protected] with questions.

Biological Fluorescence



Fluorescence is one of the few methods that allow one to observe interactions between very low concentrations of biological species in real time. Fluorescence can measure parameters such as the diffusion of a protein, its movement through a cell or other medium, and its association with other biological molecules. The purpose of the Biological Fluorescence Subgroup is to share insight into fluorescence-based methods and analysis. Fluorescence methods are very versatile and can be applied to simple molecules in water to complex species in living cells. Subgroup discussions highlight these diverse systems as well as the different methods to best understand them. The fluorescence subgroup meets once a year at the beginning of the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. The subgroup meeting usually highlights a particular fluorescence method giving the history of the method and its use and application. Speakers include established investigators and junior scientists. Additionally, two students are selected to give short, 10-minute talks about their thesis research. These students are selected from the SRAA applicants. The meeting will also honor fluorescence award winners.

Join the Biological Fluorescence Subgroup Gregorio Weber Award Young Fluorescence Investigator Award 

 

In order to join the Biological Fluorescence Subgroup, you must be a member of the Society.

Claus Seidel, Chair (2024-2025)

Elizabeth Hinde, Chair-Elect (2024-2025)

Cécile Fradin, Secretary-Treasurer (2024-2026)

 

2024 Hugo Sanabria Clemson University
2023 Sua Myong Johns Hopkins University
2022 Gilad Haran Weizmann Institute, Israel
2021 Jay Knutson NIH, NHLBI
2020 Diane Lidke University of New Mexico
2019 Paul Wiseman McGill University
2018 Michelle Digman University of California, Irvine
2017, 2016 Uli Nienhaus  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 
2015 Marcia Levitus  Arizona State University 
2014 Enrico Gratton  University of California, Irvine 
2013, 2012 Joachim Mueller University of Minnesota
2012, 2011 Don C. Lamb Ludwig Maximillians University, Germany
2010, 2009 Suzanne Scarlata Stony Brook University
2008, 2007 Ari Gafni University of Michigan
2006 Robert Clegg University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
2005, 2004 Joseph M. Beechem Life Technologies, Inc.
2003, 2002 Enrico Gratton University of California, Irvine
2001 David M. Jameson University of Hawaii
2000 Lesley Davenport Brooklyn College; City University of New York

2023 Symposium

Saturday, February 18, 2023
San Diego, California

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2022 Symposium

Saturday, February 19, 2022
San Francisco, California

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2021 Symposium

Monday, February 22, 2021

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2020 Symposium

Saturday, February 15, 2020
San Diego, California

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2019 Symposium

Saturday, March 2, 2019
Baltimore, Maryland

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2018 Symposium

Saturday, February 17, 2018
San Francisco, California

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2017 Symposium

Saturday, February 11, 2017
New Orleans, Louisiana

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2016 Symposium

Saturday, February 27, 2016
Los Angeles, California

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2015 Symposium

Saturday, February 27, 2015
Baltimore, Maryland

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2014 Symposium

Saturday, February 15, 2014
San Francisco, California

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2013 Symposium

Saturday, February 2, 2013
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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2024 Taekjip Ha Harvard Medical School
2023 N/A N/A
2022 Alberto Diaspro Istituto Italiano di Technologia, Italy
2021 Francisco J. Barrantes University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
2020 Paul Selvin University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
2019 Alexander Demchenko Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine
2018 Debora Foguel & Jerson L. Silva Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2017  Yves Mély Université de Strasbourg, France
2016  Markus Sauer University of Würzburg, Germany
2015  Ludwig Brand  Johns Hopkins University
2014  Thomas Jovin Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
2013  Maïté Coppey-Moisan CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod 
2012 Bernard Valeur National Conservatory of Arts & Crafts, Paris, France
2011 Ken Jacobson University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2010 Daniel Axelrod University of Michigan
2009 Robert M. Clegg University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2008 Antonie J.W.G. Visser   Wageningen University, Netherlands
2007 Elliot L. Elson Washington University School of Medicine
2006 Joseph R. Lakowicz University of Maryland
2005 Enrico Gratton University of California, Irvine
2004 David M. Jameson University of Hawaii

2024 Sonja Schmid NanoDynamicsLab
2023 N/A N/A
2022 Ahmed Abdelfattah Brown University
2021 Luca Lanzanò Università di Catania
2020 Jelle Hendrix Hasselt University, Netherlands
2019 Hugo Sanabria Clemson University
2018 Francesco Cardarelli Centro Nazionale Ricerche
2017 Ibrahim Cissé Massachusetts Intitute of Technology
2016  Kandice Tanner National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
2015  Richard Benninger
Jay Unruh
University of Colorado, Denver
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2014  Elizabeth Hinde  University of New South Wales 
2013  Jonas Ries       European Molecular Biology Laboratory 
2012 Michelle Digman  University of California, Irvine 
2011  Péter Nagy  University of Debrecen 
2010  Jan Willem Borst    Wageningen University 
2009  Ben Schuler     University of Zurich 

 

 

 

Biological Fluorescence Bylaws

Article I
Purpose: The purpose of the Biological Fluorescence Subgroup is to promote the interchange of information and to foster the advance of knowledge pertaining to the development of new capabilities in fluorescence methodologies, both theoretical and experimental, and the application of these developments to the study of biological systems.

 

Article II
Membership: Members of the Biophysical Society may join the Membrane Biophysics Subgroup; non-members of the Biophysical Society are welcome to attend Membrane Biophysics Subgroup symposia but are unable to join the Subgroup, serve as Officers of the Subgroup, or vote.

 

Article III

Dissolution: The Membrane Biophysics Subgroup must be in accordance with the Biophysical Society’s constitution and bylaws, mission, values, goals, and operational guidelines. If the subgroup is found in violation of their bylaws or Society’s guidelines, the group will be placed on probation and may be dissolved at the discretion of the Council of the Biophysical Society.

 

Article IV
Meetings: Business meetings shall be held in connection with the annual scientific meeting of the Biophysical Society. Five percent of the members of the Membrane Biophysics Subgroup or 10 members, whichever is smaller, shall constitute a quorum. Scientific meetings shall be held in association with the annual Biophysical Society meetings, and must follow the guidelines established by the BPS Council. The members attending an Annual Meeting can transact Subgroup business by a simple majority vote.

 

Article V
Officers: The Officers of the Subgroup will be the Subgroup Chair, Past-Chair, and Secretary-Treasurer.

Duties of the Subgroup Chair are to organize and conduct Subgroup Meetings, to advise the Biophysical Society of the activities and needs of the Subgroup, to advise the Society on matters related to biological fluorescence and to any other activities the Chair deems to be beneficial to the Subgroup and the Society.


The Secretary-Treasurer will maintain adequate records of membership and finances, and carry on necessary correspondence.

 

The Subgroup Chair will serve for one year, beginning immediately following the Annual Meeting and continuing through the following Annual Meeting as Past-Chair. There will be a two-year term for the Secretary-Treasurer.

 

Article VI
Executive Committee: The Executive Committee will be responsible for fulfilling the scientific and business obligations of the group. The Executive Committee will consist of the Officers: Chair, Past-Chair, and Secretary-Treasurer. The Executive Committee shall have the power to conduct business by means of electronic vote. The affairs of the Subgroup shall be handled by the Officers in accordance with the policies determined by the Executive Committee and the Biophysical Society Council.

 

Article VII

Nominating Committee: The members of the Executive Committee shall constitute the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is responsible for soliciting nominations from subgroup membership and for preparing the final slate of candidates. Nominations will be received electronically up to one month prior to the Subgroup’s business meeting. Nominees must accept their nomination prior to being placed on a ballot. It is the intent of the Group that the Chair shall rotate so as to represent fairly the different specialties within the membership.


Article VIII

Eligibility for Office: Only members of the Biological Fluorescence Group may be candidates for offices. Members may not be elected to one office more than every five years.

 

Article IX
Elections: Elections will be held electronically up to two weeks prior to the Subgroup’s business meeting. The candidates for each office receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. The results will be announced to the Subgroup’s membership during the Subgroup’s business meeting. Officers will take office at the end of the annual business meeting held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Biophysical Society. Interim vacancies in officers or councilors will be filled in accordance with Bylaw Article VII of the Biophysical Society.

 

Article X
 Awards Committee: An awards committee will solicit nominations through a call to all subgroup members, evaluate nominations, and select awardees.  The committee’s selection criteria will be based on scientific excellence first but must also consider diversity.

 

Article XI
Amendments to the Bylaws: Amendments to the bylaws of the Membrane Biophysics Subgroup must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Subgroup’s Executive Committee, and ratified in an electronic ballot by a majority of the members of the group voting.

The following word cloud is comprised of the speaker talk titles from our symposia.