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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.

Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDP)



The IDP Subgroup provides a forum for the discussion of intrinsically disordered proteins, with topics including but not limited to experimental and theoretical studies of i) their intrinsically flexible state, ii) the mechanisms of their interactions with each other and with diverse partners including but not limited to structured proteins and nucleic acids, iii) their broadly defined functional roles in biological systems, and iv) their potential involvement in the pathogenesis of conformational and other diseases. The subgroup invites participants with an interest in broadening our understanding of IDPs, ranging from biophysical studies of individual proteins to genomic and proteomic studies in whole organisms. The subgroup welcomes participants from all scientific disciplines, from biophysics and structural biology to proteomics and genomics and beyond.

Join the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Subgroup Postdoctoral Research Awards

 

In order to join the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Subgroup, you must be a member of the Society.

IDP State Letter — A virtual journal club for the IDP literature

Research in the area of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is, appropriately, very dynamic. To help keep up with the research, trainees within the IDP subgroup have organized a virtual journal club – The IDP State letter. Approximately once a month the completely trainee-generated newsletter highlights either a particular aspect of developments in the burgeoning field of disordered protein structure and function, or brings together a set of papers on a particular topic in IDP research.

Go to the website to register to receive the IDP State Letter directly. To see the current and past IDP State Letters or to subscribe to new editions of the letter, please click here.

Samrat Mukhopadhyay, Chair (2024-2025)

Lucia Chemes, Chair-Elect (2024-2025)

Wenwei Zheng, Secretary-Treasurer (2024-2026)

Program Co-Chairs

Lukasz Joachimiak (2025)

Dorothee Dormann (2025)

 

Council Members

Andrea Soranno (2024-2026) 

Sarah Shammas (2024-2026)

Joshua Ribeck (2023-2025)

Jhullian Alston, Postdoc Representative (2024-2025)

Constanza Enriquez-Toledo, Student Representative (2024-2025)

2024 Sarah Shammas University of Oxford
2023 Jeanne Stachowiak University of Texas, Austin
2022 Edward Lemke University of Mainz, Germany
2021 Nicolas Fawzi Brown University
2020 M. Madan Babu MRC-LMB, University of Cambridge, UK
2019 Tanja Mittag St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
2018 Jean Baum Rutgers University
2017  Garegin Papoian  University of Maryland 
2016 Elizabeth Rhoades Yale University
2015  Elizabeth Komives  University of California, San Diego
2014  Ashok Deniz Scripps Institute 
2013  Doug Barrick  Johns Hopkins University 
2012 Elisar Barbar Oregon State University
2011 David Eliezer Weill Cornell Medical College
2010 Rohit Pappu Washington University, St. Louis
2009 Richard Kriwacki St. Jude's Research Hospital
2007, 2008 Keith Dunker

Indiana University

Secretary-Treasurer  
2024 Andrea Soranno Washington University
2021 Carlos Castaneda Syracuse University
2020 Steven Whitten Texas State University
2019 Loren Hough University of Colorado - Boulder
2018 Mark Bowen Stony Brook University
2017 Steve Metallo Georgetown University 
2016 Sarah Bondos Texas A&M University
2015  Tanja Mittag St. Jude Childrens Hospital
2014  Elizabeth Rhoades  Yale University 
2013 Steven Metallo Georgetown University
2012 Jianhan Chen Kansas State University
2011 Gary Daughdrill University of South Florida
2010 Trevor Creamer University of Kentucky School of Medicine
Council   
2024 Edward Lemke European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Mainz
  Priya Banerjee University at Buffalo, SUNY
2023 Zachary Levine Altos Labs
  Silvia Cavagnero University of Wisconsin, Madison
2019  Sara Vaiana Arizona State University
2016  Richard Kriwacki St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
2015  Alla Kostyukova  Washington State University 
2014  Sarah Bondos  Texas A&M University 
2013 Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner Drexel University
2012 Marc Ruff Institute for Genomic Biology
2011 Sonia Longhi AFMB, Marseille
2010 Vladimir Uversky Indiana School of Medicine
Program Chairs  
2024 John Ditlev Hospital for Sick Children
  Wade Zeno University of Southern California
2023 Samrat Mukhopadhyay Indian Institute of Science Education
  Sapun Parekh University of Texas, Austin
2019 Nicolas Fawzi Brown University
  Hue Sun Chan University of Toronto
2018 Scott Showalter Pennsylvania State University
  Robert Best NIH
2017 Joerg Gsponer University of British Columbia
  Madan Babu University of Cambridge
2016 Jane Dyson Scripps Research Institute
  Martin Blackledge Institut de Biologie Structurale, Grenoble
2015 Edward Lemke European Molecular Biology Laboratory
  Rohit Pappu Washington University in St. Louis
2014  Ben Schuler University of Zurich, Switzerland 
  Jianhan Chen  Kansas State University 
2013  Ursula Jakob University of Michigan 
  Garegin Papoian  University of Maryland 
2012 Tanja Mittag St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  Ashok Deniz Scripps Research Institute
2011 Trevor Creamer University of Kentucky School of Medicine
  Koby Levy Weizmann Institute
  Collin Stultz Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2010

Elisar Barbar

Oregon State University

  Huang-Xiang Zhou Florida State University
2009 Yuan Chen Beckman Research Institute
  Peter Tompa Hungarian Academy of Science
2008 Rohit Pappu Washington University, St. Louis
  David Eliezer Weill Cornell Medical College
2007 Vladimir Uversky Indiana University School of Medicine
  Richard Kriwacki St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

2023 Symposium

Saturday, February 18, 2023
San Diego, California

View Program

2022 Symposium

Saturday, February 19, 2022
San Francisco, California

View Program

2021 Symposium

Monday, February 22, 2021

View Program

2020 Symposium

Saturday, February 15, 2020
San Diego, California

View Program

2019 Symposium

Saturday, March 2, 2019
Baltimore, Maryland

View Program

2018 Symposium

Saturday, February 17, 2018
San Francisco, California

View Program

2017 Symposium

Saturday, February 11, 2017
New Orleans, Louisiana

View Program

2016 Symposium

Saturday, February 27, 2016
Los Angeles, California

View Program

2015 Symposium

Saturday, February 27, 2015
Baltimore, Maryland

View Program

2014 Symposium

Saturday, February 15, 2014
San Francisco, California

View Program

2013 Symposium

Saturday, February 2, 2013
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

View Program

Year Winner Institution Sponsor
2024 Aritra Chowdhury  University of Zurich Benjamin Schuler
  Richoo Davis  University at Buffalo Priya Banerjee
2023 Anita Donlic Princeton University Clifford P. Brangwynne
  Yohan Lee The University of Texas at Austin Jeanne C. Stachowiak
2022 Rachel Fisher The City University of New York Rosana Collepardo-Guevara
  Jerelle Joseph University of Cambridge Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle
2021 Anne Bremer St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Tanja Mittag
  Matthew King Washington University in Saint Louis Rohit Pappu
2020 Katrine Bugge University of Copenhagen, Denmark Edward Lemke
  Miao Yu JGU, IMB, EMBL Birthe Kragelund
2019 Dan Bracha Princeton Cliff Brangwynne
  Yi-Hsuan Lin Univiersity of Toronto Hue Sun Chan
2018 Alessandro Borgia University of Zurich Ben Schuler
  Jeong-Mo Choi Washington Univiersity in St. Louis Rohit Pappu
2017 Erik Martin St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Tanja Mittag
  Franziska Zosel University of Zurich Ben Schuler
2016
 

Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle
Alexander Tischer

Princeton University
Mayo Clinic

Cliff Brangwyne 
Matthew Auton

2015
 
Li Ou
Volodymyr Shvadchak 
Florida State University
University of Twente, Netherlands 
Huan Xiang-Zhou
Vinod Subramaniam 
2014
 
Andrea Soranno
Tzachi Hagai 
ETH Zurich
University of Cambridge 
Ben Schuler
Madan Babu 
2013
 
Abhinav Nath
Xu Wang 
Yale University
 
Elizabeth Rhoades
 
2012
 
Afua Nyarko
Martin Stoeckl 
Oregon State University
University of Twente, Netherlands 
Elisar Barbar
Vinod Subramaniam 
2011
 
Allan Ferreon
Loren Hough 
The Scripps Research Institute
Rockefeller University 

Ashok Deniz
Michael Rout 

2010
 
Ariele Viacava Follis
Chung-ke Chang
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Richard Kriwacki
 

2009
 

Tanja Mittag
Sohini Chakraborti

The Hospital for Sick Children
University of Cambridge
Julie Forman-Kay
Alan Tunacliff

IDP Subgroup Bylaws


 

Article I
Purpose: The purpose of the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDP) Subgroup shall be to advance and disseminate knowledge regarding the structural and physical properties, mechanisms of interaction, and biological functions of intrinsically disordered or unstructured proteins, which are also known as natively unfolded, naturally disordered, and rheomorphic proteins, amongst other names.

 

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

 

Article III
Dissolution: The IDP 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, 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 IDP Subgroup or 10 members, whichever is smaller, shall constitute a quorum. These meetings will be held in association with the annual Biophysical Society meetings, and must follow the guidelines established by the BPS Council.

 

Article V
Officers: The Officers of the Subgroup will be a subgroup Chair, Chair-elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and two Program-Co-chairs.. The Chair-elect shall serve one year as such followed by one year as Chair. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for a term of two years and the Program Co-Chairs shall be elected for a period of one year. A Postdoctoral Fellow and Graduate Student Representative will be elected to serve one year with an option to run for a second one -year term.

 

Article VI
Executive Committee: The Executive Committee will be responsible for the fulfillment of the scientific and business obligations of the group. The Officers, the immediate past Chair and three members elected at large shall constitute this Executive Committee. The at-large council members will serve staggered three-year terms, with one new member elected each year. The Executive Committee shall have power to conduct other business by means of electronic vote. The affairs of the Group 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 annual meeting. Nominees will accept their nomination prior to being placed on a ballot.

 

Article VIII

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

 

Article IX
Elections: Elections shall be electronically up to two weeks prior to the Subgroup’s business meeting.. The candidate for each office receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. 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
Amendments to the Bylaws: Amendments should arise from the members of the IDP Subgroup, approved by a two-thirds majority of the 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.