Attending the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting is the richest annual networking and professional development opportunity for researchers in the field of biophysics. The breadth of research represented by the nearly 6,000 attendees and to the personal interactions that take place are enhanced by the career, education, policy, and social programs scheduled throughout the Meeting.
Networking Event 
Professional Development
The 10 students with the best overall presentations will be awarded $100 and will be recognized during the 2025 Biophysical Society Lecture and Awards Ceremony. These students will be selected based on the quality and scientific merit of their research, knowledge of the research problem, contribution to the project, and overall presentation of the poster.
Sunday, February 16, 11:30 AM–1:00 PM
Connect with other undergraduates at this “breakfast” for a valuable networking and social opportunity. You will also have a chance to meet and talk to Biophysical Society Committee members, and scientists at all career levels to discuss academic goals and questions and learn how to develop a career path in biophysics. Hear from invited speaker who will share their stories and answer questions. Space for this session is limited to the first 100 attendees.
Moderator and Speakers to be announced
Education & Career Opportunities Fair
Sunday, February 16, 1:00 PM–3:00 PM
This fair will provide opportunities for candidates to meet with representatives from educational institutions, industry, and government agencies. Students and postdoctoral candidates will be able to meet with representatives from colleges and universities with leading programs in biophysics. Attendees can connect with representatives from industry and agencies who will provide information about employment and funding opportunities at their institutions/companies.
Stop by the fair to learn about the variety of opportunities available and talk one-on-one with representatives from participating organizations.
Representatives interested in reserving a table at this fair to display information about their institution/company’s biophysics-related opportunities must register online no later than January 10, 2025, and submit the registration fee in advance. All those attending the Annual Meeting are encouraged to attend. Please contact the Society at [email protected] with questions. Register here.
Teaching Science Like We Do Science
Sunday, February 16, 2:00 PM–4:00 PM
This interactive, hands-on workshop focuses on practice-applicable, easy-to-use strategies and tools that educators at any level of biophysical science education can use to assess what their students take away from their teaching, and where changes to their educational methods might be appropriate.
Moderated by TBD
Sustainability in Scientific Research
Sunday, February 16, 2:30 PM–4:00 PM
The Public Affairs Committee and the Committee on Sustainability will host a joint session exploring public and private funding opportunities available to biophysicists conducting research involving sustainability. Join us for this new session exploring basic and biomedical scientific approaches impact public health, ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking.
Moderators
Emmanuel Margeat, CNRS-Montpellier Centre de Biochimie Structurale, France
Ronnie Ghose, CUNY, USA
Speakers
Tammy Collins, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, USA
Wilson Francisco, National Science Foundation, USA
PI to PI Mixer
Sunday, February 16, 4:00 PM–6:00 PM
Engage in meaningful one-on-one discussions with colleagues and exchange insights on navigating the challenges between landing your job and securing your next promotion. Connect with other PIs to share strategies for managing lab staff, getting your research published, renewing funding, and building a strong professional network that supports your career advancement.
Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUI) Network Annual Meeting Mixer
Sunday, February 16, 5:00 PM–7:00 PM
Are you interested in or currently building your career at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI)? Would you like to meet and learn from biophysicists at PUIs around the world? Then join us at the Annual Meeting for the PUI Network Annual Meeting Mixer! Here you'll have the opportunity to meet with a diverse group of PUI professors to learn, discuss, and share ideas related to your career at a PUI. We hope to see you there!
Student Research Achievement Award (SRAA) Poster Competition
Sunday, February 16, 6:00 PM–9:00 PM
This session features graduate, masters, and PhD students who are presenting posters at the Annual Meeting. During the competition, students will give a five-minute oral presentation of their posters to one or more judges. Winners will be recognized on Monday evening prior to the Biophysical Society Lecture. For more information click here.
Graduate Student Breakfast
Monday, February 17, 7:30 AM–8:30 AM
This breakfast presents an opportunity for graduate student Annual Meeting attendees to meet and discuss the issues they face in their current career stage. Limited to the first 100 attendees.
Moderators and speakers to be announced.
Meet the Editors - Biophysical Journal, Biophysical Reports, and The Biophysicist
Monday, February 17, 10:00 AM–11:15 AM
Take this opportunity to meet editors of all three of the Society's prestigious journals! The Editors-in Chief, members of the Editorial Boards, and BPS staff will be available to answer your questions about what areas of research the journals cover, how to give your paper the best chance of being accepted, the submission process, special issues, and anything else related to BPS journals.
New Member Welcome Coffee
Monday, February 17, 10:15 AM–11:15 AM
All new Biophysical Society members are invited to participate in an informal gathering to meet members of the Society’s Council and Committees, find out about the Society’s activities, get acquainted with other new members, and enjoy refreshments. Current members are encouraged to come meet the new members.
Annual Meeting of the Student Chapters
Monday, February 17, 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Join BPS Student Chapters from all over the world for a networking session. Attendees will meet Student Chapter officers and representatives and learn about each chapter. This session aims to establish chapter interactions, communications, and planning for future Student Chapter Annual Meeting sessions.
Moderated by BPS Staff and TBD
Artificial Intelligence Policy in Biomedical Research
Monday, February 17, 1:00 PM–2:30 PM
New policies and regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) are emerging at a rapid pace in Washington, DC. Join a panel hosted by the Public Affairs Committee as we explore the impacts of White House Executive Orders on AI and pending legislative efforts impacting AI use in scientific research.
Moderator
Ana Nicoleta Bondar, University of Bucharest, Romania
Speakers
Rommie Amaro, University of California San Diego, USA
Kavita M Berger, Board on Life Sciences National Academies of Science, USA
Steph Batalis, Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), USA
Cynthia Bailey, Stanford University, USA
Biophysics 101
Monday, February 17, 1:30 PM–3:00 PM
Biophysics 101 is an opportunity to learn about hot topics in Biophysics from experts in the field!
Moderators and Speakers to be announced
Hands-on Training: Four Interpretable Machine Learning Techniques to Immediately Accelerate your Research
Monday, February 17, 1:30 PM–3:30 PM
Are you eager to accelerate your work through data science and interpretable machine learning, but unsure where to begin? This beginner-friendly training session is your gateway to utilizing these powerful tools without needing any prior coding experience or software setup. Hosted by the newly established NSF National Center for Emergence in Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS), this hands-on session will equip you with the skills to harness the four most widely used data science techniques. You will learn how to calculate the association between a feature and a phenomenon; identify key features driving biological behaviors; control for confounding factors; and avoid common pitfalls like data overinterpretation. In addition, you will learn how to state your results in plain English. Through interactive Jupyter notebook exercises, we will dive into the theory and scope of these methods and guide you in interpreting their outputs. By the end of the session, you’ll have the chance to apply these techniques directly to your own datasets, empowering you to make more informed, impactful discoveries in your research. This training is designed specifically to benefit biophysicists, offering practical, easy-to-use methods that can be broadly applied across the field. This training session is now fully booked and closed to new applicants. We hope you'll join us next time!
Trainers
Ed O'Brien, Penn State, USA
Justin Petucci, Penn State, USA
Dan Nissley, Penn State, USA
Maowei Dong, Penn State, USA
Ian Sitarik, Penn State, USA
Yang Jiang, Penn State, USA
Emery Etter, Penn State, USA
Current and Future Landscapes of Review and Publishing
Monday, February 17, 2:15 PM–3:45 PM
Organized by the BPS Publications Committee
Moderators and Speakers to be announced
Managing It All: Making Time for Success
Monday, February 17, 2:30 PM–4:00 PM
This workshop, hosted by the Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women, will empower participants to take charge of their own career goals, with an emphasis on time and project management strategies for prioritizing productivity. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a guided self-reflection to identify their professional priorities and the ways in which daily obligations often lead to putting these priorities aside. Participants will then break into career stage-specific groups to discuss strategies for managing the sometimes conflicting priorities that are common barriers to productivity in scientific careers . Participants will leave the workshop with new ideas and inspiration for how to play an active role in promoting their own success.
JUST-B Poster Session
Monday, February 17, 3:00 PM–5:00 PM
The JUST-B (Justice for Underrepresented Scholars Training in Biophysics) Poster Session will celebrate the achievements of underrepresented and underserved students, postdocs, and early career researchers in the field of biophysics. The poster session will promote the endeavors of trainees, offer support through networking opportunities, and serve as a recruitment venue for those seeking to diversify their pool of future graduate students, postdocs, faculty, staff scientists, journal editors, or any other career within biophysics. The goal is to address and mitigate inequities in the biophysics community by providing a space for underrepresented trainees to share their scientific accomplishments and take steps toward advancing their careers.
Speed Networking
Monday, February 17, 4:30 PM–6:00 PM
Career development and networking is important in science but can be a big time commitment. Here we offer refreshments and the chance to speed network, an exciting way to connect with a large number of biophysicists (including Biophysical Society committee members) in a short amount of time. Mid-career and more experienced scientists could learn how to get more involved in the Society or network for open positions in their labs. Early career scientists could discuss career goals and challenges, get advice on tenure or grant writing, or find out how to gain recognition for their work. Graduate students and postdocs could make contacts to find their next position.
After introductions, each person will have short 3-5 minute meetings with consecutive new contacts. During this time, you can exchange information and ask questions. When time is up, you select the next person to talk to. By the end of the event, each participant will have had meaningful interactions with over half a dozen colleagues and the opportunity to meet many more. It's that simple! Space is limited for this event and pre-registration is recommended to ensure a spot. Click here to register.
Just-B Networking Hour
Monday, February 17, 5:00 PM–6:00 PM
Join us for an engaging hour dedicated to fostering connections among individuals from groups historically underrepresented in biophysics. Participants will include JUST-B poster presenters, members of SOBLA (the Society for Latinoamerican Biophysicists), and Black in Biophysics, but all are welcome. This event aims to create a welcoming space for participants to share their experiences, exchange ideas, and build meaningful relationships that can enhance their professional journeys.
Founding and Establishing a Research Laboratory at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions
Tuesday, February 18, 12:00 PM–1:30 PM
Get guidance on founding and establishing a research laboratory at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions. Panelists are faculty members at PUI's who have been successful in their positions and will share their experiences and answer your questions.
Moderators and Speakers to be announced
Careers in Industry: A Q&A Panel
Tuesday, February 18, 1:00 PM–2:30 PM
Join us for a Q&A discussion about scientific careers in industry. Industry panelists will answer audience questions and share their career experiences. Hear from professionals in different roles and positions and get tangible advice for identifying and pursuing a career in industry.
Moderator
Clemens Anklin, Bruker BioSpin Corp, USA
Speakers to be announced
Inside NIH
Tuesday, February 18, 1:30 PM–3:30 PM
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), with its 27 Institutes and Centers, can cause researchers moments of pause as they navigate where their research is best applied. While each Institute and Center has its own distinct focus of research, there is a considerable amount of overlap and coordination that does occur – particularly in biophysics research. Join the Public Affairs Committee as we welcome Program Directors from the National Institute on General Medical Science (NIGMS), the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to talk through the opportunities that are available for biophysicists.
Panelists
George Umanah, National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Anowarul Amin, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
TBA, Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
TBA, National Institute on General Medical Science (NIGMS)
Inside Perspectives and Opportunities: NSF Grants
Tuesday, February 13, 3:30 PM–5:00 PM
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is one of the largest federal funders of biophysical research each year alongside the National Institutes of Health. Through the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, scientists continue to advance basic and biomedical research. Join us for an insider’s perspective on the various divisions offering grant funding within NSF and learn how to put together a strong grant application. This session is a great opportunity for new and early career investigators.
Panelists to be announced
Dinner Meet-ups
Sunday, February 16 - Tuesday, February 18, 6:00 PM
Local students will be waiting at the Society Booth to meet up with attendees who want to experience the local flavor of Los Angeles.
Additional groups may be added and dates are subject to change. Attendees are responsible for covering their individual expenses.
One-on-One with a Mentor
The One-on-One with a Mentor program aims to connect Early Career and Student members with mentors at the Annual Meeting. We hope this connection will be helpful to you during your time at the meeting. Each mentor will only be assigned one mentee, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Mentor/Mentee Expectations:
1. Mentors and mentees will connect prior to the meeting to introduce themselves. BPS will share the contact details with mentor and mentee pairs.
2. Mentors and mentees should agree on a place and time to meet in-person early in the meeting.
3. Mentees should prepare a few questions for their mentor, to help guide the meeting. In addtion, mentors can share strategies to make the most out of attending the meeting.
4. Some mentors and mentees may decide to stay in contact after the meeting, but this is not an expectation.
5. All mentors and mentees are expected to read and adhere to the BPS Code of Conduct.
We will try our best to match mentor-mentee pairs based on your answers to the questionnaire, your areas of research, Subgroup membership, etc