The Cryo-EM subgroup was approved by the Society Council in 2015. Over 100 regular Society members signed the petition in support of the subgroup, which was spearheaded by Ed Egelman of the University of Virginia, Da-Neng Wang of New York University, Bridget Carragher of the New York Structural Biology Center, Yifan Cheng of University of California, San Francisco, Irina Serysheva of the University of Texas Medical School, and David Stokes of New York University.
On Saturday, February 27, 2016, the Cryo-EM Subgroup held its inaugural meeting from 7:00-9:00PM at the Biophysical Society 60th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California. The following speakers were chosen from abstract submissions: Tamir Gonen (Janelia Farms, HHMI), Dganit Danino (Israel Inst. of Technology), Zhao Wang (Baylor College of Medicine), Doreen Matthies (NIH), Alexey Amunts (Stockholm University), Yuan Gao (University of California, San Francisco). Over 250 people attended the talks and, afterwards, elected officers and approved the bylaws governing operation of the subgroup.
In order to join the Cryo-EM Subgroup, you must be a member of the Society.
Elizabeth Kellogg, Chair (2025-2026)
Yi-Wei Chang, Chair-Elect (2025-2026)
Edward Eng, Secretary-Treasurer (2025-2027)
Bronwyn Lucas, Program Co-Chair, Faculty (2026)
Amedee des Georges, Program Co-Chair, Faculty (2026)
Gabriele Cerutti, Program Co-Chair, Postdoc (2026)
Cryo-EM Bylaws
Article I
Purpose: The purpose of the Cryo-EM Subgroup shall be to advance and disseminate knowledge of cryo-electron microscopy, including techniques, methods and applications of Cryo-EM to biological problems.
Article II
Membership: Members of the Biophysical Society may join the Cryo-EM Subgroup; non-members of the Biophysical Society are welcome to attend Cryo-EM Subgroup activities but are unable to join the subgroup, serve as Officers of the Subgroup, or vote
Article III
Meetings: Business meetings of the Subgroup membership shall be held in connection with or in close proximity to the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Biophysical Society. If any matters come up that require a vote at any time of year, Subgroup members can transact Subgroup business by a virtual vote. For virtual votes, decisions shall be made by two-thirds of the Subgroup members voting on the measure.
Article IV
Officers: The Officers of the Subgroup will be a Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and a Program subcommittee, comprising two faculty and one postdoctoral fellow. 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 subcommittee shall be elected for a period of one year. These positions have the following responsibilities:
Chair & Chair-Elect: As chair, will organize and conduct the annual Subgroup meeting; apprising the Biophysical Society of the activities and needs of the Subgroup; advising the Society on matters related to the Subgroup; promoting and overseeing the Student Research Achievement Award (SRAA) competition; communicating with the Society concerning meeting plans and public communications (flyers, announcements, newsletter reports, etc.); and participating in activities that benefit the Subgroup and Society. Responsible for the Subgroup meeting all deadlines established by the Subgroup Manager and monitoring all efforts that contribute to the Subgroup Report Card.
Secretary-Treasurer: Will work with the Society to manage Subgroup membership, budgets, keep up to date with financial information and sponsorships, and will work with the Chair to carry out necessary correspondence and other organizational tasks.
Program Subcommittee: Will be responsible for assembling the scientific program for the Annual Subgroup Meeting, which will involve inviting and confirming speakers, setting the symposium program, finalizing symposium food & beverage and AV needs, and if applicable selecting flash talks from submitted abstracts.
Article V
Eligibility for Office: Only members of the Cryo-EM Subgroup may be elected to Subgroup leadership positions. If an elected officer does not become a member prior to the Annual Meeting where they would be taking office, the second runner-up candidate shall assume the position instead. The runner up must also be a BPS member and a member of the Subgroup in order to assume office. In order to serve as a regular Subgroup Officer, the member must be a Regular, Emeritus, or Early Career member of BPS. Graduate students/Postdocs can only serve if the Subgroup has a designated trainee position, in which case the position title will reflect the career stage of eligible members.
Article VI
Elections: Elections must be held and concluded electronically two weeks prior to the Subgroup’s Business Meeting. The candidate for each office receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. In the case of a tie, the deadline will be extended for an extra three days. If the tie remains after three days, BPS staff will send out a new ballot with just the tied candidates to break the tie. 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 XVIII of the Biophysical Society.
Article VII
Executive Committee: The Executive Committee will be responsible for the fulfillment of the scientific and business obligations of the group. The Executive Committee will consist of the Officers and the immediate past Chair. 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 VIII
Nominating Committee: The Nominating Committee is responsible for soliciting nominations from Subgroup membership and for preparing the final slate of candidates. Nominations can come from anyone, with self-nominations also permitted. The members of the Executive Committee shall constitute the Nominating Committee. Nominations will be received electronically no later than one month prior to the Annual Meeting. Nominees must accept their nomination prior to being placed on a ballot.
Article IX
Awards Committee: The Awards Committee will be responsible for inviting nominations from all Subgroup members and selecting awardees based on the established eligibility criteria, nomination packets, and judging rubric. This committee will include the currently elected Officers. If any of these have a conflict of interest with the Award nominees or sponsors, the Chair may appoint Subgroup members to serve in their place on the Awards Committee.
Each year, the Committee must review and confirm award eligibility requirements and the rubric with BPS staff. While the primary selection criteria will focus on scientific excellence, the committee is also responsible for ensuring that the candidate pool gives meaningful access to underrepresented individuals and groups of the Biophysical Society.
Committee members must avoid any conflicts of interest with nominees or award sponsors in a given year.
Article X
Dissolution: The Cryo-EM Subgroup must be in accordance with the Biophysical Society’s constitution and bylaws, mission, values, goals, and operational guidelines. not, the group will be placed on probation and may be dissolved at the discretion of the Council of the Biophysical Society.
Article XI
Amendments to the Bylaws: Amendments can be proposed by any member of the Cryo-EM Subgroup, approved by a two-thirds majority of the Subgroup Executive Committee, and be ratified in a ballot by a majority of the members of the group voting.