The membrane boundaries of cells play key roles in fundamental life processes. In recognition of the tremendous recent advances in studying membranes and membrane proteins, BPS has partnered with scientists in the field to operate the Molecular Biophysics of Membranes Conference, which will be held biannually as a recurring meeting. The first meeting, held in Tahoe, California on June 6–10, 2022, was a welcome and refreshing time for reconnecting with familiar colleagues and meeting new ones.
Chaired by Merritt Maduke (Stanford University) and Linda Columbus (University of Virginia), the conference was designed to bring together a diverse group of scientists whose complementary research perspectives and goals spur cross-fertilization that advances understanding of membranes. The eight morning and evening sessions encompassed talks in a variety of membrane-focused areas, including mechanotransduction, membrane organization, signaling through the membrane, channels and transporters, membrane protein dynamics, membrane protein folding, and membrane remodeling, fusion, and exocytosis. Each session included both full-length talks from invited speakers and short talks selected from submitted abstracts. In addition, the Sunday evening session included a keynote talk by Anne Kenworthy (University of Virginia), entitled ”How to Build, Manipulate, and Destroy Functional Nanodomains” and an oral poster preview session that provided a rapid preview (30 seconds with one slide) presented by each poster presenter.
Hosted lunches were held each day to facilitate discussions between trainees and senior scientists on the following topics: Inclusive Practices, hosted by Linda Columbus, professor at the University of Virginia, who has been deeply involved in diversity initiatives including development of a General Chemistry undergraduate course that reduced DFW (drop, fail, withdraw) rates of underserved populations from 20% to less than 1% using inclusive practices; Careers: Being a Professor at a Teaching University, with Carlos Villalba-Galea, who trained with Pancho Bezanilla (University of Chicago) and has been a professor at the University of the Pacific since 2016; Careers: Research in Biotech, with Jun Chen, an ion-channel expert from Genentech who is enthusiastic about telling students and postdocs of the many good career opportunities in industry for both basic and applied research; and Publishing, hosted by academic editors Alexey Ladokhin, Merritt Maduke, and Joseph Mindell, who entertained all questions about academic publishing.
Afternoon panels, workshops, and poster sessions complemented the scientific sessions. The Monday panel on Challenges of Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Developing Action Plans for Overcoming Them, featuring Linda Columbus, Carlos Villalba-Galea, Karen Fleming, and Miriam Goodman, sparked lively discussion among a large group of attendees who clearly care about taking action to foster a more inclusive environment. The Tuesday panel marked a popular return of the Tips for Successful NIH Grant Proposals workshop led by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Branch Chief Zhongzen Nie. On Wednesday, the Benchmarks in Experimental/Computational Collaborations panel with Linda Columbus, Syma Khalid, Joseph Mindell, and Jessica Swanson provided valuable guidance for optimizing collaborations across disciplines. Finally, Tahoe offered abundant opportunity for outdoor activities and exploration each afternoon.
We look forward to many more years of BPS Conferences that highlight and catalyze progress in the Molecular Biophysics of Membranes.