The Biophysical Society is pleased to recognize the following 2020 award recipients. These members will be honored at the 64th Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, in February.
Gunnar von Heijne, Stockholm University, Sweden, will receive the Anatrace Membrane Protein Award for his profound contributions in creating important theoretical and experimental tools toward advancing our understanding of both principles and mechanisms of membrane protein biosynthesis.
Akihiro Kusumi, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, will receive the Avanti Award in Lipids for his seminal contributions in elucidating the mechanisms of plasma membrane organization and function through the development of unique methodologies of single-molecule observation and manipulation in living cells.
Clifford P. Brangwynne, Princeton University, USA, will receive the Michael and Kate Bárány Award for Young Investigators for his beautiful applications of the principles of soft matter physics toward elucidating the basis and consequences of intracellular phase separation, and using this information to understand and manipulate living biological cells and tissues.
Valeria Vásquez, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, USA, will receive the Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award for her pioneering work toward understanding how the functions of sensory ion channels are modulated by bioactive lipids and natural toxins.
Dan M. Herschlag, Stanford University, USA, will receive the Founders Award for his fundamental contributions to RNA folding and enzymology.
Alexandra C. Newton, University of California, San Diego, USA, will receive the BPS Award in the Biophysics of Health and Disease for her paradigm shifting discoveries that revealed how disease mutations that inhibit Protein Kinase C (PKC) activity cause cancer while those that activate PKC are drivers of neurodegenerative diseases.
G. Marius Clore, NIDDK, NIH, USA, will receive the Innovation Award for his seminal contributions to the development of NMR for determining three-dimensional structures of macromolecules in solution, and his work on the development of paramagnetic and relaxation-based NMR experiments to characterize rare, transient, and heretofore invisible states of macromolecules.
Jean Chin, NIGMS, NIH, USA, will receive the Rosalba Kampman Distinguished Service Award for her tireless service to the biophysical community as a Program Officer at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, where she was a source of encouragement to numerous members of this Society, an advocate of groundbreaking research, and a model for what it means to be a scientist and a public servant.
Yale E. Goldman, University of Pennsylvania, USA, will receive the Kazuhiko Kinosita Award in Single-Molecule Biophysics for his pioneering work in measuring and understanding orientations, rotations, and dynamics of motor proteins by developing and using single- molecule imaging approaches.
Elliot L. Elson, Washington University in St. Louis, USA, will receive the Ignacio Tinoco Award for his leadership in developing new approaches and analyses for the study of biopolymers, and establishing a cooperative and generous environment that has promoted the success of others.