ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce that Carlos R. Baiz PhD, University of Texas at Austin, has been selected as the winner of the Biophysical Journal Paper of the Year Award for 2019. The winning paper is titled Site-specific Peptide Probes Detect Buried Water in a Lipid Membrane. The paper was published in the March 19, 2019, issue of Biophysical Journal. Baiz will be honored at the Society’s 64th Annual Meeting at the San Diego Convention California, February 15-19.
Baiz is being recognized for his work using a combination of isotope-edited 2D IR spectroscopy and spectral modelling based on MD simulations demonstrating that solvation is underrepresented in the current MD simulations. These results contribute to the discussion how these peptides may facilitate the transport of water into the hydrophobic core of a membrane. Through his work, Baiz provides direct evidence that amino acid residues in a peptide called pHILP that are fully inserted into the membrane core (hydrophobic residues) remain hydrated.
“This award honors the work of young researchers publishing outstanding science in the Journal. The quality of these papers bodes well for the future of biophysics, and we are excited about all the discoveries that lie ahead for these scientists” said BPS President Dave Piston, Washington University in St. Louis. “Carlos’ work in leveraging different biophysical approaches and using them to elucidate important hydration mechanisms of peptides in lipid bilayers creates a new state-of-the-art in the field. We are excited to celebrate this work and its importance.”
The Paper of the Year Award recognizes outstanding young researchers that publish an outstanding paper in the Journal within the previous 12 months. Papers are nominated for the award by the Associate Editors of the Biophysical Journal.