ROCKVILLE, MD – The 36 winners of the annual Student Research Achievement Awards (SRAA) were recognized at the 69th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony on February 17, 2025. These students were selected by judges from the Society’s Subgroups for their outstanding presentations during the poster competition. One hundred and fifty-three students participated in the competition.
The 2025 SRAA winners are:
Bioengineering Subgroup
Masato Suzuki, Gunma University, Japan – “Protein Accumulation on the Inner Leaflet of the Asymmetric Lipid-Protein Vesicles”
Roshni Shetty, University of California, Davis, USA – “Investigating the Role of Tissue-Level Heterogeneities In Cardiac β-Adrenergic Signaling Using Computational Modeling”
Biological Fluorescence Subgroup
Asma Fatima, Hamad Bin Khalifah University, Qatar –"Differential Kinetics of SARS-COV-2 Proteases Revealed by a Dual-Color BRET-Based Protease Biosensor Duprosense”
Ganesh Pandey, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA - Spatial Organization of Regulatory Chromatin AT Transcription Condensates”
Biopolymers in Vivo Subgroup
Tharun Selvam Mahendran, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA – “Decoupling Phase Separation and Fibrillization Preserves Biochemical Activity of Tau Condensates”
Channels Receptors, and Transporters Subgroup
Allen L. Hsu, Columbia University, USA – “Engineering Nanobody-Based Modulators for Targeted Downregulation of the Sodium-Leak Channel NALCN”
Isabel Romov, Yale University, USA – “Elucidating the Molecular and Structural Mechanisms of a TRPA1 Channelopathy”
Martin C. Heiss, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria – “A Bi-Directional Binding Site Linking α2δ-1 Subunit to Voltage Sensor Gating Charges Regulates the Activation Kinetics of CAV1.1 Calcium Channels”
Ayobami Diyaolu, Washington State University, USA –” Characterization of an Open-State GABAA Receptor Using In-Silico Mutagenesis and Molecular Dynamics Simulations”
Hugo A. Perez, Florida International University, USA – “Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the LIPID-II Interactions and Assembly of NISIN Chains in Bacterial Membranes”
Samantha R. Schwarz, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA – “Synthetic Modulator Rescues Gating Deficits in GLUN1 Y647 Disease-Related NMDA Receptor Variants”
Cryo-EM Subgroup
Shubham Dubey, Purdue University, USA – “Decoding the Mechanism of Iron Piracy in Pathogenic Neisseria”
Hsiang-Ling Huang, The Ohio State University, USA – “Mechanisms of Dysferlin-Mediated Membrane Repair In Health And Disease”
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Subgroup
Vicky Liu, Washington University in St. Louis, USA – “Microphase Versus Macrophase Separation of Proteins with RNA Recognition Motifs”
Borna Novak, Washington University in St. Louis, USA – “Construction of IDR Ensembles Directly from Sequence Through Multi-Scale Generative Modeling”
Macromolecular Machines and Assemblies Subgroup
Akanksha Gurtu, University of Texas, USA – “Characterizing the GSK3/NAV1.6 Protein-Protein Interaction Complex”
Magalí Colomer-Molera, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain – “Molecular Domains of KCNE4 Involved in KV1.3 Regulation”
Kyle Lin, University of Chicago, USA – ”Single-Molecule Microscopy to Uncover Class-Specific Chaperone Behavior in Protein Condensate Dispersal”
Mechanobiology Subgroup
Kamrin D. Shultz, James Madison University, USA – "Elucidating the Molecular Mechanism of How Obscurin Alters Cellular Migration”
Membrane Fusion Fission, and Traffic Subgroup
Katherine R. Clowes, Vanderbilt University, USA – “A High-Throughput Screen to Identify Modifiers of KCNQ1 Trafficking"
Hallie N. Pennington, University of Maryland College Park, USA – “Interaction of the Lassa Virus Fusion Domain with the Membrane Occurs via its Internal Fusion Loop”
Membrane Structure and Function Subgroup
Janina Louisa Nandy, Research Center Borstel, Germany “Liposome-Based Microfluidic Platform for Standardised Analysis of Antimicrobial Peptides”
Diego Luis Velasco-Gonzalez, University of Delaware, USA – “Comparative Analysis of Bending Moduli Across Simulation Models and Methods"
Membrane Transport Subgroup
Kaei Ryu, Jichi Medical University, Japan – “Functional Role of Positive Charges on the Extracellular Side of S4 in HCN Channels "
Arpan Bysack, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, India – “Structural Dynamics of the Slide Helix of KIRBAC1.1 Channels is Altered in Micelles and Membranes "
Motility and Cytoskeleton Subgroup
Alexander Bromley, University of Mississippi, USA – “Elucidating the Origins of Transient Secondary Structure in Tubulin E-Hooks Using Quantum Mechanics "
Tianyi Zhu, Columbia University, USA – “Active Force Fluctuations and External Forces Cooperatively Remodel Epithelial Tissue by Local Fluidization and Solidification During Drosophila Body Axis Elongation”
Multiscale Genome Organization Subgroup
Rutika Patel, City University of New York, USA– “Unveiling the Intricacies of Histone Tails Dynamics Using Markov State Model Approach "
Nanoscale Approaches to Biology Subgroup
Verena Rukes, EPFL, Switzerland – “Label Free Identification of Full-Length Proteins Using a Nanopore"
Chiara Florindi, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy – “Investigating the Mechanism of Cardiac Cell Excitability Modulation by a Membrane-Targeted Photoswitch”
Physical Cell Biology Subgroup
Sena Noaman, University of Washington, USA – “Impact of Replicative Age on Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in the Yeast Vacuole Membrane"
Single-Molecule Forces, Manipulation, and Visualization Subgroup
Devinda P. Wijewardena, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA – “Insghts into Back-Steps, Rotations, and Cargo-Size Effects of Kinesin Motility with Minflux "
Hao-Cheng Gao, Purdue University, USA – “Advancements in Nanoscale Quantification Through Brain Sections Using Interferometric Ultra-High Resolution 3D Imaging”
Theory and Computation Subgroup
Joao G.N. Sequeira, University of Lisbon, Portugal – “Extending Constant-Ph Molecular Dynamics to Multiple Force Fields”
Samapika Sahu, IIT Jodhpur, India – “Chlorophyll Induced Lamellar to Non-Lamellar Phase Transitions and Dynamical Heterogeneity in Plant Thylakoid Membranes”
S. Benjamin Koby, Carnegie Mellon University, USA – “Free Energy Molecular Dynamics-Based Active Learning for Structure-Based Drug Design”
Julian A. Melendez, University of South Florida, USA – “ATP-ION Complexation and Lithium's Bioactive Form”
###
The Biophysical Society, founded in 1958, is a professional, scientific Society established to lead development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, publications, and committee and outreach activities. Its 7,000 members are located throughout the United States and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry.