IBS hosts Biophysics Graduate Research and Networking Symposium

Students in Illinois’ Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology program gathered to showcase and share their research at the Biophysics Graduate Research and Networking Symposium on Tuesday, October 30th at the Illini Union. The event, hosted by the Illinois Biophysics Society (IBS), featured research poster presentations by graduate students, a scientific image contest, and presentations by faculty focused on their academic careers.

The symposium was a great opportunity for first year biophysics students to network with senior graduate students and for faculty members who also enjoyed sharing knowledge and experience gained outside the scope of their research.

Graduate students presented their work to an invited panel of postdoctoral associate judges. Two posters were selected for this year’s Judges Selection Awards:

“Cholesterol Modulates the Orientational Dynamics of Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter-1”, authored by Shashank Pant (Tajkhorshid Lab)

“Efficient Unbiased Sampling of Protein Dynamics Using Reinforcement Learning”, authored by by Zahra Shamsi (Shukla’s Lab)

In addition, attendees voted for the Popular Choice Award, which was awarded to Chuankai Zhao’s (Shukla’s Lab) “Complex Dynamics of Hormone Perception and Receptor Activation in Plant Drought Resistance Signaling”.

A new feature of this year’s symposium was the scientific image contest. Symposium attendees were invited to submit images capturing the essence of their research in an artistic and creative way. The winner of the image contest, determined by popular vote, was Andres Arango from Tajkhorshid’s lab.

Also during the symposium, Professor Stephen Sligar shared an overview of his academic journey and reflections on his experiences throughout his study of theoretical astrophysics and experimental biophysics. Professor Emad Tajkhorshid, director of the NIH Center for Macromolecular Modeling and Bioinformatics, outlined his own academic journey, starting with his undergrad study of pharmacology in Iran, to pursuing opportunities in Germany, France, and ending with his arrival to the U.S. and establishment of his lab at UIUC.

The Biophysics Graduate Research and Networking Symposium is supported by the Biophysical Society and the University of Illinois Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology.

Posted November, 2018