Speakers

University of Oxford, Department of Biochemistry, Oxford, UK

Title The importance of water in membrane receptor function

Tony Watts is now an Emeritus Professor and Leverhulme Fellow at the University of Oxford, where he has been on the faculty since 1980. He is internationally recognized membrane biophysicist, resolving new insights into biomembrane dynamics that are coupled closely to biochemical function, using a considerable range of biophysical methods, including pioneering developments of solid-state magnetic resonance. In October 2021 he was elected President-elect of the Intl. Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB), and has served on the executive committee of the European Biophysical Societies’ Association (EBSA 2000 - on) of which he was President (2017- 2020).

Biophysical Society of Serbia

Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Title Humoral factors of immunity as biophysical markers in personalized medicine of ALS

Prof. Pavle Andjus, PhD Full professor, Founder and head of Center for laser microscopy, Faculty of Biology University of Belgrade. Coordinated the first FP project in biomedicine in Serbia - FP6 project “NEUROIMAGE”, and now coordinates a H2020 MSCA RISE project “AUTOIGG” aiming to design a lab & optics-on-a-chip device using fluorescence signaling for the diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases. Former president of the Biophysical Society of Serbia, Founding member of the Optical Society of Serbia, Member of University Graduate Studies Council Founded PhD programmes in Biophotonics and Biophysics at the University of Belgrade. Expertise: neurobiophysics of ion channels and cellular mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases and use of advanced microscopy in bioimaging.

Biophysics Austria Society

Department of Medical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Linz, Austria

Title Three dimensional microscopy and lithography with sub-diffractional resolution for mimicking blood vessels

We are mimicking complex biological systems by integrating a microfluidics, nanolithography, cell biology, and nanoscopic observation of living cells. Therefore, our group develops medical applications for single molecule localisation microscopy and analysis. 3D tissue scaffolds consisting of functional polymers are fabricated using multiphoton nanolithography. The functionality of these polymers is modified using photochemical grafting.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Theory Department, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title Multiscale simulations of biomolecular systems

Matej Praprotnik is the head of the Laboratory for Molecular Modeling at the National Institute of Chemistry and a full professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana. He studied physics and received his BS degree and PhD from University of Ljubljana. He carried out postdoctoral research in the Theory group at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. He has held visiting scientist positions at the Computational Science & Engineering Laboratory (ETH Zurich), Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications (University of Minnesota), The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (University of California, Santa Barbara), and Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics China (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing). Matej is former chair of the PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe) Scientific Steering Committee. He served as president of the Slovenian Biophysical Society from 2015 to 2019. He also serves as a council member of CECAM (Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire) and as a scientific council member of the National Institute of Chemistry. He is recipient of the ERC Advanced Grant 2019 by the European Research Council. His research is focused on computer simulation of soft and biological matter. The focus is on developing and combining innovative computational and theoretical methods as well as their application to study complex molecular systems.

Croatian Biophysical Society

Laboratory of Biocolloids and Surface Chemistry, Division of Physical Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička, Zagreb

Title Multiscale view on calcium phosphate formation – a route for rationalizing the design of novel bioimplant materials

My main research interest is the crystallization of biologically relevant biominerals in relation with the elucidation of their formation mechanisms under physiological conditions, and the design and development of novel multifunctional materials for hard tissue regeneration. In recent years, this research has been focused on the study of the influence of different types of nanomaterials on the formation of calcium phosphates. I am also interested in the use of dynamic light scattering for characterization of inorganic and soft nanoparticles in various matrices relevant to biomedical applications and environmental protection. Currently, I am the head of the Biocolloids and Surface Chemistry Laboratory at Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia.

Italian Society for Pure and Applied Biophysics

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche – Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Roma, Italy

Title From liposomes to cells: filling the gap between biophysical and microbiological studies of the activity and selectivity of host‐defense peptides

My research is focused on the structure, dynamics, molecular interactions and biological function of peptides and proteins, investigated by the synergistic combination of spectroscopic and simulative methods. My group is currently studying and developing different peptide classes with potential therapeutic applications, such as host defense peptides, promising molecules to fight drug-resistant bacteria, or peptides and peptidomimetics designed to interfere with protein-protein interactions involved in cancer and several congenital disorders. In this context, we also study the structural, dynamical and functional effects of pathogenic mutations linked to these diseases.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park of P.J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia

Title Single-molecule mechanics of proteins

As a passionate scientist, I am curious how proteins function, what makes them tick. This has naturally led me to doing postdoctoral research at the Department of Biochemistry, University Bayreuth and later at the Department of Molecular Biophysics, TU München, Germany, where I have been the leader of several interdisciplinary projects focusing on single-molecule protein nano-mechanics to gain new molecular insights into proteins. At the same time, I apply large numbers of approaches, including bioinformatics, protein engineering methods and single-molecule force assays. Some results of my group have been published in renowned journals, e.g., several times in PNAS, Biophysical Journal and Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Recently, I started as a group leader at the Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, which is a vivid place for the exchange of ideas.

Croatian Biophysical Society

Department of Physics and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Title Magnesium ions reversibly bind to DNA double stranded helix in thin films: an infrared spectroscopy study

My field of interest is research of the vibrational, electric and dielectric properties of DNA. In the last ten years, I have been focused on reaserching the effect of divalent (magnesium and manganese) ions on long DNA as well as short fragments of DNA, specifically the effect it has on the form and structure of the macromolecule. To examine these effects, we use solutions with a wide range of concentrations of the added ions. We, meaning myself and my team, have been performing this research using infrared and UV spectroscopy.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Department for Theoretical Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title Viral RNA as a randomly branched polymer

A major part of my scientific interests has been physical virology, where my research topics range from the role of electrostatic interactions in viral capsids (the distribution of charges, role of charge regulation, ...) to the exploration of relationships between sequence, structure, and function of viral RNA genomes. I am also interested in exploring the physical variables, such as charge and hydrophobicity, that influence the survival of (simple) viruses in liquid droplets. Another part of my research interests involves the classification of order and order transitions in particles confined to a spherical surface by using concepts derived from hyperuniformity and from scalar, vector, and tensor spherical harmonics. Lastly, in recent years I have also been exploring the role of elastic inhomogeneities in the response of pollen grains to changes in environmental humidity (i.e., upon desiccation or swelling).

Italian Society for Pure and Applied Biophysics

Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Basovizza, Trieste, Italy

Title Cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles as modulators of target cells mechanics

Hungarian Biophysical Society

ScopeM, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Title Quantitative Phase Imaging using a holo-tomographic system

Quantitative Phase Imaging (QPI) is an emerging field of label-free light microscopy methods. In contrast to the well-known phase contrast method it can provide quantitative information about the phase shift caused by the sample and hence can be used not only to establish contrast but also for characterization of material or physical/biophysical properties. Over the past couple of years, various implementations of QPI have been introduced. In my talk I focusing on the one that is probably the best suited to investigate 3D samples – holo-tomography. Recently our platform has acquired such a system and I am reporting about our first experiences and further plans and present potential fields of application.

Biophysical Society of Serbia

Departments of Biology and Neurobiology, and Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, USA

Title An innate immune receptor sentinelling in synapses from development into aging

I am a Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University. My research focuses on molecular underpinnings of experience-dependent plasticity at the synapse. Of particular interest are innate immune molecules that have a role in pruning excitatory synapses during critical periods of development, but remain a part of adult learning mechanisms as well. Innate immune molecules have also been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and autism where they might contribute to synaptic dysfunction. I completed my PhD at Yale University, where I investigated dendritic summation mechanisms using voltage-sensitive dyes in the group of Dr. Dejan Zecevic.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Title Quorum sensing response of single bacterial cells studied by a microfluidic mother machine

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Hungary - University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

Title Structural and functional units associated with non-bilayer lipid phases of plant thylakoid membranes

Professor Emeritus and former head of the Laboratory for Photosynthetic Membranes at the Biological Research Center, Szeged, Hungary and Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Science, Ostrava University, Czech Republic CEO of Biofotonika R&D Ltd., Szeged. GG graduated in Physics (1971) and obtained PhD in 1974 (Szeged University) and DSc in 1992 (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, HAS). Main research interests: (macro)organization of chloroplast thylakoid membranes, structural and functional plasticity of light-harvesting antenna systems and reaction centers role of non-bilayer lipids and non-lamellar lipid phases in energy-converting biological membranes mapping molecular anisotropy in biology and intelligent materials. He organized major international congresses, workshops and advanced schools received national and international research grants in basic biology and in technical developments of scientific instruments serves/ed in numerous Hungarian and foreign scientific societies and boards, including the European Science Foundiation, the International Society of Photosynthesis Research, the Hungarian Biophysical Society and the Szeged Regional Commission of the HAS.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Department of Dental Biochemistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

Title Membrane distribution of ion channels in T cells

Ion channels expressed in non-excitable cells such as immune cells can regulate various cellular function and are responsible for the adequate immune response. Loss-of-function mutations of ion channels lead to dysfunction of immune system, while their hyperactivity can result in autoimmune diseases. My research focuses on ion channels expressed in various immune cells. Besides characterization of ion channel repertoire of different immune cells, I am interested in their membrane trafficking, cellular localization and physiological role mainly in T lymphocytes. Understanding of ion channels’ role could facilitate the development of effective therapy in treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Hungary and Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Title Life beyond the pixels: single-cell analysis using deep learning and image analysis methods

Peter Horvath (1980) is currently the director and a group leader in the Biological Research Center in Szeged and holds a Finnland Distinguished Professor (FiDiPro) Fellow position in the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Helsinki. He graduated as a software engineer and received his Ph.D. from INRIA and University of Nice, Sophia Antipois, France in satellite image analysis. Between 2007 and 2013 he was a senior scientist at the ETH Zurich, in the Light Microscopy Centre. Peter Horvath is interested in solving computational cell biology problems related to light microscopy and is involved in four main research fields 2/3D biological image segmentation and tracking development of microscopic image correction techniques machine learning methods applied in high-throughput microscopy and the development of single-cell isolation methods. He is the co-founder of the European Cell-based Assays Interest Group and the councilor of the Society of Biomolecular Imaging and Informatics.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park of P.J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia

Title Time-resolved detection of oxidative stress level in cancer cells

Research interests: Time-resolved imaging of oxidative stress in cells Monitoring of signaling pathways resulted in apoptosis in cancer cells Molecular mechanisms of photodynamic therapy, visualization of cell response, basic dosimetry Monitoring of cell/tissue oxygenation by steady-state and time-resolved microscopy

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Diamond Light Source Ltd, Diamond House, Didcot, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Title UV-VIS Polarization Spectroscopy at Diamond B23 synchrotron beamline

Tamás Jávorfi holds a PhD in physics (biophysics) from the University of Szeged (Hungary) where he also did his undergraduate studies. His research area, that he undertook as a joint project between the Biological Research Centre (Szeged, Hungary) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway), was about the interaction of light-absorbing pigments in different photosynthetic complexes using various spectroscopic techniques. He joined the B23 beamline team at Diamond Light Source (Didcot, UK) in August 2007 as a Support Scientist to take part in building the beamline and then to help the users in performing their experiments on the synchrotron radiation circular dichroism instrument. Later, in 2020, he stepped up as a Beamline Scientist and he is now focussing on the various applications of the newly acquired Mueller Matrix Polarimeter in characterising the polarization properties of solid samples, such as films and liquid crystals.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Department for Theoretical Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title Stimuli-responsive polymeric nanocarriers

My research is focused on computer modeling and theoretical understanding of various bio soft-matter systems, particularly lipid membranes, surfactants, and stimuli-responsive hydrogels. In recent years, I have been dealing mainly with how to tune and control the permeability of small molecules through hydrogel matrices. These questions are relevant for designing ‘programmable’ devices that, like enzymes, are highly selective, adaptive, and interactive with their environment, which has potential in many biomedicine applications, ranging from drug delivery, biosensors, and nanoreactors.

Institute of Structural Biology, Grenoble, France

Title Conformational flexibility in a photoactivated adenylate cyclase studied by small-angle X-ray scattering

My research has been focused on the study of the structure-function relationship of heme- and flavin containing proteins using biochemical and spectroscopic techniques. I am currently investigating the signal transduction mechanism in light-activated biomolecules using structural biology methods.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Semmelweis University, Budapest

Title Biophysics of viruses

Miklós Kellermayer is the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and chairman of the Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology at Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Trained as a medical doctor and having had international research experience in single-molecule biophysics, he currently focuses on biomolecular mechanics, cytoskeletal nanobiology, protein folding and in vivo imaging. He supervises the Georg von Békésy Biophysics Research Center that houses state-of-the-art instrumentation that allows imaging and manipulation from single molecules to small-animal organisms. He is a Howard Hughes Medical School International Alumnus, member of the Academia Europaea and has authored more than one hundred original research papers.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Jozef Stefan Institute Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title Nanomaterial Quarantining by Lung Epithelial Cells and in vitro Prediction of Chronic Inflammation after Nanomaterial Inhalation

Tilen Koklič has over 10 years of experience in the field of nanomaterial interaction with living cells and cellular barriers. As a part of a large EU project SmartNanoTox he contributed, as one of the corresponding authors, to discovery of the mechanism of chronic inflammation after exposure to metal oxide nanoparticles enabling one of the first animal-free in vitro/in silico assays for prediction of chronic inflammation. The work was selected as a frontispiece in a prestigious journal Advanced Materials.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Hungary

Title Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy Studies of Energy and Electron Transfer in Photosystems I and II

Petar H. Lambrev is head of the Photosynthetic Membranes group at the Biological Research Centre Szeged. He is interested in the primary processes of photosynthesis, especially the mechanisms and dynamics of light harvesting and the photoinduced energy and electron transfer in the pigment-protein complexes plants, algae and cyanobacteria.

Croatian Biophysical Society

NMR Centre, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

Title Estimation of model complexity and quality

My research interest is molecular modeling, i.e. development and application of structure-property/activity methods and models in chemistry and life sciences. The analyzed molecular structures are small compounds, peptides and proteins and analyzed properties are physical/chemical properties and biological activities important in drug design and environmental protection like water solubility, lipophilicity, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity or toxicity and carcinogenicity to living organisms. In the development of models and methods, my tendency is to take care of (as much as possible) the simplicity of the model and to include informative variables (descriptors), i.e. those containing useful and interpretable structural information. My research focuses in last years are related to the improvement of model validation protocols based on the estimation and evaluation of chance accuracy which results from the complexity/ monotonicity of input data and model structure represented by the number of optimized parameters. Statistical measures used for estimating the quality of classification models are upgraded by consideration of chance accuracy/agreement level due to the low/high complexity of data and models. Recent results obtained within this research topic will be presented in my lecture, and illustrated on examples of modeling of membrane protein structure and toxicity of small organic compounds.

Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France

Title Mechanism and Dynamics of Fatty Acid Photodecarboxylase

I am a CNRS researcher at the Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC) in the Paris region. I study functional mechanisms of natural and bio-engineered photoactive proteins using transient absorption spectroscopy an time-resolved fluorescence.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Institute of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia and Group for Nano and Biotechnological Applications, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title Immunometabolism of Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Research of cellular bioenergetic pathways of cancer and immune cells. Exploration of the mechanisms that support cancer cells growth in anchorage independent conditions. Research of the interaction of nanomaterials with cells, relation between physico-chemical properties and protein corona compositions. Molecular biophysics, analysis of mechanisms in relation to different methods for advance drug delivery (nanoparticles, electroporation).

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Plant Anatomy, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Title Ultrastructural and biophysical studies on plastid membranes under salt and drought stress

Plastids are cell compartments crucial for life on earth due to their diverse activities, including first of all photosynthesis. Therefore, basic questions about how different biotic and abiotic stresses influence plastid structure and function are of great significance for agriculture. I am interested in evaluating and comparing ultrastructural data on plastid membranes obtained with conventional, chemical fixation and transmission electron microscopy or with other, noninvasive methods like small-angle neutron scattering. We also investigate the molecular background and light-dependence of the salt or osmotic/drought stress induced swelling of the intrathylakoidal space using different plants and also some mutants lacking thylakoid ion transport components.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

Title Aptamer-functionalized surfaces and nanomotors as potential platforms for diagnostics

She is a young scientist under 35 years of age. She received her PhD in Biophysics from Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics University Comenius in 2017. She has extensive experience with the development of electrochemical and optical biosensors based on DNA aptamers and study of interaction of nanoparticles with biomembranes.

Croatian Biophysical Society

Laboratory for Protein Biochemistry and Molecular Modelling at Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

Title Involvement of Dipeptidyl Peptidase III in Oxidative Stress and Pain Regulation

The main subject of my research are biomacromolecules, their structure, dynamical behaviour and interactions, enzyme catalysis, and influence of metal ions on structure and function of proteins. The last few years my group is mostly interested in the zinc dependent peptidases, mostly M49 class of enzymes. Our ongoing resaerch are related to involvement of dipeptidyl peptidase III (DPP III) in oxydative stress relulation and in this contex, we study influence of the mutated DPP III variants on human health, particularly on cancer developement. Also, we study interactions between DPP III and peptides and some of its possible interactors in order to better understand possible patophysiological roles of DPP III in human.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Debrecen, Hungary

Title Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and its applications in cell biology

The Protein dynamics and interactions research group headed by György Vámosi is interested in the assembly, dynamics and function of interleukin-2/15 receptors in T cells using advance fluorescence microscopy. They defined a novel intracrine mechanism of IL2 signaling explaining inefficiency of inhibitory antibody therapies in acute T cell leukemia. They study the relation between antigen presentation and IL-15 transpresentation, processes occurring between antigen presenting cells and T cells that play important roles in T cell activation and immunological memory. Their other topic is the quantitative characterization of nuclear receptor activation and repression complexes. They develop FRET and FCS techniques.

Laboratory for Optics & Biosciences École Polytechnique, Paris, France

Title Ultrafast light-induced charge transfer in flavoproteins

I study ultrafast processes in proteins using optical spectroscopy. My present research interests include charge transfer in flavoproteins.

Biophysics Austria Society

Gottfried Schatz Research Center – Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

Title Bioelectronic chemo drug delivery for brain tumor treatment

My research aims to overcome unmet clinical needs in brain tumor therapy. In this multidisciplinary project, we develop bioelectronic devices for locally triggered drug release directly at the tumor site. This includes the characterization of different device prototypes for their physical properties and performance, the comparison of these parameters with computer simulations, and the evaluation of anti-cancer effects of locally triggered drug release in both in vitro and in vivo brain tumor models.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Technical University of Munich, Germany

Title Molecular modeling powered by Machine Learning

My research area lies in the development of efficient and predictive computational methods and models for application areas ranging from life sciences to engineering. To this end, I am working on novel machine learning approaches that can provide molecular models of unprecedented accuracy and/or increase computational efficiency. Additionally, I employ uncertainty quantification tools for reliable predictions and develop novel multi-resolution simulation techniques that combine different simulation methods within a single simulation.

Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh)

Institute for Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Title Animal type I cryptochromes from migrating and non-migrating species. Are they alike and can they function as photomagnetoreceptors?

As a passionate biochemist with a strong bias to photobiophysics, my main research interest is the fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms of biological light-induced processes performed by photo-enzymes and photoreceptors (e.g. light-dependent NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase, Cryptochromes, Photolyases, Rhodopsins, LOV domains, Phytochromes, etc.) as well as their projection on artificial systems, thus supporting developments of further biotechnological applications and optogenetic tools. For this purpose, a combination of cellular, molecular and biochemical as well as time-resolved spectroscopic techniques is used that allows the detailed elucidation of the mode of action of the investigated proteins with the link to their biological function on a molecular level.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Department of biophysics, P.J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia

Title Viscosity measurements using flexible microstructures

Gregor Bánó is a specialist in the field of bio-photonics and laser physics. His major scientific interest is in the field of photodynamic cancer therapy. In particular, he focuses on drug transport processes in biological systems and on time-resolved phosphorescence detection of singlet oxygen. Besides that, GB works in the field of optically trappable microstructure development for biomedical lab-on-chip applications.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

Title Ruthenium dendrimers - a potential drug carriers for cancer therapy

She is a research scientist and teacher at the Comenius University, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, at the Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics in Bratislava, Slovakia. She received PhD in the field of Biophysics in 2013. She is interested into the study of nanoparticles for drug delivery and biosensing purposes. She is focused upon elucidating the mechanisms of interactions of nanoparticles based on lipids and/or polymers with model lipid membranes as well as with cell cultures.

The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, United Kingdom

Title Investigating the competitive regulation of Las17 through Agent-Based modelling

I use agent based modeling to investigate a large protein system (endocytosis) to help direct experimental work. The modelling is currently helping to define a new regulatory mechanism of the system.

Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts

NIH Research Program in Psychiatric Diseases, Research Center for Computer Science and Information Technologies, Skopje, North Macedonia

Title Bistability and switching in a model of membrane voltage dynamics in glia

My research interests are within (i) low-dimensional ODE models of membrane voltage dynamics, signaling, and transport in non-excitable cells, as well as (ii) structural modeling of the neuropathology of white matter cells in psychiatric diseases. I have been trained in electrical engineering & computer science, theoretical physics (dynamical systems), and data modeling in computational biology.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Title Ruler or Stabilizer? The role of nebulin in thin filament length regulation

The Thin Filament Mechanobiophysics research group aims for a more precise understanding of the thin filament ultrastructure, its mechanical properties and regulation in vivo, with the use of animal models and superresolution imaging combined with single-molecule spectroscopy. Nebulin is a giant, modular actin binding protein in skeletal muscle. Mutations affecting nebulin are the main contributors of nemaline myopathy, a progressive skeletal muscle disease accompanied by a large deficit in specific force. Our major aim is to explore the dynamical changes in thin filament structure induced by genetically altered nebulin. We propose that nebulin adjusts the length of the thin filaments and optimizes it for efficient muscle operation.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Title Imaging the infection cycle of T7 at the single virion level

Balint completed Medical Biotechnology MSc at Pazmany Peter University, currently he is a PhD student at the Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology at Semmelweis University. His main research interests involve the infection cycle of the T7 bacteriophage and the nanomechanical process of SARS-CoV-2 host-recognition. He employs techniques such as AFM and optical tweezers to study viruses at the single-particle level.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

Title Drug-membrane interaction of potential SARS-CoV-2 antivirals

I work as a member of scientific group of prof. Daniela Uhríková, CSc. We are interested in study of interaction of drug molecules with model lipid membranes using different physical methods. Since COVID-19 disease emerged in 2019 and spread worldwide, leading to an ongoing pandemic, we have focused our interest on biophysical properties of liposomal complexes with recently synthesized antivirals, potentially effective against SARS-CoV-2. We use UV-VIS spectrometry to determine the lipid/water partition coefficient of antivirals and DLS to check the size of liposomes incubated with antivirals. Structure of membrane-drug complexes is studied using SAXD/WAXD and their thermodynamic properties using DSC. Effect of antivirals on membrane lateral pressure is determined by excimer fluorescence.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Department for Theoretical Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title Active instability and nonlinear dynamics of cell-cell junctions

Matej Krajnc is a research fellow at the Department of theoretical physics at the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana. His work mainly focuses on the mechanics of biological tissues ranging from rheological properties to the mechanics of morphogenesis and disease. He obtained a PhD in physics from the University of Ljubljana in 2017. From 2017 to 2019 he was a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University in the lab of Stanislav Shvartsman. In 2019 he returned to Ljubljana, where he became a permanent member of the Theoretical biophysics group at the Jozef Stefan Institute.

Biophysical Society of Serbia

BioPhysLab at Institute of Physics Belgrade (IPB), University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Title Ultrashort laser pulses interaction with hemoglobin: micro-patterning and label-free imaging

Aleksandar Krmpot is research professor and head of BioPhysLab at Institute of Physics Belgrade (IPB), University of Belgrade, Serbia. He received Ph.D. degree in Physics, quantum optics, in 2010. from Faculty of Physics, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Aleksandar’s main research interests and skills are in lasers, biophotonics, advanced microscopy techniques and 3D and functional fluorescence imaging (confocal, correlation, nonlinear – two-photon, second and third harmonic generation). He developed experimental setup for nonlinear laser scanning microscopy at BipPhysLab@ IPB used for bioimaging at cellular and tissue level, application of novel materials for imaging and document security. Since 2013 Aleksandar is a visiting researcher at the Karolinska Institute (KI), Stockholm, Sweden, where he is engaged for the development of laser microscopy technique based at multifocal correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and Fluorescence Life Time Imaging (FLIM) that enables detection and tracing of the individual molecules in biological samples. Aleksandar was leader of several research and innovation projects. At the moment he is principal investigator at HEMMAGINERO project, program PROMIS, Science Fund of Republic of Serbia (www.hemmaginero.rs) . Aleksandar is a member of Scientific Committee of PHOTONICA international conferences and he has been organized several national and international scientific events, amongst PHOTONICA 2017 and 2019 hosting more than 250 researcher (www.photonica.ac.rs).

Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh), Deutsche Bunsen-Gesellschaft für physikalische Chemie (DBG)

University of Regensburg, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Regensburg, Germany

Title Role of molecular oxygen in the photochemical mechanism of the B12-dependent photoreceptor protein CarH

As a physical chemist (Research Associate at the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at University of Regensburg) with focus on time-resolved spectroscopy and the development of diverse experimental and computational techniques, my research focuses on the fundamental understanding of light-induced processes (e.g. conformational change, electron transfer, energy transfer, bond breaking reaction, etc.) in (bio)-molecular systems and corresponding subsequent reactions. Light can enable the control of chemical reactions in terms of selectivity and improved efficiency. And nature with experience of billions of years using solar energy effectively for many processes (sensor function, energy generation as well as direct and indirect catalysis) is the best teacher. Thus, the main branch of my research concentrates on the elucidation of reaction mechanisms found in natural photoreceptors and photoenzymes (e.g. LOV, CRY, CarH, Rhodopsins, Phytochrome, and POR) and how these mechanisms are fine tuned in the diverse kingdoms of life. This allows to correlate light driven physiological responses, e.g. phototropism, photomagnetorecption, or carotenogenesis, with the initiating events on a molecular level. The gained knowledge is also incorporated into the bio-inspired development of new (bio)photocatalytic transformations or (bio)photosensors offering a broad spectrum of applications that ranges from enantioselective catalysis in chemical synthesis and storage of energy in (bio)molecules over photocontrol and optogenetics to general analytical applications. Through the combination of several research areas my research aims to gain a deep knowledge of effective light-induced mechanism found in nature to deliver innovative and new solutions for sustainable developments.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Title V-ATPases – Nature’s most versatile proton pumps

Tibor Páli graduated and obtained Ph.D in physics (biophysics), and received the D.Sc degree from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (in 2005). He is the head of the Membrane Biophysics Research Group at the Institute of Biophysics, Biological Research Centre, Szeged (Hungary). The current projects of his team are the rotary mechanism of the vacuolar proton-ATPase, protein folding and structure prediction with artificial intelligence and molecular mechanics. The main technique of the group is electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of spin-labelled membranes and proteins and free radical reactions. The group operates the best equipped EPR spectrometer of Central- and East-Europe, and they extended their molecular biophysics approaches with fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy, calorimetry and molecular modelling. Tibor Páli had been a long-term EMBO and FEBS fellow (to work in MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany), has published 120+ papers (g.scholar h-index = 32) and had received numerous prestigious awards, decorations and grants.

University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz Paseo de la Universidad, Spain

Title Patterned Microfluidics for the Investigation of Plant Root Exudates

After receiving his biophysicist degree from the University of Szeged (Szeged, Hungary), Daniel started his PhD studies at the University of Pannonia (Veszprém, Hungary) and at the Nanobiosensorics group (Budapest, Hungary). Daniel gained a very multidisciplinary knowledge from the development of label free optical biosensors to surface chemistry from fluidics to protein, bacteria and cell adhesion. After he obtained his PhD degree, he started his postdoctoral research at The James Hutton Institute (Dundee, Scotland) Daniel’s role in the Sensoils group was to develop a Fluorescent Light Sheet Microscope (FLSM) system, including a growth environment for plants, to investigate root-soil and root-microbe interactions in a transparent soil environment. Additionally, Daniel participated in the development of a plastic waste based smart soil, where the surface of the soil particles can be tailored and it makes it possible to give sensor functions to the soil. These experiences convinced Daniel, that he has to scale up the number of the performed experiments to gain deeper understanding about the life of plant roots. To achieve his goals he successfully applied for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at the Microfluidics Cluster UPV/EHU, at the University of the Basque Country. In his RhizoSheet project, Daniel is developing a cutting-edge microfluidic based hybrid paper-polymer technology to observe root exudates and to control the association between plants and beneficial microbes.

Biocolloids and Fluid Physics Group, Applied Physics Department, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

Title Biophysics approach in anticancer therapies: Studying anticancer drug interactions with extracted and model cell membranes by Langmuir films and computer simulations

Currently, I am PhD student in the Physics of Interfaces and Colloidal Systems Group at the University of Granada, Spain. My research focuses on the analysis of the interaction of anticancer drugs and their nanocarriers with healthy and cancer cell membranes, both lipidic models and real cell membranes. I combine experimental techniques, mainly Langmuir monolayers, with Molecular Dynamics simulations to determine the structural and stability changes of the systems after the interaction. This study is part of a project aimed at developing intelligent drugs nanocarriers (nanoghosts) for novel targeted anticancer therapies.

Biophysical Society of Serbia

Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Title Biophysical modeling and analysis of the predictors of the COVID-19 transmission and clinical severity

I am a Teaching Assistant on biophysics and computational biology courses and a member of the Quantitative biology research group at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of biology. Our team consists of biologists (myself), physicists, and mathematicians, together with multiple international collaborators. The main direction of our research is modeling and analysis of gene expression in bacterial "immune" systems, including restriction-modification systems and CRISPR-Cas, which allows them to defend the cell from foreign DNA without harming its own genome. Recently, we constructed an epidemiological dynamical model and developed a bioinformatics and statistical procedure to identify the predictors of the COVID-19 transmission dynamics and clinical severity. I will present some of the results of this new research.

Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus de la UAB, Barcelona, Spain

Title Adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein onto the surface of materials

Currently, I am working as Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellow at ICMAB-CSIC (Spain) and will start my new position as CPJ professor of physical chemistry at Universite Clermont-Auvegne (France) from September 2022. My primary research interest lies in studying structure and function of proteins and understanding their structure-function relationship. I approach this research goal from an interdisciplinary perspective, using computational chemistry and experimental biophysical methods to answer biophysical chemistry questions. Currently, I am studying the interaction of viruses with materials that will remain relevant even after the control of the current pandemic. This project have the potential to increase in a significant manner our understanding of key molecular and atomic details involved in essential aspects of the transmission of the viral diseases, development of virucidal materials and protective equipment. Therefore, millions of people around the world could be benefited from the results of the proposed studies.

Biophysics Austria Society

Gottfried Schatz Research Center – Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

Title Light stimulation of organic electrolytic photocapacitive devices induces ion channel gating and action potentials in neurons

My research focuses on bioelectronic devices that stimulate cells when irradiated with light. This technology can potentially help patients with traumatic brain injuries to overcome the hurdles of a long recovery phase and neuron loss by stimulation. At the RBS2022 I want to present our latest results in activating cell responses by manipulating their ion channel gating and the induction action potential firing in neurons.

Slovak Biophysical Society

Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park of P.J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia

Title Singlet oxygen production by LOV domain

My present research projects are focused on utilizing of protein evolution and protein engineering approaches in modulation of: (i) membrane proteins solubility and (ii) catalytic enzyme properties. Closely related to this is my interest in relations between local/global stabilities and function of enzymes/proteins. These topics assume correct analysis of stability of proteins that involves thermodynamic equilibrium and kinetic stability analysis approaches as well as their combination. My long-term interest involves a study of solvent effect, including Hofmeister effect, on structural and functional protein properties involving also their aggregation related to formulation of antibodies and protein fibrillization.

Croatian Biophysical Society

Laboratory for machine learning and knowledge representation, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

Title Elucidation of DMSO effects on catalytic activity of halohydrin dehalogenase HheC by molecular dynamics

Dr. Višnja Stepanić is a computational (bio)chemist devoted to finding and designing novel molecules with biological activities. In her research, she applies methods of molecular modelling (molecular dynamics, molecular docking, virtual screening), quantum-mechanical calculations (DFT) and machine learning approaches. She worked on proteins as green chemistry biocatalysts and on small molecular weight compounds modulating protein activity and expression. She worked in the pharmaceutical industry PLIVA and GSK afterwards she moved to Ruđer Bošković institute. Dr Stepanić has regularly participated in COST Actions. She is a member of Croatian Biophysical Society Council for Medicinal Chemistry of Croatian chemical society.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia

Title From isles of Königsberg to islets of Langerhans: Calcium oscillations in networks of beta cells

Despite having considered to study physics after attending the 2002 IPhO in Indonesia (honorable mention), I decided to study medicine and obtained my MD as a valedictorian at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana in 2008 and my PhD at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor in 2013. I study the physiology of islets of Langerhans, predominantly beta cells, as well as exocrine cells with both classical physiological and novel interdisciplinary approaches. I am currently an Associate Professor of Physiology, head the Institute of Physiology in Maribor and teach physiology to medical students in Maribor and Vienna. I also promote physiology as a scientific discipline to the general public. My most important international collaborations encompass Vienna, Graz, Padua, Szeged, Düsseldorf, Stockholm, and Edmonton. The focus of research in our group is the intracellular calcium dynamics in beta cells in islets of Langerhans that produce and secrete insulin and the dysfunction of which leads to diabetes mellitus, one of the main public health problems. More specifically, by employing live cell calcium imaging in islets of Langerhans in combination with classical physiological and advanced functional network analyses, we try to understand the basic coding principles underlying beta cell responses to stimuli, such as glucose, and the main derangements that occur during development of diabetes mellitus, as well as their reversibility.

Slovenian Biophysical Society

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia and Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title A dynamic preferred direction model for the self-organization of bacterial microfluidic pumping

Theory, modeling, and simulations of soft matter, biophysics, acoustics. From my starting expertise in nematohydrodynamics and dynamics of defects, I have been expanding into a wider area of soft matter physics, biophysics and adjacent interdisciplinary fields, including in particular macroscopic dynamics of complex (active) fluids and nanofilms, continuum description of long polymers, packing of DNA, bacterial collective dynamics, magnetic fluids. In parallel I am active in the field of acoustic modeling, with the perspective of connecting vibroacoustics with physics of soft matter/materials and biophysics. Past interdisciplinary collaborations include dynamics of granular matter, vibrational communication of insects, laser Doppler vibrometry. Current hot topics: the concept of the dynamic preferred direction in complex active fluids, tensorial and generalized conservation laws for linear polymers, magnetic fluids, advanced ray-tracing acoustic modeling.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Biophysics, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

Title Study of transport processes mediated by membrane nanotubes

I am a senior lecturer at the Dept. of Biophysics, Medical School, University of Pécs, Hungary. I teach biophysics for general medicine, dental, pharmacy and biotechnology students. Besides teaching I am working on membrane nanotubes, the newly described intercellular communication bridges. I am the leader of the Membrane Nanotube Research Group of our Institute. Our main purpose is to answer what molecular processes control the formation of nanotubes, the transport processes that take place in these special cell extensions. Our group uses various methods (cell and tissue culture, immunofluorescence and live-cell labeling, microscopic techniques /confocal, TIRFM, SR-SIM, STED/ as well as protein expression and purification) to reveal whether we may be able to influence the immune response (i.e. make it more efficient), or deliver drugs in a targeted way in the future with the help of membrane nanotubes.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Biophysics, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

Title Structural and Conformational Dynamics of a Disordered Protein Motif

I am an assistant professor at the University of Pécs Medical School Department of Biophysics. I have worked at the institute for more than ten years, with teaching and research responsibilities. Currently, I belong to the Cytoskeletal Dynamics research group as a post-doctoral researcher. One of the main research interests of our group is to elucidate the role of actin-binding proteins that control the formation and organization of sarcomeric actin filaments. During my Ph.D. years, I started to work on a WH2 domain-containing structurally disordered sarcomeric regulatory protein (Sarcomere length short, SALS). Besides describing the mechanisms underlying its biological functions, I aim to study the disordered nature of this protein.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Department of Biophysics, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

Title A possible role of transferrin in severe COVID-19-associated diseases

Senior lecturer and researcher at the Dept. of Biophysics, University of Pécs. Besides teaching I have gained experience in biophysical and histological laboratory techniques and equipment (including photo- and fluorometers, phase fluorometers, stopped-flow and other spectroscopic devices together with various microscopic techniques, DSC and DSC-TGA). I have also gained experience in modelling and interpretation of proteins and their interactions. Nowadays, I am focusing on the effects of certain clinical contrast materials on the actin cytoskeleton and the thermogravimetric analysis and other structural analysis of composite materials for 3D printing.

Hungarian Biophysical Society

Institute of Biophysics, Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Hungary

Title Boundary scattering and the spatial distribution of confined active matter

Gaszton Vizsnyiczai's scientific work is mainly focused on the development, and the experimental application of two techniques: two-photon polymerization for 3D microfabrication, and holographic optical tweezers for 3D micromanipulation. Relying on these methods he has studied the hydrodynamics of bacterial flagella and the swimming of bacterial cells in confined spaces. He has also developed novel microscopic tools that extend the capabilities of holographic optical tweezers to damage free, high precision spatial manipulation of live cells and surface enhanced Raman measurements. He is currently working on observing the interactions and dynamics of rotating filaments of bacterial flagella, studying the motion active particles (swimming cells) in confinement, and the development of elastic microstructures for novel applications.

Biophysics Austria Society

Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Campus Linz, Linz, Austria and Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden

Title Efficiency of lipoprotein fusion depends on the lipid composition of the target membrane

Work on biophysical principles underlying cellular processes. Develop and use advanced imaging and synthetic biology tools to reveal the molecular mechanisms governing the cellular signaling. Lipoprotein interaction with cell (mimic) membranes to reveal the biophysical mechanism of receptor dependent and independent transfer of cholesterol. (AFM, FCS, SMFM)