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Meet our new president
Dr. Claudiu Gradinaru started his 2-year term as president of the BSC this past month. We caught up with him for a quick 4-question interview.
When did first you discover Biophysics?
I fell in love with Biophysics during my senior year in college, when I had the chance to do a year-long research project as an undergraduate student in Amsterdam. There I used lasers to perform time-resolved spectroscopy on photosynthetic systems to learn about the mechanisms of energy and electron transfer in plants. Decoding optical signals from biomolecules remained my passion to this day and my group uses advanced lasers and instrumentation to measure the molecular choreography of disordered proteins and membrane receptors.
How did you get involved with the BSC?
I got involved with the BSC in 2017 at the annual meeting in Montreal. An amazing program, great conversations, overall enthusiasm and collegial spirit, and an unmatched sense of community is what persuaded me to be part of this young and dynamics society. I also felt that I finally found my home as a scientific community in Canada, and it was worth investing time and energy in increasing its profile nationally and internationally.
As our new president, what is your vision for the BSC over the next 2 years?
As a President of the BSC, I will continue to promote the society to faculty, trainees and academic departments/institutions across Canada, and advocate tirelessly (and strategically) with the federal and provincial authorities to increase funding for biophysics research.
What is your favorite biomolecule?
My favorite biomolecule is a protein called 4E-BP2, which regulates cap-dependent translation. Phosphorylation drastically changes 4E-BP2’s ability to bind to its target, the translation initiation factor 4E, by sequestering its main binding motif within a folded domain. My group is applying single-molecule fluorescence and computational methods to reconcile dynamic behaviour and tight binding in this fascinating protein complex.
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