2025 Black in Biophysics Week
Monday, May 26th: #BIBPSROLLCALL
Tuesday, May 27th @12PM: #BIBPSTUTORIAL
#BIBPSTutorial
"Biophysics 101: Visualizing proteins with ChimeraX"
1-hour virtual tutorial during #BlackInBiophysicsWeek
Event description: This event will show participants how to visualize and analyze complex molecular structures. Participants will learn to modify models in order to create high-quality images and movies for presentations. This includes, but is not limited to, protein-ligand interactions, binding sites, density maps and more.
Speaker bio: Bryan Nicholson-Dews | LinkedIn
Bryan graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2023. He has been working as a member of the Davis Lab at Meharry Medical College for over a year, primarily using his technical background to focus on modeling and molecular docking. He has served as a major contributor in many workshops teaching students and professionals how to use ChimeraX.
"Biophysics 101: Visualizing proteins with ChimeraX"
1-hour virtual tutorial during #BlackInBiophysicsWeek
Event description: This event will show participants how to visualize and analyze complex molecular structures. Participants will learn to modify models in order to create high-quality images and movies for presentations. This includes, but is not limited to, protein-ligand interactions, binding sites, density maps and more.
Speaker bio: Bryan Nicholson-Dews | LinkedIn
Bryan graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2023. He has been working as a member of the Davis Lab at Meharry Medical College for over a year, primarily using his technical background to focus on modeling and molecular docking. He has served as a major contributor in many workshops teaching students and professionals how to use ChimeraX.
Wednesday, May 28th @12PM: #BIBPSRESEARCH
#BIBPSResearch
The webinar will be 1 hour long and will feature 2 speakers: one graduate student and one postdoc. Each speaker will give a 20min presentation and have 10min for Q&A.
This event will not be recorded.
Event description: The #BIBPSResearch webinar will highlight the research of two biophysicists: one graduate student and one postdoctoral researcher. The goal of the event is to highlight the scientific contributions of Black biophysicists and to encourage the next generation of Black scientists to learn and study biophysics. Speakers include PhD candidate McKenze Moss and postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Trevor Grand Pre.
Speaker bios:
McKenze Moss is a sixth-year graduate student in Dr. Patricia L. Clark’s lab at the University of Notre Dame. Her research focuses on probing co-translational folding intermediates of a kinetically stable protein. McKenzee did her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana, and she is currently an NSF-GRFP fellow. She enjoys brainstorming experiments with her lab mates, but outside of the lab, she can be found playing video games, being a plant-mom or binging Netflix.
Trevor GrandPre I Scientist | LinkedIn
Dr. Trevor GrandPre is an alumnus of DePaul University and the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physics in 2014 and his Ph.D. in 2021. Since 2021, he has been an independent postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Physics of Biological Function (CPBF) and the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science (PCTS), as well as a Schmidt Science Fellow. In the Fall, he will begin a faculty position as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis.
The webinar will be 1 hour long and will feature 2 speakers: one graduate student and one postdoc. Each speaker will give a 20min presentation and have 10min for Q&A.
This event will not be recorded.
Event description: The #BIBPSResearch webinar will highlight the research of two biophysicists: one graduate student and one postdoctoral researcher. The goal of the event is to highlight the scientific contributions of Black biophysicists and to encourage the next generation of Black scientists to learn and study biophysics. Speakers include PhD candidate McKenze Moss and postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Trevor Grand Pre.
Speaker bios:
McKenze Moss is a sixth-year graduate student in Dr. Patricia L. Clark’s lab at the University of Notre Dame. Her research focuses on probing co-translational folding intermediates of a kinetically stable protein. McKenzee did her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana, and she is currently an NSF-GRFP fellow. She enjoys brainstorming experiments with her lab mates, but outside of the lab, she can be found playing video games, being a plant-mom or binging Netflix.
Trevor GrandPre I Scientist | LinkedIn
Dr. Trevor GrandPre is an alumnus of DePaul University and the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physics in 2014 and his Ph.D. in 2021. Since 2021, he has been an independent postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Physics of Biological Function (CPBF) and the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science (PCTS), as well as a Schmidt Science Fellow. In the Fall, he will begin a faculty position as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis.
Thursday, May 27th: #BIBPSLIFE
#BIBPSLife
Event description: The goal of this event is to showcase a day in the life of a Black biophysicist. We hope that by demystifying academic life and what a career in biophysics looks like, we will help increase the representation of Black/African Americans in biophysics and other STEM fields. This year, Dr. Alisha 'Jonesy' Jones will take over ourBluesky account (@blackinbiophys.bsky.social) for the #BIBPSLife event.
Bio: Alisha (Jonesy) Jones | LinkedIn
Dr. Alisha ‘Jonesy’ Jones, one of C&EN News 2024 Talented Twelve, is a James Weldon Johnson Assistant Professor of Chemistry at New York University in the Department of Chemistry. Jonesy was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Michael Sattler in Munich, Germany, and earned her PhD in Chemistry in the lab of Dr. Gabriele Varani at the University of Washington. Research in the Jones Lab focuses on investigating the structural dynamics of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and how they are linked to specific biological processes. Her team deploys a combination of biophysical, biochemical, and computational techniques to study how lncRNAs transition between various structured states and how they interact with other biomolecules. Considering that lncRNAs are critical regulators of gene expression, her lab’s work has the potential to increase overall knowledge regarding lncRNA structure-function relationships, and offers a starting point for therapeutically targeting lncRNAs when they are implicated in a disease.
Event description: The goal of this event is to showcase a day in the life of a Black biophysicist. We hope that by demystifying academic life and what a career in biophysics looks like, we will help increase the representation of Black/African Americans in biophysics and other STEM fields. This year, Dr. Alisha 'Jonesy' Jones will take over ourBluesky account (@blackinbiophys.bsky.social) for the #BIBPSLife event.
Bio: Alisha (Jonesy) Jones | LinkedIn
Dr. Alisha ‘Jonesy’ Jones, one of C&EN News 2024 Talented Twelve, is a James Weldon Johnson Assistant Professor of Chemistry at New York University in the Department of Chemistry. Jonesy was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Michael Sattler in Munich, Germany, and earned her PhD in Chemistry in the lab of Dr. Gabriele Varani at the University of Washington. Research in the Jones Lab focuses on investigating the structural dynamics of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and how they are linked to specific biological processes. Her team deploys a combination of biophysical, biochemical, and computational techniques to study how lncRNAs transition between various structured states and how they interact with other biomolecules. Considering that lncRNAs are critical regulators of gene expression, her lab’s work has the potential to increase overall knowledge regarding lncRNA structure-function relationships, and offers a starting point for therapeutically targeting lncRNAs when they are implicated in a disease.
Friday, May 27th @12PM: #BIBPSSPOTLIGHT
#BIBPSSpotlight
Q&A with Dr. Chrystal Starbird
Recording TBD.
Event description: The goal of the event is to show the origin and career trajectory of a Black biophysicist to encourage the next generation of scientists to learn and study biophysics. We will discuss Dr. Starbird’s success as researcher and activist that consistently advocates for science and underserved minorities in STEM fields.
Bio: Chrystal Starbird | LinkedIn
Dr. Chrystal Starbird completed her undergraduate work at UNC Chapel Hill and spent a few years afterwards working in academic and industry labs before returning to UNC to complete a year-long postbaccalaureate program. Following this, Dr. Starbird completed her graduate work in chemical and physical biology at Vanderbilt University. She completed her postdoctoral work as an F32 and then K99/R00 supported postdoctoral fellow in the Cancer Biology Center at Yale before moving into her current position as faculty in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UNC Chapel Hill, where she studies activation of signaling in receptor tyrosine kinases. As a non-traditional student in many ways, Dr. Starbird is a strong advocate for inclusive mentoring practices, and publishes regularly on strategies to maximize the impact of mentoring and to build an inclusive lab. When not in the lab, Chrystal can usually be found searching for the next waterfall to visit with her family (partner and three children).
Q&A with Dr. Chrystal Starbird
Recording TBD.
Event description: The goal of the event is to show the origin and career trajectory of a Black biophysicist to encourage the next generation of scientists to learn and study biophysics. We will discuss Dr. Starbird’s success as researcher and activist that consistently advocates for science and underserved minorities in STEM fields.
Bio: Chrystal Starbird | LinkedIn
Dr. Chrystal Starbird completed her undergraduate work at UNC Chapel Hill and spent a few years afterwards working in academic and industry labs before returning to UNC to complete a year-long postbaccalaureate program. Following this, Dr. Starbird completed her graduate work in chemical and physical biology at Vanderbilt University. She completed her postdoctoral work as an F32 and then K99/R00 supported postdoctoral fellow in the Cancer Biology Center at Yale before moving into her current position as faculty in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UNC Chapel Hill, where she studies activation of signaling in receptor tyrosine kinases. As a non-traditional student in many ways, Dr. Starbird is a strong advocate for inclusive mentoring practices, and publishes regularly on strategies to maximize the impact of mentoring and to build an inclusive lab. When not in the lab, Chrystal can usually be found searching for the next waterfall to visit with her family (partner and three children).
2024 Black In Biophysics Week
2023 Black in Biophysics Week
2023 Sponsors
2021 Black in Biophysics Week
Thank you to our 2021 BIBPS Week Sponsors!
Recorded #BIBPSWeek2021 events
Recording #1: Join scientists for science demonstrations a panel discussion targeted at the recruitment of future scientists who are currently in high school.
#BlackInBiophysicsWeek #BIBPSWeek
#BlackInBiophysicsWeek #BIBPSWeek
Recording #2: Introduction - Panel discussion centered around various career journeys. #BlackInBiophysics
Panelists include: Christopher O. Barnes, Ph.D. Alemayehu Gorfe, Ph.D. Jennie Garcia-Olivares, Ph.D. Ryan R. Richardson, Ph.D. Denise Okafor, Ph.D. Blanton S. Tolbert, Ph.D. Mario Penzo, Ph.D. Curtis Hodge, Ph.D. George Okeyo, Ph.D.
Moderated by: Heather W. Pinkett, Ph.D. Theanne Griffith, Ph.D.
Panelists include: Christopher O. Barnes, Ph.D. Alemayehu Gorfe, Ph.D. Jennie Garcia-Olivares, Ph.D. Ryan R. Richardson, Ph.D. Denise Okafor, Ph.D. Blanton S. Tolbert, Ph.D. Mario Penzo, Ph.D. Curtis Hodge, Ph.D. George Okeyo, Ph.D.
Moderated by: Heather W. Pinkett, Ph.D. Theanne Griffith, Ph.D.
Recording #3: Panel A discussion centered around various career journeys. #BlackInBiophysics
Panelists: Christopher O. Barnes, Ph.D. Alemayehu Gorfe, Ph.D. Jennie Garcia-Olivares, Ph.D. Ryan R. Richardson, Ph.D.
Moderator: Heather W. Pinkett, Ph.D.
Panelists: Christopher O. Barnes, Ph.D. Alemayehu Gorfe, Ph.D. Jennie Garcia-Olivares, Ph.D. Ryan R. Richardson, Ph.D.
Moderator: Heather W. Pinkett, Ph.D.
Recording #4: Introduction - Panel B discussion centered around various career journeys. #BlackInBiophysics
Panelists: Denise Okafor, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Pennsylvania State University
Blanton S. Tolbert, Ph.D. Professor Case Western Reserve University
Mario Penzo, Ph.D. Principal Investigator National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Curtis Hodge, Ph.D. Entrepreneur Nanotein Technologies
George Okeyo, Ph.D. Director, Portfolio Management Nanion Technologies, Inc.
Moderator: Theanne Griffith, Ph.D. Assistant Professor University of California Davis
Panelists: Denise Okafor, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Pennsylvania State University
Blanton S. Tolbert, Ph.D. Professor Case Western Reserve University
Mario Penzo, Ph.D. Principal Investigator National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Curtis Hodge, Ph.D. Entrepreneur Nanotein Technologies
George Okeyo, Ph.D. Director, Portfolio Management Nanion Technologies, Inc.
Moderator: Theanne Griffith, Ph.D. Assistant Professor University of California Davis
Recording #5: #BIBPSMentalHealth Seminar with Dr. Broderick Sawyer - 2021 Black In Biophysics Week
About: Mental health seminar titled "Racial Gaslighting: Grounding Yourself in Ancestral Memory" by Dr. Broderick Sawyer.Broderick Sawyer, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in liberation psychology, meditation, racial trauma, and compassion. He is the founding director of the Racial Trauma Center at Genesee Valley Psychology.
Moderator: Whitney Stevens-Sostre, Black In Biophysics Founder
About: Mental health seminar titled "Racial Gaslighting: Grounding Yourself in Ancestral Memory" by Dr. Broderick Sawyer.Broderick Sawyer, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in liberation psychology, meditation, racial trauma, and compassion. He is the founding director of the Racial Trauma Center at Genesee Valley Psychology.
Moderator: Whitney Stevens-Sostre, Black In Biophysics Founder
See our #BlackInBiophysics Happy Hour organizers below:
