Biophysical Society honors Palczewski, Fleming, Gardner

Three members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology have been named 2023 award winners by the Biophysical Society. Krzysztof Palczewski will receive the 2023 Anatrace Membrane Protein Award. Karen G. Fleming will receive the 2023 Avanti Award in Lipids. Kevin H. Gardner will receive the 2023 BPS Award for the Biophysics of Health and Disease. They will be honored, along with other award winners, at the Biophysical Society’s 67^th annual meeting in February.

Krzysztof Palczewski

Palczewski, a professor and director of the Center for Translational Research at the University of California, Irvine, is recognized for his foundational work on the G protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin and disease mechanisms and treatments; and his impact on structural biology, notably lipid interactions and conformational changes exhibited on ligand binding and isomerization. Funded by Anatrace, Inc., this award recognizes an outstanding investigator who has made a significant contribution to the field of membrane protein research.

Karen Fleming

Fleming, a professor of biophysics at Johns Hopkins University and an associate editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, is recognized for her groundbreaking contributions to fundamental understanding of membrane protein stability, folding, biogenesis and insertion through development and application of novel experimental tools that quantify membrane protein folding kinetics and thermodynamics. Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc., established this award to recognize an investigator for outstanding contributions to our understanding of lipid biophysics.

Kevin Gardner

Gardner, a professor at the City College of New York and director of the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center’s Structural Biology Initiative is recognized for his development and application of magnetic resonance methodology to elucidate the regulation mechanism of molecular switches, leading to the development of PAS domain inhibitors for cancer therapies and the exceptional translation of this understanding to the development of an effective cancer drug. The Biophysics of Health and Disease Award, established by the Biophysical Society, honors significant contribution to understanding the fundamental cause or pathogenesis of disease, or to enabling the treatment or prevention.