BETHESDA, MD – The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Subgroup Awards. These awards recognize the research of members in specialized research Subgroups. The winners were honored at the Society’s 70th Annual Meeting, held in San Francisco, California from February 21-25, 2026.
Bioenergetics, Mitochondria and Metabolism Subgroup
The Young Bioenergeticist Award was given to Francisco Figueroa of the University of California Davis, USA.
The Student Bioenergeticist Award was given to Benjamín Tomás Cartes Saavedra of the MitoCare Center at Thomas Jefferson University, USA .
Bioengineering Subgroup
The Award for Exceptional Contributions to Biophysics & Bioengineering was given to John Wikswo of Vanderbilt University, USA .
Biological Fluorescence Subgroup
The Gregorio Weber Award for Excellence in Fluorescence Theory and Applications was given to Jörg Enderlein of Georg-August-Universität, Germany .
The Young Fluorescence Investigator Award was given to Luciano Masullo of the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (IBYME), Argentina.
The Student Award in Biological Fluorescence was given to John Kohler of the University of Minnesota, USA .
Biopolymers in vivo Subgroup
The BIV Junior Faculty Award was given to Emily Sontag of Marquette University, USA.
Channels Receptors and Transporters Subgroup
The Kenneth S. Cole Award was given to Poul Nissen of Aarhus University, Denmark.
Cryo-EM Subgroup
The June Almeida Award for Mid/Senior-Career Women in Cryo-EM was given to Melanie Ohi of the University of Michigan, USA
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Subgroup
The Intrinsically Disordered Protein Subgroup Postdoctoral Award was given to Srivarsha Rajshekar of the University of California Berkeley, USA and Tongyin Zheng of Brown University, USA.
Mechanobiology Subgroup
The Early Career Award in Mechanobiology was given to Shashank Shekhar of Emory University, USA.
Membrane Fusion, Fission and Traffic Subgroup
The Sir Bernard Katz Award was given to Phyllis Hanson of the University of Michigan, USA.
Membrane Structure and Function Subgroup
The Thomas E. Thompson Award was given to Tobias Baumgart of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Membrane Transport Subgroup
The Chris Miller Award was given to Jue Chen of Rockefeller University, USA.
Motility and Cytoskeleton Subgroup
The Spotlight Award was given to Jeffrey R. Moore of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA.
The Motility & Cytoskeleton Subgroup Early Career Award was given to Morgan DeSantis of the University of Michigan, USA.
Physical Cell Biology Subgroup
The Early Career Award in Physical Cell Biology was given to Trevor GrandPre of Washington University, USA.
The Student Award in Physical Cell Biology was given to Yeonghoon Kim of the University of Michigan, USA.
Single-Molecule Forces, Manipulation and Visualization Subgroup
The Early Career Award in Single-Molecule Forces, Manipulation and Visualization was given to Gheorghe Chistol of Stanford University, USA.
Theory and Computation Subgroup
The Theory & Computation Award for Mid-Career Scientists was given to Margaret Johnson of Johns Hopkins University, USA.
The Theory & Computation Award for Early Career Scientists was given to Rafael Bernardi of Auburn University, USA.
The Theory & Computation Award for Postdoctoral Scientists was given to Sergio Cruz-Leon of Max Planck Institute, USA.
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The Biophysical Society, founded in 1958, is a professional, scientific society established to lead an innovative global community working at the interface of the physical and life sciences, across all levels of complexity, and to foster the dissemination of that knowledge. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its Annual Meeting, publications, and outreach activities. Its 6,500 members are located throughout the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry .