Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

idpgrc.bsky.social @idpgrc.bsky.social · 1d

🚨The 2026 IDP GRC Program is LIVE! 📣
Check it out: www.grc.org/intrinsicall...
We’ve got an incredible speaker lineup! 🌟
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting some of them and giving you a sneak peek at the exciting topics they’ll be covering. Stay tuned!

2026 Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Conference GRC

The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins will be held in Les Diablerets, Vaud (fr) Switzerland. Apply today to reserve your spot.

www.grc.org

3 2

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Sarafan ChEM-H @stanford-chemh.bsky.social · Aug 26

Open faculty position!
We're seeking applicants for a tenure-track faculty position at the junior level (Assistant or untenured Associate Professor) with research programs that exist at the interface between molecular science and computation. Apply here: stanford.io/45MF3Qa

Open Faculty Position: Assistant or Associate (Untenured) Professor

Application deadline: 11:55 PM on Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Sarafan ChEM-H is seeking candidates with research programs that exist at the interface between molecular science and computation.

Click the link above to learn more & apply!

9 14

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

idpgrc.bsky.social @idpgrc.bsky.social · 6d

🚨🚨The GRC on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins #IDPs is back!! 🍝🧵🏔️Join us for cutting-edge IDP science, great discussions, and mountain views 🌄🍝
📅 June 21-26, 2026 | Les Diablerets, Switzerland
👉 Details & registration: grc.org/intrinsicall...

2026 Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Conference GRC

The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins will be held in Les Diablerets, Vaud (fr) Switzerland. Apply today to reserve your spot.

grc.org

1 8 15

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · 6d

It’s actually all your own doing, Alex. Very well deserved.

1

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Sarah Shammas @sarahshammas.bsky.social · 7d

Why are transcription factors disordered? Come join us in Oxford as a postdoc and we'll find out together!

Help publish 3 mature projects, AND develop cool new single molecule fluorescence binding assays!

biophysics
transcription
protein:DNA interactions

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

1 5 13

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Arne Elofsson @bioinfo.se · 8d

Come work with me. Excellent startup package. su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Assistant Professor in Data-driven cell and molecular biology

At Stockholm University the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (DBB) and the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute (MBW) are looking to fill one position as DDLS fellow

su.varbi.com

4 4

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · 8d

Congratulations, Alex!!

1 2

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Samara Reck-Peterson @samreckpeterson.bsky.social · 9d

We are hiring an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Come join our collaborative research environment with state-of-the-art facilities in NYC! Application review starts Oct 22.
biochem.weill.cornell.edu/join-our-fac...

Join our Faculty | Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Call for applications:We invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the newly established Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. We are conducting an open search for ou...

biochem.weill.cornell.edu

28 18

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Fangwei Si @sifangwei.bsky.social · 9d

We are looking for a new colleague to join the vibrant and fast-growing biophysics community at CMU and in Pittsburgh! The City of Bridges also offers a unique combination of affordability, innovative ecosystems, and rich cultures. Please spread the word!

Markus Deserno @markusdeserno.bsky.social · 12d

I am super excited to announce that we have a tenure-track faculty position in biophysics open in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon! 🧪

Interfolio link: apply.interfolio.com/174360

PLEASE, share widely across the blue skies!

Let me briefly explain what we're looking for:

1/10

Tenure-track Position in Biophysics at Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Physics

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Open Date: Sep 19, 2025

Description
The Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in biophysics. The appointment is intended to be at the Assistant Professor level, but exceptional candidates at a higher level may also be considered. We seek outstanding candidates with a strong record in cellular and subcellular biophysics. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, uncovering how key characteristics of living systems arise from the interplay between supramolecular cellular structures, how the emergent cellular circuitry defines goals and enables robust decision making, and how metabolic resources are allocated. This encompasses understanding of how information is learned, stored, transduced, and processed across subcellular structures. Applicants with theoretical, data science, or experimental backgrounds within biological physics are encouraged to apply. The ideal candidate will strengthen and extend research programs of current biophysics faculty in the Department of Physics and collaborate with broader life science activities across many departments at CMU and the wider Pittsburgh area.

More details on Interfolio: https://apply.interfolio.com/174360

3 4

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Jen Heemstra @jenheemstra.bsky.social · Aug 15

Feeling awed and a bit starstruck that @science.org chose to run a book review on #LabworkToLeadership!!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Leading a lab, and all it entails

A chemist offers actionable leadership advice to principal investigators

www.science.org

1 17 67

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Gabriela K Popescu @popstarlab.bsky.social · Jul 25

Did you know about the BPS Bridging Funds Program?

If you're a biophysicist navigating a difficult time, this program is for you to defray costs for attending the BPS Annual Meeting!
I am grateful to the @biophysicalsoc.bsky.social for supporting our members!
www.biophysics.org/2026meeting/...

BPS2026 Travel Awards | Biophysical Society

www.biophysics.org

9 8

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · Jul 25

Wow

Karolinska Institutet is recruiting 20 outstanding early-career researchers for assistant professor positions

ki.se/en/about-ki/...

Call for 20 Assistant Professor positions

Karolinska Institutet is a world-leading medical university with a long and proud history of ground-breaking research. We are now recruiting outstanding early-career researchers with particularly exce...

ki.se

7 200 250

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Emanuele Lamberti @elamberti.bsky.social · Jul 20

Direct binding of TDP-43 and Tau drives their co-condensation, but suppresses Tau fibril formation and seeding www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

4 6

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

Lastly, we provide a transferable framework to critically evaluate the functional roles of other phase separating systems.

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

We interpret our data to mean that Gcn4 sequence variants can function as soluble complexes as well as heterotypic condensates but that condensates formed by variants with high affinities can dampen activities. Our study therefore reconciles
opposing views in the literature.

1

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

We find that abilities of Gcn4 variants to co-phase separate and form complexes with Med15 are highly intertwined. Separating the transcriptional functions emerging from condensate or soluble complex formation is therefore not straightforward, and extant literature should be interpreted cautiously.

1

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

Homotypic phase separation of Gcn4 variants does not
predict in vivo activities well. DNA binding solubilizes Gcn4 condensates, which is reversed by Med15 association. Thus, binding to Mediator may facilitate the formation of Gcn4 condensates even on repetitive regulatory DNA sites in the genome.

1

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

Given that transcriptional condensates in yeast are expected to
be miniscule and therefore challenging to visualize, and given that even the presence of condensates would not mean that they are the functional entities, we chose a mutagenesis-based approach.

1 2

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

Phase separation regulates many biological processes, but the role of TF-mediated condensates in gene regulation is contentious. We used Gcn4, a prototypical budding yeast TF, to assess two competing models for transcription activation, i.e., mediated via soluble complexes or through condensates.

1 2

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jul 9

New paper on transcription factor phase separation published from my colleague Aseem Ansari's and my lab: Reconciling competing models on the roles of condensates and soluble complexes in transcription factor function authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

1 12 28

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Mathew Kiang @mathewkiang.com · Jun 25

Karolinska is looking for 20 (!!) assistant professors and offering 6 year appointments with ~1M USD startup packages.

ki.se/en/about-ki/...

Call for 20 Assistant Professor positions

Karolinska Institutet is a world-leading medical university with a long and proud history of ground-breaking research. We are now recruiting outstanding early-career researchers with particularly exce...

ki.se

1 280 280

Reposted by Tanja Mittag

Dragos Rezeanu @dragosrevision.bsky.social · Jun 21

It’s been a weird, unproductive week at the lab and I’m feeling a little down. So here are 10 cool facts about vision:

2 23 60

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jun 21

Interestingly, we find that not all loss-of-function mutations result from direct inactivation of the substrate-binding groove. Some instead stabilize the double-donut state! In conclusion, we report a massive ubiquitin ligase assembly state that functions to sterically fine-tune its activity.

1

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jun 21

We show that mutations that stabilize the double donut state can be combined with mutations that promote the filament state. This gives rise to intermediate activities. This has implications for developing new treatments against cancer in which SPOP is mutated.

1

Tanja Mittag @tanjamittag.bsky.social · Jun 21

The structural equilibrium also has implications for localization: While double donuts partition strongly into nuclear speckles (SPOP stands for Speckle-type POZ protein), the filamentous form prefers localization in the nucleoplasm. This may drive substrate choice of different mutants.

1