“Meet the IUPAB councilor”—Thomas Gutsmann

As one of the twelve newly elected councillors, it is my pleasure to provide a brief biographical sketch for the readers of Biophys. Rev. and the members of the Biophysical Societies. I have been actively involved in the German Biophysical Society (DGfB) since 2008, initially as the speaker for the “Membrane Biophysics” section and, since 2015, as the secretary. Within the IUPAB council I follow Prof. Hans-Joachim Galla, former Secretary and President of the German Biophysical Society, who served as a councillor for two terms from 2018 to 2024. Thus, a direct continuation of the German contribution to the IUPAB is guaranteed. My journey in biophysics began during my studies of physics at the University of Kiel, where I specialized in physiology and biophysics. After earning my doctorate in the lab of Ulrich Seydel at the Research Center Borstel, I spent two years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working in Paul Hansma’s lab on the development and application of atomic force microscopy. During my time at UCSB, I also collaborated with Jacob Israelachvili’s lab on membrane properties. Since 2008, I have been leading the Biophysics Research Group at the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center. In 2010, I was appointed as a professor at the University of Lübeck. Additionally, since 2023, I have been serving as an associate member at the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) in Hamburg.