News Release

Philadelphia resident Abigail Koch Doura, a doctoral candidate in biology at The Johns Hopkins University, is one of 30 graduate students from colleges and universities all over the world chosen to receive The Biophysical Society's prestigious student travel awards, which offer recipients the opportunity to attend the organization's 49th annual meeting in Long Beach, Calif., Feb. 12 through 16.

Doura, 26, was selected from more than 103 applicants, each of whom submitted a paper that was judged on its scientific merit by the society's scientific panel, according to Ellen Weiss, spokeswoman for the Bethesda, Md., based Biophysical Society. At the meeting, Doura will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with close to 8,000 fellow students and scientists from Taiwan, Canada, France, Spain and England, as well as from all over the United States. She and the other travel award winners will be recognized in a special ceremony set for Feb. 12.

"I am very excited about receiving the award," Doura said. "I look forward to presenting my work to colleagues from all over the country and the world, and receiving their feedback on my research."

Titled "Complex interactions at the helix-helix interface stabilize the glycophorin A transmembrane dimer," Doura's paper describes her investigation into the folding of protein membranes. These membranes are critical drug targets, but remain poorly understood. Her research involved using a model membrane protein called "Glycophorin A" to try to understand the rules governing this important biological process.

George Rose, chairman of the Department of Biophysics, said the entire faculty is proud of Doura.

"This is one of the major annual meetings in biophysics and the travel awards are highly competitive," Rose said. "The award will provide Ms. Doura with an opportunity to present her research to a large, international audience. Congratulations, Abby!"

Doura is a fifth-year graduate student in the Department of Biology. She is a graduate of Central High School. To speak with Doura, contact Lisa De Nike at 443-287-9906.