Abstract
German Rivas is an executive editor of the IUPAB Biophysical Reviews journal based in Spain. As the head of the Department of Structural and Chemical Biology at the Center for Biological Research (CIB) Margarita Salas (one of the largest research institutes devoted to life sciences of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)), he leads a research program aimed at understanding the structure function relationship of large macromolecular complexes (involved in bacterial cell division) when placed in physiologically complex and “crowded” media toward their reconstitution from the bottom up in cell-like compartments. In this “Meet the Editors’” piece, he briefly describes his research interests and history.
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Acknowledgements
I dedicate this article to my teachers Alejandro de la Sota (architect, 1913–1996), José González-Rodríguez and Ulises Acuña (IQFR-CSIC, Madrid), and Allen Minton (NIH): with their attitude and example, they have guided the scientific explorations I have embarked on throughout my life. The dedication also extends to our lab members, committed and loyal travel fellows who, through their efforts, have contributed to many of these explorations becoming a reality, often in unexpected ways. Finally, I thank all our many collaborators and friends, especially Allen Minton, Petra Schwille (MPI-Biochemistry, Martinsried), and Miguel Vicente (CNB-CSIC, Madrid): we share explorations and receive their generous help to continue exploring. “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time” (T.S. Elliot).
Funding
Grants from the Spanish Government have continuously funded our research since the launch of our laboratory (in 1996), the current being grant nos. PID2019-104544GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Our laboratory participates in the CSIC Conexiones LifeHUB (grant no. PIE-202120E047). GR represents the CSIC on the steering committee of the European Synthetic Cell Initiative (https://www.syntheticcell.eu/). We also acknowledge the previous funding of our research by grants from the Human Frontiers Science Program, the European Community, and the Government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
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Rivas, G. Biophysical Reviews’ “Meet the Editors Series”—a profile of Germán Rivas. Biophys Rev 15, 151–156 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-023-01061-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-023-01061-w