Yifan Liu(D1, Hayashi Group) Awarded Biophysical Society Travel Award
Ms. Liu Yifan (1st year Ph.D. student) from Hayashi Group received a Travel Award at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from February 21 to 25, 2026. This award recognizes outstanding research in biophysics and is presented to early-career researchers who contribute to promoting international exchange among biophysicists worldwide. Applicants are evaluated based on the scientific significance of their research as described in their submitted abstracts. The selection process is conducted by several committees of the Biophysical Society, including the Committee for Inclusion and Diversity (CID), the Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW), the Education Committee, the Early Careers Committee, and the Membership Committee.
The title of the awarded presentation was “Development of charged nanobubble-containing media and their effects on iPSC-derived cell culture.”
Charged nanobubbles are gas-filled spherical structures with diameters of less than 1 µm, characterized by high surface charge, long-term stability, and the ability to generate bactericidal radicals upon collapse. Owing to these unique properties, nanobubbles have attracted attention for various applications, such as wastewater treatment. However, their applications in cell biology have remained limited because it is difficult to maintain their stability and surface charge under neutral conditions around pH 7. Ms. Liu and the research team successfully generated both positively and negatively charged nanobubbles in the culture medium of human iPSC-derived neurons (pH 7.4) for the first time in the world. Same as their known bactericidal effects, nanobubble-containing media induced cell death in iPSC-derived NPCs, with positively charged nanobubbles showing a stronger effect than negatively charged ones. In the future, the group aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying nanobubble-induced cell death and to establish a new purification strategy for improving the quality of iPSC-derived cells.
Ms. Liu is expected to play a bridging role between the Biophysical Society communities in Asia and the United States, which was one of the reasons for the award.
Publication
- Journal：Scientific Reports, in press
- Title：Stable charged nanobubble with distinct polarities in culture media differentially affect the vaibility of human iPSC-derived neurons
- Authors： Yifan Liu, Takeshi Ohdaira*, Emi Kitakata, Michael A. Silverman, Jhunam Sidhu, Jun Okubo, Yoshihisa Harada, Kumiko Hayashi*