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. 2023 Aug 25;15(4):431–438. doi: 10.1007/s12551-023-01114-0

Fifty years of biophysics in Argentina

Silvia del V Alonso 1,2,✉, F Luis González Flecha 3,✉
PMCID: PMC10480372  PMID: 37681102

Abstract

In 1972, a group of young Argentinean scientists nucleated in the so-called Membrane Club constituted the Biophysical Society of Argentina (SAB). Over the years, this Society has grown and embraced new areas of research and emerging technologies. In this commentary, we provide an overview of the early stages of biophysics development in Argentina and highlight some of the notable achievements made during the past five decades. The SAB Annual Meetings have been a platform for intense scientific discussions, and the Society has fostered numerous international connections, becoming a hallmark of SAB activities over these 50 years. Initially centered on membrane biophysics, SAB focus has since expanded to encompass diverse fields such as molecular, cellular, and systems biophysics.

Keywords: Biophysical societies, Historical note, Biophysics in Latin America, Argentine science

The early years

At the beginning of the twentieth century, biological processes began to be defined in physical terms, giving rise to the so-called biological physics. After the World War II, significant scientific advancements, such as the description of macromolecules as chemical species (rather than colloids), the development of revolutionary techniques such as ultracentrifugation and X-ray diffraction, and the availability of radioactive isotopes, encouraged the application of quantitative methods of physics to solve biological problems. This combination began to be called Biophysics. The new discipline quickly encompassed a wide range of topics and research areas, such as the structure and function of biomacromolecules and cell membranes, transport across membranes, electrophysiology, biomechanics, bioenergetics, and photobiology, to name a few.

Until 1967, biophysics had little development in Argentina. A few laboratories were located in Buenos Aires, La Plata, Rosario, and Córdoba. Most of them were led by young researchers who had returned from postgraduate training in Europe or the USA and were mainly specialized on ion transport across biological membranes. Despite this thematic affinity, these research groups were dispersed throughout the Argentinean geography and, at that time, had few possibilities of exchanging theoretical and experimental knowledge. It was then that Virgilio Lew, a Medical Doctor and physics student at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (now Emeritus Reader at the University of Cambridge), conceived the idea of joining researchers from those groups in an association that he proposed to call “The Membrane Club.” The primary purposes of the Club were to become visible as an independent scientific community, share concepts, ideas, projects, and concerns, and discuss difficulties in doing science on Argentina.

Lew’s proposal was enthusiastically accepted, and the first meeting took place at the end of 1967 in the Department of Biological Chemistry of the Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Brief oral presentations were followed by lengthy discussions covering diverse topics such as ion transport in epithelia and the renal cortex, regulation of cell volume, active transport of ions in isolated cells, and ionic permeability. Around 25 participants, mostly medical professionals with an average age c.a. 35, agreed to call these meetings once a year.

At that time, Argentina was not an easy place for independent scientific initiatives. In 1966, General Juan Carlos Onganía overthrew the elected president Arturo Illia, making the starting point of a military government, something common in those times. One of Onganía’s initial actions was a violent dispersal of students and teachers from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), famously known as “La noche de los bastones largos” (The night of the long walking sticks). This event forced several Argentine scientists to emigrate, including some members of the emerging biophysics groups.

The Club meetings were evolving towards something more systematic. In 1971, Mario Parisi promoted the idea of joining the researchers participating in the Membrane Club meetings in a scientific Society of Biophysics. Examples of Biophysical societies were limited at that time; one of the few was the Biophysical Society of the USA which had been constituted 14 years earlier and the oldest was the Brazilian Biophysical Society founded in 1936.

Many members of the Membrane Club shared Professor Parisi’s initiative and called a Constitutive Assembly for July 18, 1972 (Fig. 1). It was held in the Institute of General Anatomy and Embryology of the Facultad de Medicina at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. With the presence of 18 members of the Club, it was resolved: “…to constitute the Biophysical Society of Argentina …” (SAB) with the purpose of “…a) bringing together those who carry out original research in the field of Biophysics; b) promote the advancement of Biophysics; c) tend to link with similar entities….”.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

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The Biophysical Society of Argentina (SAB) foundation. Left panel: Acta of the Biophysical Society of Argentina Constituent Assembly. “In the library room of the Institute of Embryology of the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad de Buenos Aires, at 6:00 p.m. on July 18th, 1972, upon written invitation, the undersigned met and after an intense exchange of ideas arose the convenience and justification for joining in a Society the group of researchers known as the Membrane Club and all those who carry out research in biophysics, and decided in this act to constitute the Biophysical Society of Argentina.” Right panel: an image of the abstract book of the first Annual Meeting

By that time, the military government of Argentina -that began in 1966- was coming to an end, now under the leadership of General Alejandro A. Lanusse as de facto chief of government. During this period, free elections were scheduled to establish a democratic government, and it was during this time that SAB was constituted.

The First Scientific Meeting and the General Assembly of the Society took place on December 19 and 20, 1972, and gathered more than 50 participants. The meeting consisted of 7 conferences delivered by Oscar Candia (Lithium active transport in frog skin), Luis Beauge (Sodium fluxes in red blood cells), Patricio Garrahan (Potassium activated phosphatase and ATPase activities in red blood cells), Eduardo Smolko (Molecular structure of biopolymers), Raúl Grigera (Water structure in biological systems), José Olavarria (Direct simulation of enzyme systems), and Marcelino Cereijido (What is biophysics?), followed by free communications. Scientific publications resulting from this first meeting were focused on ion transport (Aceves and Cereijido 1973; Beaugé and Ortiz 1973; Candia and Chiarandini 1973; Garrahan et al. 1969), membrane permeability (Coviello et al. 1974), structure of biopolymers (Atkins et al. 1973), water structure in biological systems (Grigera and Cereijido 1971), mathematical models (Schugurensky and Olavarria 1969), physical instrumentation in biophysics (Benski et al. 1972; Frank and Abeledo 1969), and electrophysiology (Stefani and Schmidt 1972).

The General Assembly discussed and approved a draft statute and elected a Board of Directors made up of seven members: Marcelino Cereijido, the first elected President, assisted by Mario Parisi (Secretary), Eduardo Smolko (Treasurer), and LuisBeauge, Patricio Garrahan, Sara Weinschelbaum-Jairala, and Enrico Stefani (Council Members). The General Assembly also approved the appointment of Luis Federico Leloir, 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as the first Honorary Member.

The democratic dream in Argentina was short-lived. In 1976, General Jorge R. Videla (chief of the Military Junta) seized power by overthrowing President María E. Martinez, who had assumed the presidency after the death of Juan D. Perón. This marked the onset of the most violent period in modern Argentine history, with the State implementing terror strategies, resulting in around 30,000 desaparecidos (missing people) and forcing many others to emigrate. Once again, this devastating situation deeply impacted Argentine people, including the scientific community. By 1983, Argentina experienced a notable shift as Raul Alfonsín assumed the Nation´s Presidency after free elections. His leadership led to the prosecution of those responsible for State terrorism and fostered the active participation of the scientific community in various governmental endeavors. Since that time, many SAB members participate in activities of the Secretary of Science and Technology (today Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation) and the National Research Council (CONICET). Over the last 40 years, Argentina has enjoyed a continuous era of democracy. The SAB community has progressively engaged in scientific policy discussions throughout this period. Particularly noteworthy are the roles played by entities like the Forum of Scientific Societies in the 80s and the Permanent Meeting of Scientific Associations (EPAC) in the present days, which have significantly contributed to encouraging this active participation of SAB.

Since its constitution in 1972 the following biophysicists have served as Presidents of the Biophysical Society of Argentina: Marcelino Cereijido (1973–1974), Patricio Garrahan (1975–1982), Alcides Rega (1983–1984), J. Raúl Grigera (1985–1986), Alberto Boveris (1987–1988), Luis Beauge (1989–1990), Guillermo Alonso (1991–1992), Mario Parisi (1993–1994), Juan Pablo Rossi (1995–1996), Oscar Roveri (1997–1998), Jorge Ponce Hornos (1999–2000), Bruno Maggio (2001–2002), Rolando C. Rossi (2003–2004), Horacio Garda (2005–2006), Silvia Alonso (2007–2008), Mario Ermácora (2009–2010), F. Luis González Flecha (2011–2012), Gerardo Fidelio (2013–2014), Gabriela Amodeo (2015–2016), Lia Pietrasanta (2017–2018), José M. Delfino (2019–2021), Soledad Celej (2022–2024), and Dario Estrin (2025–2026 elected).

The international connection

Once SAB was formally constituted, it was decided to contact “…the existing Biophysics groups in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.” Likewise, it was agreed to initiate contacts for joining the International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB). For this task, Mario Parisi contacted Richard Keynes, then IUPAB’s Secretary General, who expressed his willingness to meet the request for incorporation. In 1972, Secretary Parisi informed that the IUPAB General Assembly in Moscow approved the incorporation of SAB as Adhering Body.

Capacity building was one of the most relevant SAB initiatives since its foundation. In 1984, Raul Grigera prepared a working document entitled Latin American School of Biophysics (ELAB) to fulfill the IUPAB’s suggestion to organize a Program for the Development of Biophysics in Latin America. The document had the support of the Biophysical Societies of Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay. Within the framework of that Latin American School, Grigera organized the course “Training in experimental techniques for the study of macromolecules” in La Plata between November 3 and 28, 1986. Many other courses followed this first ELAB in the 80s and 90s. Many years later, Raúl Grigera organized a workshop with representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Colombia to extend this idea and propose a “Latin American Postgraduate Program in Biophysics” (POSLATAM), which was approved by the IUPAB council and continues to these days.

After contacts with the Biophysical Societies of Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, SAB organized in 1987 the First Meeting of Biophysicists of the Southern Cone. A total of 184 participants from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, the USA, France, and Denmark attended the meeting. On that occasion, it was agreed to hold periodic meetings between the members of the Societies mentioned above, planning to hold the second meeting in Chile during 1990 and then continue every 3 years.

In 1997, SAB organized the III Ibero-American Congress of Biophysics in Buenos Aires from September 20 to 23. Plenary lectures and symposia were organized on topics as diverse as cell volume regulation, molecular modeling, photobiophysics, muscle excitation and contraction, ionic channels, and active transport. There were 420 participants from all over America and Europe.

The success of SAB in organizing international meetings led Mario Parisi and Jorge Ponce Hornos to propose the organization of an IUPAB international congress in Argentina. The IUPAB General Assembly approved in 1996 the proposal of Buenos Aires as the venue for the XIV International Biophysics Congress IUPAB 2002 (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

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The IUPAB 2002 Congress was organized in Buenos Aires by the Biophysical Society of Argentina. The congress venue was the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad de Buenos Aires, the same building where the Membrane Club and the Biophysical Society of Argentina were constituted. On the left side, the original logo of SAB alongside the 2002 IUPAB logo is shown

Regardless of the democratic stability achieved in Argentina since 1983, its Economy faced continuous macroeconomic problems and distributive struggles, leading to frequent devaluation shocks of its currency. In 2001, following a period of artificial economic stability under President Carlos S. Menem -sustained by the sale of State assets and external debt accumulation- the financial situation took a dramatic turn. President De La Rua was compelled to resign, leading to the appointment of four provisional Presidents from December 21, 2001, to January 2, 2002. The December 2001 crisis was a direct consequence of specific government measures that culminated in restrictions on people's ability to use the money deposited in banks. This policy affected part of the funds SAB had earmarked for the 2002 IUPAB Congress.

Despite the challenging political and economic climate in Argentina during that period, the 2002 IUPAB Congress took place in Buenos Aires from April 27 to May 1 and achieved resounding success. There were 850 attendees from 46 Countries. Besides the Congress, 14 satellite symposia were held in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, USA, and Uruguay.

Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that Argentine biophysicists have joined the IUPAB council since 1990 without interruptions. In that year, Patricio Garrahan was proposed by SAB and elected as a Council Member of IUPAB, being re-elected in 1993. He was followed by J Raul Grigera (1996–2002), Jorge Ponce Hornos (2002–2006), Francisco Barrantes (2006–2011), Bruno Maggio (2011–2014), Silvia Alonso (2014–2021), and Gabriela Amodeo (2021–present).

In 2005, at the proposal of Jorge Ponce Hornos, then a member of the IUPAB Council, SAB Board of Directors proposed to create a Federation of Biophysical Societies of the Latin American Southern Cone. Professor Ponce Hornos invited Pedro Pascutti (Brazilian Biophysical Society), Eduardo Mizraji (Biophysics Branch of the Uruguayan Society of Biosciences), Horacio Garda, and the authors of this note to discuss this idea to be presented in the 2005 SAB General Assembly, which unanimously approved it. After Jorge Ponce Hornos’ untimely death, Raúl Grigera took over the post leading the constitution of the Federation. It was within the framework of the 5th Congress of Biophysics of the Southern Cone in Montevideo, Uruguay, on August 2007 that representatives of the Biophysical Societies of Argentina and Brazil, of the Biophysics Section of the Uruguayan Society of Biosciences, and an observer delegate from Chilean biophysicists, constituted the Latin American Federation of Biophysical Societies (LAFeBS), approved its Statutes, and elected the first Executive Committee constituted by Raúl Grigera (President, Argentina), Eduardo Mizraji (General Secretary, Uruguay), and Paulo Bisch (Treasurer, Brazil). In 2010, LAFeBS incorporated the Latin American Postgraduate Program in Biophysics (POSLATAM) as the main academic activity, organizing biophysics courses in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, and Cuba. Today, LAFeBS is constituted of full members from Argentine, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela, Spain, Portugal, and Cuba and observer-members from Colombia, Mexico, and Dominican Republic.

Some highlights in 50 years of biophysics in Argentine

During the past 50 years, the Biophysical Society of Argentina organized Annual National Meetings only interrupted in 2020 by the COVID pandemic. Since 1998, the leading conference at these meetings has been named the “Gregorio Weber Conference” in honor of Professor Gregorio Weber (Fig. 3). Being one of the first SAB Honorary Members, Professor Weber has left an indelible impact on numerous generations of biophysicists around the world, mainly for his seminal contributions to the field of Biological Fluorescence. He was perhaps the most influential Argentine biophysicist, with notable contributions to the development of fluorescence techniques for the study of biomolecules as well as to the thermodynamic characterization of interactions between proteins and ligands (Jameson 1998; Weber 1990). Gregorio was a familiar presence at the SAB meetings actively engaging with doctoral students during poster sessions and discussing exiting new results, unconventional hypotheses, or experimental artifacts with equal enthusiasm. His legacy lives on even today as a guiding light for young scientists putting the doubt above belief (Weber 1992).

Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

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The leading conference of the SAB Annual Meetings is the Gregorio Weber Conference. In a remarkable convergence of milestones, 2016 marked the centenary of Gregorio Weber’s birth (1916–1997) and the bicentenary of Argentine Independence. To commemorate this significant occasion, the Gregorio Weber conference was delivered by Professor Enrico Gratton from the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics at the University of California, Irvine, and the chair was David Jameson from the University of Hawaii, two of the closest collaborators and friends of Gregorio during his fluorescent lifetime (Jameson 1998).

Relevant scientific contributions were made by SAB members over these 50 years. Some examples can be mentioned in biophysical areas such as Biomembranes (e.g., Alonso 1989; Ambroggio et al. 2005; Carrer and Maggio 1999; Caruso et al. 2021; Falomir Lockhart et al. 2009; Fanani et al. 2002; Luzardo et al. 2000; Maggio and Cumar 1975; Perillo et al. 1994; Tricerri et al. 1994), Channels, ATPases, and Transporters (e.g., Alleva et al. 2006; Corradi et al. 2007; Chrestia et al. 2021; DiPolo and Beaugé 1987; Garay and Garrahan 1973; González-Lebrero et al. 2002; González Flecha et al. 1990; Grosman and Reisin 2000; Jozefkowicz et al. 2016; Peluffo et al. 1992; Rega et al. 1970; Rossi et al. 1981; Uchitel et al. 1992; Yaneff et al. 2014), Protein Biophysics (e.g., Abatedaga et al. 2017; Adler et al. 2022; Aguilar et al. 2001; Álvarez et al. 2013; Cattoni et al. 2009; Celej et al. 2003; Craig et al. 2002; Faraj et al. 2016; González et al. 2016; González et al. 1997; Lisa et al. 2017; Martin et al. 2013; Orellano et al. 1998; Picó 1997; Rasia et al. 2005; Risso et al. 2009; Santos et al. 2007; Vila 2020), Computational Biophysics (e.g., Berendsen et al. 1987; Crespo et al. 2006; Chara et al. 2009; De Biase et al. 2009; Donnamaria et al. 1994; Freiberger et al. 2019; Parra et al. 2016; Zeida et al. 2014), Cellular Biophysics (e.g., Blanco et al. 2014; Brunstein et al. 2009; Giulivi et al. 1998; Puntarulo et al. 1991; Rost et al. 2016; White et al. 2016), Biotechnology and Nanobiophysics (e.g., Achilli et al. 2022; Ceccarelli et al. 2008; Chilla and Martinez 1991; Giordano et al. 2002; Taira et al. 2004; Temprana et al. 2010), and Biophysical Education (e.g., Abriata 2011; Angelani et al. 2018; Bredeston et al. 2011; Dassie et al. 2005; Faraj et al. 2021; González Flecha and Levi 2003).

Concluding remarks

Since its foundation in 1972, the Biophysical Society of Argentina has emerged as a platform for fostering the widespread dissemination of scientific knowledge, driven by a spirit of inclusivity and federalism. Throughout its history, the Society has played a central role in promoting and advancing research across Argentina, leading to the establishment of numerous research groups in the major urban centers throughout the Country. Moreover, SAB has actively endeavored to engage and inspire young scientists and students from the broader region, offering valuable support for the advancement of their scientific careers.

The 50th Annual Meeting provided a momentous occasion to celebrate this historic milestone together (Fig. 4). Looking ahead, the future of biophysical research in the region holds significant promise. Rapid advancements in communication technologies have enabled seamless daily interactions among research groups, while extensive international connections and the increasing availability of research facilities provide a robust framework for further advancements. Although bureaucratic and financial challenges persist in Argentina, hindering progress, we remain hopeful that this situation will change shortly, within the broader Latin American context. In this regard, the international umbrella-like function of IUPAB, connecting the Biophysical community worldwide, is critical to the future growth of regional Biophysics initiatives.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 4

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The 50th Annual Meeting of the Argentine Biophysical Society was held in Rosario, Argentina, on November 16–18, 2022. This meeting was the first face-to-face Annual Meeting after the COVID pandemic. The upper left panel of the figure shows the current logo of SAB and that of the Rosario meeting. The upper right panel shows the poster session during the Congress. An electrical blackout occurred during the session, but the poster discussions were not interrupted and continued in the light of cell phones. The lower panel shows the SAB General Assembly, also affected by the blackout at the Convention Center, so it was relocated outdoors at the edge of the Paraná River

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Alcides Rega (1930–2020), Eduardo Smolko (1939–2021), Mario Parisi and Oscar Roveri for providing valuable information about the early stages of SAB, to Daniel Peluffo for critical reading of the manuscript and to Marcelo Ozu for the photographs reproduced in Fig. 4. This work was supported by Agencia I+D+i (PICT 2019- 02768 to LGF) and Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (PUNQ 918/22 to SA).

Author contributions

Both authors contributed to the commentary conception and design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by FLGF and both authors corrected, read and approved the final manuscript.

Declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Footnotes

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Contributor Information

Silvia del V. Alonso, Email: salonso@unq.edu.ar

F. Luis González Flecha, Email: lgf@qb.ffyb.uba.ar.

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