Physiology is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and physical functions in a living system. According to the classes of organisms, the field can be divided into medical physiology, animal physiology, plant physiology, cell physiology, and comparative physiology.
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics. The society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the prestigious Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than twenty science meetings each year. APS is a member society of the American Institute of Physics. Since January 2021 the organization has been led by chief executive officer Jonathan Bagger.
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It was founded in 1899. The Society publishes a variety of scientific journals, textbooks, and other educational materials related to microbiology and infectious diseases. ASM organizes annual meetings, as well as workshops and professional development opportunities for its members.
Walter Bradford Cannon was an American physiologist, professor and chairman of the Department of Physiology at Harvard Medical School. He coined the term "fight or flight response", and developed the theory of homeostasis. He popularized his theories in his book The Wisdom of the Body, first published in 1932.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and translational research into the etiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Founded in 1907 by 11 physicians and scientists, the organization now has more than 52,000 members in 130 countries and territories. The mission of the AACR is to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.
The Biophysical Society is an international scientific society whose purpose is to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. Founded in 1958, the Society currently consists of over 7,500 members in academia, government, and industry. Although the Society is based in the United States, it is an international organization. Overseas members currently comprise over one third of the total.
The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is a learned society for physiologists in the United Kingdom.
The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.
The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate Better Medicines through Global Education and Research around the world.
Henry Pickering Bowditch was an American soldier, physician, physiologist, and dean of the Harvard Medical School. Following his teacher Carl Ludwig, he promoted the training of medical practitioners in a context of physiological research. His teaching career at Harvard spanned 35 years.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a learned society that was founded on December 26, 1906, at a meeting organized by John Jacob Abel. The roots of the society were in the American Physiological Society, which had been formed some 20 years earlier. ASBMB is the US member of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), based in Rockville, Maryland, is a non-profit organization of scientific societies in the United States. With a focus on the biological and biomedical sciences, the federation represents scientists in such fields as anatomy, physiology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, toxicology, genetics, and nutrition.
The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) is a professional, scientific and medical society established in 1977 to promote excellence in bone and mineral research and to facilitate the translation of that research into clinical practice. The ASBMR has a membership of nearly 4,000 physicians, basic research scientists, and clinical investigators from around the world.
The American Society of Exercise Physiologists is a non-profit professional organization for exercise physiologists. Founded in Minnesota in 1997, its vision is to establish board-certified exercise physiologists as experts in the application of "exercise as medicine" to benefit society. As the scientific body of exercise physiology has some overlap with athletics and sports training, the organization advocates for the unique contributions of exercise physiologists and attempts to enhance their public sector job opportunities.
Dennis Brown is a renal physiologist. He is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, director of the Program in Membrane Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Associate Director of the MGH Center for Systems Biology. He is a member of the MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR), the central body for research governance at MGH.
The Histochemical Society (HCS) is an academic society that was founded on March 24, 1950 at a meeting organized by Ralph D. Lillie of the National Institutes of Health. The idea for the Society arose during the 1949 Biological Stain Commission meeting at which a symposia encompassing anatomy, cytology, pathology and biochemistry was proposed by Lillie, Charles Leblond and Edward Dempsey. Lillie became the first editor of HCS's journal, Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry.
The Society of General Physiologists (SGP) is a scientific organization whose purpose is to promote and disseminate knowledge in the field of general physiology, and otherwise to advance understanding and interest in the subject of general physiology. The Society’s main office is located at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, where the society was founded in 1946. Past Presidents of the Society include Richard W. Aldrich, Richard W. Tsien, Clay Armstrong, and Andrew Szent-Gyorgi. The society's archives is held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Phycological Society of America (PSA) is a professional society, founded in 1946, that is dedicated to the advancement of phycology, the study of algae. The PSA is responsible for the publication of Journal of Phycology and organizes annual conferences among other events that aid in the advancement of related algal sciences.
Francis Eugene Yates was an American physiologist and a professor of medicine and medical engineering at University of California Los Angeles.
William Townsend Porter was an American physician, physiologist, and medical educator who spent most of his career at Harvard Medical School. He founded the Harvard Apparatus company, which produced laboratory equipment for teaching and research in physiology, and was the founding editor of the American Journal of Physiology.
