The Physiological Society

Last updated
The Physiological Society
Formation1876
PurposeSupport the advancement of physiology
HeadquartersLondon, England
Membership
2400 Members
President
David Attwell
Chief Executive
Dariel Burdass
President-Elect
Annette Dolphin
Website www.physoc.org
30 Farringdon Lane, location of the Physiological Society Hodgkin Huxley House 1.jpg
30 Farringdon Lane, location of the Physiological Society

The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is an international learned society for physiologists with headquarters in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Contents

History

The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit and protection" by a group of 19 physiologists, led by John Burdon Sanderson and Michael Foster, as a result of the 1875 Royal Commission on Vivisection and the subsequent 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act. [1] Other founding members included: William Sharpey, Thomas Huxley, George Henry Lewes, Francis Galton, John Marshall, George Murray Humphry, Frederick William Pavy, Lauder Brunton, David Ferrier, Philip Pye-Smith, Walter H. Gaskell, John Gray McKendrick, Emanuel Edward Klein, Edward Schafer, Francis Darwin, George Romanes, and Gerald Yeo. The aim was to promote the advancement of physiology. Charles Darwin and William Sharpey were elected as the society's first two Honorary Members. The society first met at Sanderson's London home. The first rules of the society offered membership to no more than 40, all of whom should be male "working" physiologists. [2] Women were first admitted as members in 1915 and the centenary of this event was celebrated in 2015. [3]

Michael Foster was also founder of The Journal of Physiology in 1878, and was appointed to the first Chair of Physiology at the University of Cambridge in 1883.

The archives are held at the Wellcome Library. [4]

Present day

The Society is the oldest and largest network of physiologists in Europe, consisting of members from over 60 countries. The Society’s membership has included at least 61 Nobel laureates, in Physiology or Medicine (n=55), Chemistry (n=5) or Peace (n=1). The majority of members are engaged in research, in universities or industry, into how the body works in health and disease and in teaching physiology in schools and universities. The Society also facilitates communication between scientists and with other interested groups.

The Physiological Society publishes the academic journals The Journal of Physiology and Experimental Physiology , and with the American Physiological Society publishes the online only, open access journal Physiological Reports . [5] It also publishes the membership magazine Physiology News.

In August 2024 The Society announced its first new wholly owned journals in over 100 years, with the launch of The Journal of Precision Medicine: Health and Disease and The Journal of Nutritional Physiology.

The society is based at Hodgkin Huxley House in Farringdon, London, named after Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley. [6]

Presidents

The post of president was established in 2001, and the society's current president is David Attwell. Past holders include: [7]

Prizes

The Society awards a number of prizes for meritorious achievement. [9]

Annual Review Prize Lecture

The society considers its Annual Review Prize Lecture, first awarded in 1968, to be its premier award. [9]

International Prize Lecture

Bayliss-Starling Prize Lecture

Named for William Bayliss and Ernest Starling. Originally awarded every three years, since 2015 it is awarded annually alternating between established and early-career physiologists. [10]

Biller Prize Lecture

Named in memory of Kathy Biller. Given to a worker in the field of renal or epithelial physiology, under 35 years old. It has now been discontinued. [10]

G L Brown Prize Lecture

Named for George Lindor Brown. These lectures are delivered at various institutions and intended to stimulate an interest in physiology. [10]

G W Harris Prize Lecture

Named in memory of Geoffrey Harris. Now discontinued. [10]

Hodgkin–Huxley–Katz Prize Lecture

Named after Alan Hodgkin, Andrew Huxley and Bernard Katz, and normally awarded to a physiologist from outside the UK or Ireland. [10]

Joan Mott Prize Lecture

Named for Joan Mott. [10]

Michael de Burgh Daly Prize Lecture

Named for Michael de Burgh Daly  [ Wikidata ].

Otto Hutter Teaching Prize

Named for Otto Hutter, and awarded to teachers of undergraduate physiology. [10]

The President's Lecture

Initiated in 2017, the President’s Lecture is awarded by the President of The Society to a recipient of their choosing. This prestigious lecture is awarded at the discretion of The Society’s President.

R Jean Banister Prize Lecture

Named for R Jean Banister. Awarded to an early-career physiologist and delivered at various institutions. [10]

  • 2016 (2016): Alicia D’Souza  [ Wikidata ]Getting excited about pacemaking in the athletic heart: interplay of transcription factors and microRNAs in pacemaker electrophysiology.
  • 2017 (2017): Nathalie L Rochefort  [ Wikidata ]Decoding the visual cortex
  • 2018 (2018): Bethan PhillipsPhysiological adaptations to traditional and novel exercise interventions as a function of age
  • 2019 (2019): Marie Holt  [ Wikidata ]

The Paton Lecture

Named for William D.M. Paton, and given on a historical aspect of physiology. [10]

Annual Public Lecture

Intended to raise awareness and understanding of physiology among the general public and schools. [10]

Sharpey-Schafer Lecture and Prize

Named after Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer. Awarded alternating between established and early-career physiologists. [10]

Wellcome Prize Lecture

Awarded to young physiologists (under 40). Now discontinued. [10]

GSK Prize Lecture

Awarded to early-career physiologists. Now discontinued. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physiology</span> Science regarding function of organisms or living systems

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer</span> English physiologist (1850–1935)

Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer FRS FRSE FRCP was a British physiologist.

The Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics is an annual prize of the American Physical Society. It is given to recognize and encourage outstanding achievements in experimental particle physics, and is open to scientists of any nation. It was established in 1985 by friends of Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky and by the Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society. Panofsky was a physics professor at Stanford University and the first director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Several of the prize winners have subsequently won the Nobel Prize in Physics. As of 2021, the prize included a $10,000 award.

The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers who have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry.

The Rutherford Memorial Medal is an award for research in the fields of physics and chemistry by the Royal Society of Canada. It was dedicated to the memory of Ernest Rutherford. It is awarded once for physics and once for chemistry each year, "for outstanding research", when there is a suitable candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Photographic Society</span> Society founded in 1853 in London

The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with the objective of promoting the art and science of photography, and in 1853 received royal patronage from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

The E.B. Wilson Medal is the American Society for Cell Biology's highest honor for science and is presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for significant and far-reaching contributions to cell biology over the course of a career. It is named after Edmund Beecher Wilson.

The Davisson–Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics is an annual prize that has been awarded by the American Physical Society since 1965. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding work in atomic physics or surface physics". The prize is named after Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, who first measured electron diffraction, and as of 2007 it is valued at $5,000.

The Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society since 1977. The recipient is chosen for "notable contributions to the field of molecular spectroscopy and dynamics". The prize is named after Earle K. Plyler, who was a leading experimenter in the field of infrared spectroscopy; as of 2007 it is valued at $10,000. The prize is currently sponsored by the AIP Journal of Chemical Physics.

The Fluid Dynamics Prize is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society (APS) since 1979. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding achievement in fluid dynamics research". The prize is currently valued at US$10,000. In 2004, the Otto Laporte Award—another APS award on fluid dynamics—was merged into the Fluid Dynamics Prize.

The Bicentenary Medal is a scientific award given by the Linnean Society. It is awarded annually in recognition of work done by a biologist under the age of 40 years. The medal was first awarded in 1978 on the 200th anniversary of the death of Carl Linnaeus.

The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine is the Nobel Committee responsible for proposing laureates for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine is appointed by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, a body of 50 members at Karolinska Institute that is formally a separate body not part of the institute itself. It consists of professors of physiology or medical subjects active at Karolinska Institute. Other than the five ordinary members, ten associated members are appointed each year, for that year only.

The ISCB Overton Prize is a computational biology prize awarded annually for outstanding accomplishment by a scientist in the early to mid stage of his or her career. Laureates have made significant contribution to the field of computational biology either through research, education, service, or a combination of the three.

The Genetics Society of American Medal is a medal awarded by the Genetics Society of America (GSA) for outstanding contributions to the field of genetics in the last 15 years.

The Australian Institute of Physics was established in 1963, when it replaced the Australian Branch of the British Institute of Physics based in London. The purpose of the institute is to promote the role of physics in research, education, industry and the community. The AIP publishes Australian Physics since 1963. Every two years, the Institute organises a national congress, the latest being held in December 2022 in Adelaide.

The Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry was established in 1934. Consisting of a bronze medal and honorarium, its purpose is to stimulate fundamental research in biological chemistry by scientists not over thirty-eight years of age. The Award is administered by the Division of Biological Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilli Tansey</span>

Elizabeth Matilda Tansey is an Emerita Professor of the history of medicine and former neurochemist, best known for her role in the Wellcome Trust's witness seminars. She previously worked at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

The Joan Mott Prize Lecture is a prize lecture awarded annually by The Physiological Society in honour of Joan Mott.

The Physiology Society Annual Review Prize Lecture is an award conferred by The Physiological Society. First awarded in 1968, it is one of the premier awards of the society.

The Jodrell Chair of Physiology is a chair at University College London, endowed by Thomas Jodrell Phillips Jodrell in 1873. The chairs succeeded the previous chair in Anatomy and Physiology.

References

  1. The History of The National Anti-Vivisection Society (The National Anti-Vivisection Society)
  2. Sharpey-Schafer, E. History of the Physiological Society during its first Fifty Years 1876–1927, Oxford University Press, London, 1927
  3. Burgess, Helen (Spring 2015). "100 years of women members: The Society's centenary of women's admission". Physiology News. The Physiological Society. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  4. "The Physiological Society". Catalogue. Wellcome Library. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. "Physiological Reports". Wiley Online Library. Wiley. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  6. 22 August 2012. "Hodgkin-Huxley House: Name the meeting rooms". The Physiological Society. Retrieved 9 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. "Past Officers of the Physiological Society" (PDF). The Physiological Society. 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. "David Paterson". The Physiological Society. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Prize lectures". The Physiological Society. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Lectures and Prizes". The Physiological Society. 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  11. Barrett, Kim E. (2017-01-15). "Endogenous and exogenous control of gastrointestinal epithelial function: building on the legacy of Bayliss and Starling". The Journal of Physiology. 595 (2): 423–432. doi:10.1113/JP272227. ISSN   1469-7793. PMC   5233669 . PMID   27284010.
  12. How your body clock makes you tick on YouTube
  13. The loving brain on YouTube

Further reading