The Physiological Society

Summary

The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is a learned society for physiologists in the United Kingdom.

The Physiological Society
Formation1876
PurposeSupport the advancement of physiology
HeadquartersLondon, England
Membership
2500 Members
President
David Attwell
Chief Executive
Dariel Burdass
President-Elect
Annette Dolphin
Websitewww.physoc.org
30 Farringdon Lane, location of the Physiological Society

History edit

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 edit

The Society consists of over 2500 members, including 14 Nobel Laureates drawn from over 50 countries. 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.

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

Presidents edit

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

  • 2001 (2001) – 2003 (2003): Colin Blakemore
  • 2003 (2003) – 2006 (2006): Richard A. North
  • 2006 (2006) – 2008 (2008): Ole Holger Petersen
  • 2008 (2008) – 2010 (2010): Clive H. Orchard [Wikidata]
  • 2010 (2010) – 2012 (2012): Kenneth M. Spyer [Wikidata]
  • 2012 (2012) – 2014 (2014): Jonathan Ashmore
  • 2014 (2014) – 2016 (2016): Richard Vaughan-Jones [Wikidata]
  • 2016 (2016) – 2018 (2018): David A. Eisner
  • 2018 (2018) – 2020 (2020): Bridget Lumb [Wikidata]
  • 2020 (2020) – 2022 (2022): David Paterson[8]
  • 2022 – 2024: David Attwell

Prizes edit

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

Annual Review Prize Lecture edit

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

International Prize Lecture edit

  • 2001 (2001): Nicholas B. Standen [Wikidata]
  • 2002 (2002): David I. Cook [Wikidata]
  • 2003 (2003): Jonathan F. Ashmore
  • 2004 (2004): David J. Beech [Wikidata]
  • 2005 (2005): Simon C. Gandevia [Wikidata]
  • 2006 (2006): Mark J. Dunne [Wikidata]
  • 2007 (2007): David Allen [Wikidata]
  • 2010 (2010): David Attwell
  • 2011 (2011): Giovanni E. Mann [Wikidata]
  • 2013 (2013): Richard Vaughan-Jones [Wikidata]
  • 2014 (2014): Kenneth M. Spyer [Wikidata]

Bayliss-Starling Prize Lecture edit

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 edit

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]

  • 2002 (2002): Louise Robson [Wikidata]
  • 2006 (2006): Matthew Bailey [Wikidata]
  • 2004 (2004): Donald T. Ward [Wikidata]
  • 2008 (2008): Gavin Stewart [Wikidata]

G L Brown Prize Lecture edit

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

  • 1975 (1975): G S Brindley [Wikidata] and R J Linden [Wikidata]
  • 1976 (1976): P F Baker [Wikidata] and Patrick A. Merton [Wikidata]
  • 1977 (1977): Eric Neil [Wikidata]
  • 1983 (1983): John Nicholls
  • 1984 (1984): John S. Gillespie [Wikidata]
  • 1985 (1985): Michael de Burgh Daly [Wikidata]
  • 1986 (1986): Graham J. Dockray
  • 1987 (1987): Semir Zeki
  • 1988 (1988): Anthony Angel [Wikidata]
  • 1989 (1989): Colin Blakemore
  • 1990 (1990): Nicholas B. Standen [Wikidata]
  • 1991 (1991): Roger N. Lemon [Wikidata]
  • 1992 (1992): Jonathan F. Ashmore
  • 1993 (1993): Annette Dolphin
  • 1994 (1994): Richard Vaughan-Jones [Wikidata]
  • 1995 (1995): Stuart Cull-Candy
  • 1996 (1996): Frances M. Ashcroft
  • 1997 (1997): Ian D. Forsythe [Wikidata]
  • 1998 (1998): Peter Lipp [Wikidata]
  • 1999 (1999): David J. Paterson
  • 2000 (2000): Stephen Brendan McMahon
  • 2001 (2001): Chris Peers [Wikidata]
  • 2002 (2002): Mark J. Dunne [Wikidata]
  • 2004 (2004): Michael J. Rennie [Wikidata]
  • 2005 (2005): Godfrey L. Smith [Wikidata]
  • 2006 (2006): C. A. Richard Boyd [Wikidata]
  • 2007 (2007): Nina Balthasa [Wikidata]
  • 2009 (2009): J Graham McGeown [Wikidata]
  • 2010 (2010): Lucilla Poston
  • 2011 (2011): James Deuchars [Wikidata]
  • 2012 (2012): Anant Parekh
  • 2013 (2013): David A. Eisner
  • 2014 (2014): Mike Tipton
  • 2015 (2015): Molly Stevens
  • 2016 (2016): Rachel Tribe
  • 2017 (2017): Andrew Parker [Wikidata]
  • 2018 (2018): Pamela Shaw

G W Harris Prize Lecture edit

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

Hodgkin–Huxley–Katz Prize Lecture edit

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 edit

Named for Joan Mott.[10]

Michael de Burgh Daly Prize Lecture edit

Named for Michael de Burgh Daly [Wikidata].

  • 2002 (2002): Janice M. Marshall [Wikidata]
  • 2005 (2005): James F X Jones [Wikidata]
  • 2007 (2007): Michael J. Joyner
  • 2009 (2009): Colin A. Nurse [Wikidata]
  • 2011 (2011): Tobias Wang [Wikidata]
  • 2013 (2013): Peter Carmeliet
  • 2016 (2016): Nanduri R. Prabhakar [Wikidata]
  • 2018 (2018): Katrin Schröder [Wikidata]
  • 2020 (2020): F Gribble

Otto Hutter Teaching Prize edit

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

  • 2010 (2010): Mary Cotter [Wikidata]
  • 2011 (2011): Neil Morris [Wikidata]
  • 2012 (2012): Eugene Lloyd [Wikidata]
  • 2014 (2014): Dave Lewis [Wikidata]
  • 2015 (2015): Judy Harris [Wikidata]Engaging students and valuing teachers
  • 2016 (2016): Prem Kumar [Wikidata]
  • 2017 (2017): Louise Robson  [Wikidata]
  • 2018 (2018): Julia Choate
  • 2019 (2019): James Clark

The President's Lecture edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

Annual Public Lecture edit

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

Sharpey-Schafer Lecture and Prize edit

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

Wellcome Prize Lecture edit

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

  • 1986 (1986): Kevin A. C. Martin [Wikidata]
  • 1988 (1988): David A. Eisner
  • 1990 (1990): Andrew J. King [Wikidata]
  • 1992 (1992): Hugh R. Matthews [Wikidata]
  • 1994 (1994): Wolf Reik
  • 1996 (1996): Stewart O. Sage [Wikidata]
  • 1998 (1998): Leon Lagnado [Wikidata]
  • 2000 (2000): Daniela Riccardi [Wikidata]
  • 2002 (2002): Anant Parekh
  • 2004 (2004): Alexander V. Gourine [Wikidata]
  • 2006 (2006): Helen Kennedy [Wikidata]
  • 2008 (2008): Andrew W. Trafford [Wikidata]

GSK Prize Lecture edit

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

  • 2010 (2010): Josef Kittler [Wikidata]
  • 2011 (2011): Not awarded
  • 2012 (2012): Holly Shiels [Wikidata]
  • 2013 (2013): Mala M. Shah [Wikidata]

References edit

  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. ^ a b "Prize lectures". The Physiological Society. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "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 edit

  • Tansey, Tilli; Wray, Susan, ed. (1 July 2015). Women Physiologists: Centenary Celebrations and Beyond, The Physiological Society. ISBN 978-0-9933410-0-7

External links edit

  • The Physiological Society
  • The Journal of Physiology
  • Experimental Physiology