 | |
| Formation | 1876 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Support the advancement ofphysiology |
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Membership | 2400 Members |
President | David Attwell |
Chief Executive | Dariel Burdass |
President-Elect | Annette Dolphin |
| Website | www |
The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is an internationallearned society forphysiologists with headquarters in theUnited Kingdom and Ireland.
The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit and protection" by a group of 19 physiologists, led byJohn Burdon Sanderson andMichael 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, andGerald Yeo. The aim was to promote the advancement ofphysiology.Charles Darwin andWilliam 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 ofThe Journal of Physiology in 1878, and was appointed to the first Chair of Physiology at theUniversity of Cambridge in 1883.
The archives are held at theWellcome Library.[4]
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 journalsThe Journal of Physiology andExperimental Physiology, and with theAmerican Physiological Society publishes the online only,open access journalPhysiological Reports.[5] It also publishes the membership magazinePhysiology News.
In August 2024 The Society announced its first new wholly owned journals in over 100 years, with the launch ofThe Journal of Precision Medicine: Health and Disease andThe Journal of Nutritional Physiology.
The society is based at Hodgkin Huxley House in Farringdon, London, named afterAlan Hodgkin andAndrew Huxley.[6]
The post of president was established in 2001, and the society's current president isDavid Attwell. Past holders include:[7]
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The Society awards a number of prizes for meritorious achievement.[9]
The society considers its Annual Review Prize Lecture, first awarded in 1968, to be its premier award.[9]
Named forWilliam Bayliss andErnest Starling. Originally awarded every three years, since 2015 it is awarded annually alternating between established and early-career physiologists.[10]
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]
Named forGeorge Lindor Brown. These lectures are delivered at various institutions and intended to stimulate an interest in physiology.[10]
Named in memory ofGeoffrey Harris. Now discontinued.[10]
Named afterAlan Hodgkin,Andrew Huxley andBernard Katz, and normally awarded to a physiologist from outside the UK or Ireland.[10]
Named forMichael de Burgh Daly [Wikidata].
Named forOtto Hutter, and awarded to teachers of undergraduate physiology.[10]
Initiated in 2017, the President’s Lecture is awarded by the President of The Society to a recipient of their choosing. Thisprestigious lecture is awarded at the discretion of The Society’s President.
Named forR Jean Banister. Awarded to an early-career physiologist and delivered at various institutions.[10]
Named forWilliam D.M. Paton, and given on a historical aspect of physiology.[10]
Intended to raise awareness and understanding of physiology among the general public and schools.[10]
Named afterEdward Albert Sharpey-Schafer. Awarded alternating between established and early-career physiologists.[10]
Awarded to young physiologists (under 40). Now discontinued.[10]
Awarded to early-career physiologists. Now discontinued.[10]
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