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The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is a
learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...
for physiologists in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
.


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 Sir John Scott Burdon-Sanderson, 1st Baronet, FRS, HFRSE D.Sc. (21 December 182823 November 1905) was an English physiologist born near Newcastle upon Tyne, and a member of a well known Northumbrian family. Biography He was born at Jesmond ...
and Michael Foster, as a result of the 1875 Royal Commission on Vivisection and the subsequent 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act. Other founding members included:
William Sharpey William Sharpey FRS FRSE LLD (1 April 1802 – 11 April 1880) was a Scottish anatomist and physiologist. Sharpey became the outstanding exponent of experimental biology and is described as the "father of British physiology". Early life Sharpe ...
,
Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...
,
George Henry Lewes George Henry Lewes (; 18 April 1817 – 30 November 1878) was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He was also an amateur physiologist. American feminist Margaret Fuller called Lewes a "witty, French, flippant sort of m ...
,
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, Anthropology, anthropologist, tropical Exploration, explorer, geographer, Inventio ...
,
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
,
George Murray Humphry Sir George Murray Humphry, FRS (18 July 1820 – 24 September 1896) was a professor of physiology and anatomy at Cambridge, surgeon, gerontologist and medical writer. Life He was born at Sudbury in Suffolk on 18 July 1820, the third son of Wil ...
,
Frederick William Pavy Frederick William Pavy (29 May 1829 – 19 September 1911) was a British physician and physiologist and the discoverer of Pavy disease, a cyclic or recurrent physiologic albuminuria. Life Pavy was born in Wroughton and educated at Merc ...
, Lauder Brunton,
David Ferrier Sir David Ferrier FRS (13 January 1843 – 19 March 1928) was a pioneering Scottish neurologist and psychologist. Ferrier conducted experiments on the brains of animals such as monkeys and in 1881 became the first scientist to be prosecuted ...
, Philip Pye-Smith, Walter H. Gaskell, John Gray McKendrick,
Emanuel Edward Klein Emanuel Edward Klein FRS (31 October 1844 at Osijek – 9 February 1925 at Hove) was a bacteriologist who was born in Croatia and educated in Austria before settling in Britain. He is sometimes known as the father of British microbiology, but m ...
, Edward Schafer,
Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was t ...
,
George Romanes George John Romanes FRS (20 May 1848 – 23 May 1894) was a Canadian-Scots evolutionary biologist and physiologist who laid the foundation of what he called comparative psychology, postulating a similarity of cognitive processes and mechanism ...
, and Gerald Yeo. The aim was to promote the advancement of
physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...
.
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
and
William Sharpey William Sharpey FRS FRSE LLD (1 April 1802 – 11 April 1880) was a Scottish anatomist and physiologist. Sharpey became the outstanding exponent of experimental biology and is described as the "father of British physiology". Early life Sharpe ...
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. Women were first admitted as members in 1915 and the centenary of this event was celebrated in 2015. Michael Foster was also founder of ''
The Journal of Physiology ''The Journal of Physiology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1878 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Physiological Society. It covers research on all aspects of physiology, with an emphasi ...
'' in 1878, and was appointed to the first Chair of Physiology at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1883. The archives are held at the Wellcome Library.


Present day

The Society consists of over 4500 members, including 14 Nobel Laureates and over 800 affiliates (younger scientists) 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 ''The Journal of Physiology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1878 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Physiological Society. It covers research on all aspects of physiology, with an emphasi ...
'' and ''
Experimental Physiology An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
'', and with the
American Physiological Society The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other health professions. Its mission is to support research an ...
publishes the online only,
open access journal Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
''
Physiological Reports ''Physiological Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open access online only scientific journal covering original research in all areas of physiology. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological ...
''. It also publishes the membership magazine ''Physiology News''. The society is based at Hodgkin Huxley House in Farringdon, London, named for
Alan Hodgkin Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin (5 February 1914 – 20 December 1998) was an English physiologist and biophysicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles. Early life and education Hodgkin was bo ...
and
Andrew Huxley Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley (22 November 191730 May 2012) was an English physiologist and biophysicist. He was born into the prominent Huxley family. After leaving Westminster School in central London, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge ...
.


Presidents

The post of president was established in 2001, and the society's current president is
David Attwell David Attwell FRS (born 1953ATTWELL, Prof. David Ian
''Who's Who 2015'', A & ...
. Past holders include: * * * * * * * * * * * 2022 - 2024:
David Attwell David Attwell FRS (born 1953ATTWELL, Prof. David Ian
''Who's Who 2015'', A & ...


Prizes

The Society awards a number of prizes for meritorious achievement.


Annual Review Prize Lecture

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


International Prize Lecture

* * * * * * * * * * *


Bayliss-Starling Prize Lecture

Named for
William Bayliss Sir William Maddock Bayliss (2 May 1860 – 27 August 1924) was an English physiologist. Life He was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire but shortly thereafter his father, a successful merchant of ornamental ironwork, moved his family to a ...
and
Ernest Starling Ernest Henry Starling (17 April 1866 – 2 May 1927) was a British physiologist who contributed many fundamental ideas to this subject. These ideas were important parts of the British contribution to physiology, which at that time led the world ...
. Originally awarded every three years, since 2015 it is awarded annually alternating between established and early-career physiologists. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - ''Endogenous and exogenous control of gastrointestinal epithelial function: building on the legacy of Bayliss and Starling'' * * * *


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. * * * *


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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


G W Harris Prize Lecture

Named in memory of Geoffrey Harris. Now discontinued. * * * *


Hodgkin–Huxley–Katz Prize Lecture

Named after
Alan Hodgkin Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin (5 February 1914 – 20 December 1998) was an English physiologist and biophysicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles. Early life and education Hodgkin was bo ...
,
Andrew Huxley Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley (22 November 191730 May 2012) was an English physiologist and biophysicist. He was born into the prominent Huxley family. After leaving Westminster School in central London, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge ...
and
Bernard Katz Sir Bernard Katz, FRS (; 26 March 1911 – 20 April 2003) was a German-born British physician and biophysicist, noted for his work on nerve physiology. He shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1970 with Julius Axelrod and Ulf ...
, and normally awarded to a physiologist from outside the UK or Ireland. * * * * * * * * * - ''Calcium microdomains in cardiac myocytes'' * *


Joan Mott Prize Lecture

Named for Joan Mott.


Michael de Burgh Daly Prize Lecture

Named for . * * * * * * * * *


Otto Hutter Teaching Prize

Named for Otto Hutter, and awarded to teachers of undergraduate physiology. * * * * * - ''Engaging students and valuing teachers'' * * * *


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. Thi
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. * - ''Getting excited about pacemaking in the athletic heart: interplay of transcription factors and microRNAs in pacemaker electrophysiology.'' * - ''Decoding the visual cortex'' * - ''Physiological adaptations to traditional and novel exercise interventions as a function of age'' *


The Paton Lecture

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


Annual Public Lecture

Intended to raise awareness and understanding of physiology among the general public and schools. * * * * * * - ''How your body clock makes you tick'' * - ''The loving brain'' * * * - ''The science of laughter'' * * - ''From mountains to the bedside: Lessons learnt from Everest'' *


Sharpey-Schafer Lecture and Prize

Named after
Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer FRS FRSE FRCP LLD (2 June 1850 – 29 March 1935) was an English physiologist. He is regarded as a founder of endocrinology: in 1894 he discovered and demonstrated the existence of adrenaline together with G ...
. Awarded alternating between established and early-career physiologists. * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Wellcome Prize Lecture

Awarded to young physiologists (under 40). Now discontinued. * * * * * * * * * * * *


GSK Prize Lecture

Awarded to early-career physiologists. Now discontinued. * * * *


References


Further reading

* Tansey, Tilli; Wray, Susan, ed. (1 July 2015). ''Women Physiologists: Centenary Celebrations and Beyond'', The Physiological Society.


External links


The Physiological Society

The Journal of Physiology

Experimental Physiology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Physiological Society Biology societies Learned societies of the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1876 1876 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom