The Physiological Society is delighted to announce that the 2022 Paton Prize has been awarded to Dr David Miller.
Dr Miller presented his Paton Prize Lecture on Thursday 1 September in Dublin, as part of Trinity College Dublin’s celebrations for 100 years of physiology at the institution.
His lecture was on the history of Sydney Ringer (1835–1910) and his eponymous saline solution. Ringer started the evolution of modern cell culture media and blood or tissue fluid ‘replacement’ salines. Without this no isolated cells or tissues could usefully be studied. His discoveries underpin saline infusion in clinical practise. Ringer was present at the inaugural scientific meeting of The Physiological Society in December 1880, demonstrating ‘the effects of lime and potash on the frog’s heart’, the very first clue to the pivotal role of calcium ions in cellular physiology.
The Paton Prize Lecture is given on an historical aspect of physiology and aims to promote interest in the history of scientific experiments and ideas.
After receiving the Prize, Dr Miller said:
It was an honour to deliver the Paton Lecture for 2022. Ringer exemplifies those physiological researchers too-often acknowledged by one reference but whose wider works and lives merits closer examination. Exploring the historical underpinnings of physiology secures a deeper understanding of where our science is today and how we got here.
