https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.131.26

Our community of physiologists were greeted with a warm (albeit slightly wet) Yorkshire welcome to this year’s Annual Conference in July.

However, the weather did not dampen the mood, with Physiology 2023 providing a programme packed with the latest physiological research and a return to face-to-face networking and discussion following an online Physiology 2021.

Across the three days, physiologists enjoyed and engaged with a variety of content, both scientific and career-enhancing.

Our 18 symposia spanned a range of topics from “Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Response to Disuse” through to “Retinal Signalling and Myopia” as well as two education themed symposia, “Diversifying Physiology Teaching” and “Technology in Teaching Physiology”. Inspiring talks were given by world experts in the form of our Prize Lectures as well as by researchers and educators at all career stages showcasing their work in either one of the 12 oral communication sessions or two poster sessions. These vibrant sessions highlighted the importance of physiology as a discipline and how physiology can change the world.

This was my first year attending a Society meeting, and I got to present my work on the impact of bed rest and a mixed-exercise countermeasure on muscle atrophy and muscle proteomics in adults. I was both honoured and pleasantly surprised to receive the Physiological Reports Early Career Abstract Prize, considering my prior emphasis on clinical work. Looking back, this recognition is reflective of the conference’s overall essence, which was a perfect blend of fundamental and translational research. As a newcomer, I felt welcome at Physiology 2023 and people showed a lot of interest into my work. The feedback and questions I received were constructive and supportive, which says a lot about the community. My first experience with a Society’s meeting exceeded my expectations and I hope to be able to engage more with the community in the upcoming years.

Jean-Christophe Lagacé, Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

New to Physiology 2023 were our Training Hub sessions which provided physiologists with guidance and expertise on topics to help enhance their career. Participants were able to learn about intellectual property within a research context, discuss strategies to help improve the human physiology research funding landscape, gain insight into the process of publishing a paper and how to successfully implement the use of invertebrates and immature non-human vertebrates in practical education.

I attended the Training Hub session ‘Applying the 3Rs to education: switching from rodents to invertebrates’ as I am always keen to learn more about options for other non-mammal models for scientific research. My PhD uses a substantial amount of murine-based animal work, which can be quite difficult. I took a lot from the session, particularly the concepts around insects as reductive models for more basic physiological and scientific questions that wouldn’t necessarily need a mammalian study to prove. The idea that we can utilise non-mammals for educational purposes, with the same level of physiological-based hypothesis is an attractive alternative, particularly with ethical and religious considerations.

Kayleigh Goddard, University of East Anglia, UK

It was a pleasure to be back meeting and engaging with our members and the wider physiology community at Physiology 2023 and we would like to thank everyone who participated. We look forward to seeing you at Physiology in Focus 2024 with The Scandinavian Physiological Society.

Our symposium organisers share their thoughts

Organising a symposium at Physiology 2023 was easy, fun and rewarding. The guidance and support from the Society’s staff were comprehensive, continuous and prompt from the moment the symposium proposal was accepted until its conclusion in Harrogate. The great thing is that it is only the beginning with speakers able to convert their presentations into Symposium Reviews for Experimental Physiology, new collaborations starting and existing ones strengthened. It was also a great way to connect with and give back to The Society.

Dr Toby Mundel, Brock University, Ontario, Canada

Organising a symposium for Physiology 2023 enabled us to bring together physiologists with expertise in application of optical devices and engineers with expertise in optical device development. The experience of hosting this multi-disciplinary symposium was excellent from start to finish. The benefits have extended beyond the symposium in the connections we have made with the expert speakers and keen audience members.

Dr Siana Jones, University College London, UK and Dr Gemma Bale, University of Cambridge, UK