Dariel Burdass, Chief Executive
Professor David Paterson, President
As 2021 draws to a close, we are pleased to reflect on what has been an exciting year for The Society as we strive to increase the visibility of physiology in an inclusive and sustainable way.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Earlier this year we held the first event to launch our ‘roadmap for change’, where we discussed The Society’s vision for Diversity and Inclusion. Led by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Taskforce, we are now working with a consultant to produce an EDI strategy that reflects the communities we serve and are inclusive of all cultures, experiences, and identities.
As part of building a strong community, we continue to work to improve our equality, diversity and inclusion. Our new video, ‘Being Black in Physiology: Diversity for Scientific Excellence’ (see below) has already been watched over 5,000 times, and our Aspiring Black Physiologist Competition shows young, Black individuals that the way to scientific research is open to them.
Strong community
The arrival of the Omicron variant is a stark reminder, should one be needed, that the pandemic is not over. Since the pandemic began our focus has been to support our members through this unprecedented period. This support has continued throughout 2021 with a growing array of online professional development webinars to support members to progress their career. These are now held in our video library making them more accessible and searchable.
Our rapid response to the pandemic showed the value of a learned society such as The Physiological Society. In addition to the timely advice and guidance we provided, many members have told us they found huge support from our strong community and sense of joint endeavour.
This sense of community has always been a strength of The Society, and COVID-19 showed us the importance of facilitating this in new ways. Therefore, earlier this year we launched our new online Member Community. This enables members from anywhere in the world connect with their communities.
The Theme Leads have taken an active role in the Member Community and have begun to engage their Theme members in theme-specific discussions. We encourage all members to log on and introduce yourself to your fellow Theme members so that you can continue to develop your network.
Blue Plaques
Earlier this month the Board of Trustees were hosted by the University of Cambridge, where we were delighted to unveil our most recent Blue Plaque, for Lord Edgar Douglas Adrian. This capped a fantastic first year for our Blue Plaque scheme, which honours outstanding physiologists who have contributed to the advancement of the discipline through their discoveries while leaving a legacy beyond their lifetime. In 2021 we awarded Blue Plaques to the following physiologists:
Professor Mary Pickford – University of Edinburgh
Sir Charles Scott Sherrington – University of Liverpool and University of Oxford
Professor Archibald Vivian (A.V.) Hill – University of Manchester
Mabel FitzGerld – University of Oxford
Professor Winifred Cullis – University College London (plaque unveiling pictured below)
These events have been accompanied by Member Roadshows, where Trustees have had the opportunity to discuss recent Society activities with local members. We are planning an exciting programme of visits for 2022.
2021 President’s Lecture and Award ceremony
The 2021 President’s Lecture took place at the Royal Society and was delivered by NASA astronaut and physiologist on the topic of ‘Experimenting in microgravity: Full circle for a scientist turned astronaut’. The evening also featured our annual awards ceremony recognising the 2021 Rob Clarke recipients, and the Fellows and Honorary Members who received their awards in 2021.
Watch our President’s Lecture here:
Increasing our influence
Despite the pandemic, 2021 saw our most successful year in policy yet. We published a range of reports:
• Translating UK Knowledge and Research into Impact
• The Future of Interdisciplinary Research Beyond REF2021
• Physiology and the COVID-19 Response
• A National Post-Pandemic Resilience Programme
• The Role of the UK Government in Supporting Interdisciplinary Research
• Physiology and Climate Change
The final report in that list was produced in the run up to the COP26 meeting in Glasgow and highlights the vital role physiologists play in the fight against climate change. This has led to our COP26 Hub, a collection of resources demonstrating how physiology research is improving our knowledge of the effects of climate change, including a Virtual Issue with pertinent articles from all three of The Society’s journals. These initiatives laid the groundwork for a workshop with Wellcome Trust on ‘Climate Change and Health’, with further work planned early next year.
New grant schemes
To further tailor member benefits for each career stage and to increase the breadth of our membership, in 2021 we launched our new grants programme. This scheme is designed to achieve a coherent programme of end-to- end support to both encourage and reward long-term membership. The scheme aims to ensure professional development, to develop advocates for The Society and to improve member engagement, enabling members to see a clear pathway of membership progression. More information about the new grant scheme can be found here.
Supporting our research community
Our journals have had a successful year; The Journal of Physiology now publishes the peer review history of all accepted papers and Abstract Figures are now required for all research articles, with authors being asked to use The Journal’s premium BioRender to create their images. While Experimental Physiology reported receiving more submissions (>700) and publishing more papers (50% increase since 2016) than ever before.
Experimental Physiology also recently launched their new ‘Mid-Career Researcher Prize’ to support this often overlooked demographic, who are juggling grant applications, conducting research and publishing papers. This award aims to recognise and reward the future leaders in physiology. You can read more about the Prize here.
Future Physiology 2021
Our popular conference for Early Career Researchers, Future Physiology, returned online this year. The Organising Committee and our Conferences Team successfully delivered a supportive online environment where early career physiologists could share their research, network with peers, and attend career development workshops.
It was clear from the high quality of research presented that the future of physiology research is in safe hands.
Physiology 2021
While ongoing uncertainties around the pandemic meant we had to hold Physiology 2021 online rather than in Birmingham, as ever our Annual Conference brought together an exceptional scientific and professional development program. During the five days, hundreds of physiologists, at all stages of their career, came together in a true celebration of physiology. The enthusiasm of all our members and the wider physiology community was evident, and we would like to thank them for bringing such energy combined with high quality science to the week.
Looking ahead to 2022
With a packed conference programme, new professional development activities, and even more opportunities to engage with the community, we have an exciting year ahead.
While our innovative online platform has allowed us to hold great online conferences, we hope that we will see you all in person next year, particularly in Copenhagen at Europhysiology 2022! Take a look at our upcoming events on our website.
As always your feedback and thoughts are key so please do contact us to let us know what we do well, where we could do better, what we might stop doing and what we could do more of.
Best wishes for 2022.
David & Dariel