By Tom Addison, Policy Manager, The Physiological Society
With the impact of COVID-19 being most acutely felt among older people, The Physiological Society has worked with partners such as Centre for Ageing Better, UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to raise the profile of physiology and its crucial role in ensuring that older people are as resilient to the virus and its knock-on consequences as possible.
This work stems from a report The Society released in 2019, Growing Older, Better, chaired by Professor Paul Greenhaff (Nottingham University, UK). It focused on the role of physiology in meeting the then Government’s Industrial Strategy Ageing Society Grand Challenge of ‘ensur[ing] that people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest.’ [1]
The Industrial Strategy itself has been replaced by a number of Government announcements ranging from the ‘Levelling Up’ agenda, to the Life Sciences Vision and the R&D People and Culture Strategy. Regardless of Government rebranding, the challenges of an ageing population have not receded. In fact, the pandemic and The Society’s related work have demonstrated that now more than ever, we need to ensure the health and wellbeing of older people.
As part of Growing Older, Better, The Society and the report’s Expert Group, recommended that ‘UKRI should develop programmes of work to promote research underpinning the biological processes of ageing across the research councils.’
In September 2021, BBSRC and MRC announced a joint-funding call ‘to enhance collaboration, building interdisciplinary communities and knowledge exchange in the field of ageing research’ with a focus on ‘integrative approaches leveraging the expertise of molecular, cellular, organismal and population level research offer the potential to identify key ageing pathways, biomarkers and intervention strategies.’[2]
This funding call demonstrates the need for The Physiological Society to continue to reinforce to policymakers the need for physiology to be at the heart of tackling some of the most significant health challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world. The focus on interdisciplinary working is also particularly welcome, given The Society’s 2020/21 policy activity in promoting knowledge exchange and the value of interdisciplinary research within the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
We were delighted to see this funding call from BBSRC and MRC, as an example of the type of joined up initiative we have advocated for. The Physiological Society’s policy work will continue to raise the value of physiology with policymakers and funders to ensure that physiology and its researchers are at the heart of future research projects into ageing and other elements of human health
References:
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-the-grand-challenges/missions#healthy-lives
[2] https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/ageing-across-the-life-course-interdisciplinary-research-network/