https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.119.18

We hosted Future Physiology 2020 throughout the week of 6 July. An annual scheme, the Future Physiology meetings offer Undergraduate and Affiliate Members of The Society the opportunity to organise their own conference. The programme of each meeting is created to give early career researchers the chance to gain practical experience and advice to help in their physiology careers.  

Unlike previous Future Physiology meetings, Future Physiology 2020 was run entirely online, making it The Society’s very first virtual conference. The meeting was originally planned to take place as an in-person conference however, with the COVID-19 outbreak, we were forced to review our events programme and make some difficult decisions as to whether our upcoming meetings should go ahead. With such a valuable programme designed for early career researchers and their professional development, we felt it would have been a great loss if we were to postpone or cancel the Future Physiology 2020 meeting and so we decided to make the move to virtual.

This year’s proposal was submitted by a team of six early career researchers from Norway, Denmark, and Canada. Their chosen scientific focus for the conference was “Physiology in a changing climate: the interdependence between physiology, behaviour and the environment.” The organising group created a fantastic programme that included nine invited speaker talks (with a focus on career progression), 15 oral communications, three ePoster sessions, and four professional development workshops.

To transform the meeting into a virtual experience, we used three new software platforms (Zoom, NetworkTables and Kubify’s Learning Toolbox), which enabled us to maintain and enhance each aspect of the original programme. The Conference Hub on NetworkTables provided an environment where participants could access each of the sessions and build their own tailored agendas. Each attendee was given a profile on the Conference Hub and had the opportunity to add a photograph of themselves and some information about their interests which helped to give the conference a personal and friendly feel. Attendees were also able to connect with one another using their profiles. 

During the invited speaker talks, oral communications, and professional development workshops, we were able to offer our attendees an interactive experience, with participants having the option to submit questions and comments and upvote others’ questions, as well as vote in polls (including one to select the winner of our annual Michael J Rennie Oral Communication Prize for early career researchers). For the poster sessions, we introduced innovative ePosters, formed of dynamic multimedia resources. The 77 ePosters created for the conference were available for attendees to view in the Future Physiology 2020 ePoster Showcase before, during and after the conference. Each ePoster presenter also had four mini-sessions scheduled, providing them the opportunity to discuss their research and answer questions in small groups.

Future Physiology 2020 had a total of 407 registrations from 36 countries. When comparing this to registrations from just 18 countries for Future Physiology 2019, the 2020 meeting was far more international. This can be attributed to the fact that the virtual conference model removes barriers such as a lack of institutional funding, issues in securing visas, and unavoidable conflicting commitments that would otherwise prevent researchers from attending. With no travel or venue hire that is associated with our in-person conferences, Future Physiology 2020 is also by far our most sustainable meeting to date. With all the associated benefits, the virtual model is certainly something we will build into our future events programme.

Mariam Jaw Mbowe, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, The Gambia

Future Physiology 2020 could not have come at a better time, when the whole world is battling with the first pandemic to be caused by a coronavirus. The first ever virtual conference I happened to attend brought me a golden opportunity. I believe it was the same for many colleagues in physiology who attended. Personally, it helped me to distance myself from the COVID-19 news which is causing a lot of stress and anxiety as the days goes by; I was becoming more and more helpless and mentally fatigued. The conference gave me the opportunity for a change, to learn more about the advances in physiology and to engage in activities where the pandemic was not the center of discussion. 

As an African physiologist from the smallest and one of the least developed nations of the continent, where physiology education is not that advanced, attending this virtual conference came with a lot of unique advantages. The fact that physiologists from all corners of the world came together on one platform to promote physiology, at a time when a lot of restrictions are in place, is commendable. 

Attending the conference from any location meant that I was using either my laptop, telephone, or tablet. Also, not struggling to get a visa and funding to travel, was a welcome change for me and I believe many in my shoes, especially those from low income settings who welcomed it wholeheartedly too. It is rare for people to attend conferences  nowadays at no or low cost but The Physiological Society granted me and many others this rare opportunity. The conference covered diverse topics including human physiology, animal physiology, factors that can affect the normal functioning of living organisms, mental health in academia, endocrine and metabolic disorders, the use of artificial intelligence in physiology, career paths in physiology and equipment like the HoloLens which I hadn’t heard of before. 

Through this conference despite the differences in culture, religion, ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the participants, we were able to come together as a family to share knowledge and research done in different continents and to network, all with the aim of improving lives. It was great to meet and connect with attendees through the special NetworkTables platform. 

It was also exciting and inspiring to connect with colleagues from across the African continent and witness firsthand, presentations of work they have done in the field of physiology. Their research has inspired me to believe that even without many resources, something can be done to advance physiology in middle and low resource settings. 

The learning toolbox where all the ePosters were uploaded, giving us the opportunity to go through all the presentations and be able to download them for future references. This will go a long way in helping to increase my knowledge and how to improve myself when it comes to planning and presenting research work. 

As someone who has a vast interest in metabolic and endocrine medicine, I was very happy to come across a lot of thought-provoking topics in this field. For a healthier world it is important to know what the evidence has shown so as to work towards the reduction of the morbidity and mortality associated with obesity, diabetes and hypertension. 

All the sessions I attended were so intriguing and educational however, the presentation by Audrey Bergouignan’s work “The physical activity transition: Global sedentarisation and increase in the prevalence of metabolic diseases in humans” and the panel discussion around mental health stood out as my favorites during the conference. 

Audrey’s research, which centred on the Fulani people in rural and urban parts of Senegal where the epidemiological transition is ongoing, provided me the opportunity to learn from her work that the effects of sedentary behaviors could not be offset by physical activity. However, taking shorter breaks from sitting during the day is at least more helpful than taking one long break. These findings and later works on the topic I believe will go a long way in addressing problems of sedentary lifestyles associated with urbanization.   

Coming from a setup where mental health discussions are hardly on the table, the panel on mental health served as a stimulant for me to hold more discussions on the topic and raise awareness amongst colleagues and my community. Having discussions around mental health, and helping each other to improve our mental health and productivity, should be everyone’s responsibility. 

To end I want to take this opportunity to thank all the brains behind the success of Future Physiology 2020, especially The Physiological Society for keeping me sane during this pandemic with the series of educational and interactive webinars and the most recent Future Physiology. I am looking forward to many more discussions around mental health and endocrinology.

Edward Cole, University of Hull, UK

Like most things during the spring of 2020, Future Physiology 2020 was greatly affected by COVID 19. The disease that put a halt to everyday affairs and put everybody’s lives on hold made no exceptions for Future Physiology. Complicated problems require innovative solutions, and this conference was no exception. The conference was moved entirely to a virtual platform, complete with talks, workshops and ePoster sessions. This uncharted environment allowed physiologists from all over the globe to connect and acquire new knowledge in their respective fields or in a completely new area. 

Future Physiology 2020 was aimed at early career researchers and wanted to give a valuable experience, together with networking opportunities for those new to the field of physiology. I was fortunate enough to have my abstract accepted and I was invited to give a presentation. My presentation was entitled, “Effectiveness of short-term heat acclimation on heat shock protein 70 in a trained female and male population.” This was my first non-student conference but having presented at the Student Thesis Conference at the University of Hull I felt some degree of confidence.

Naturally, moving the conference online generated new issues in terms of networking. Rather than sitting with a fellow researcher and discussing relevant topics over a pint or two, the networking happened largely over emails and virtual Q&A sessions. The portal that was created to allow people to choose their sessions also functioned as an area to connect with other attendees and speakers, like a physiological Facebook, by sending connection requests and sharing online business cards. It also allowed you to create a profile for yourself and illustrate your interests and areas of expertise. I was able to connect to over fifty people, over half of whom I may not have even otherwise met as they were from overseas. 

In my experience, the conference was simple to access and easy to book onto. It also allowed me to view multiple talks which in a real-life I may not have been able to attend due to space or time. In addition to being able to view the conference from my computer, my mobile phone was able to connect to the talks. This meant I could be sat anywhere listening to my first talk which was “Movement and heart rate in the Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos)” delivered by Leslie Blanchet. I was drawn to this talk as I had never anticipated a presentation on bears to be at a physiology conference, I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of talks available. Naturally, I was extremely interested to learn something new! The relationship between a brown bear’s heart rate and the distance it travels and whether it was influenced by the environment or climate tied seamlessly into the overall theme of the conference which was “Physiology in a changing climate: the interdependence between physiology, behavior and the environment.”

Another talk I attended was entitled “Human Thermoregulation: Can We Beat The Heat?” presented by Emily Watkins from the University of Roehampton. This topic was closer to my field and as a result I was intrigued about what she had to say. Emily showed that the increase in global temperatures and frequent heat waves pose a significant risk to aging populations and those who work in hot climates such as firefighters. She explained the innovative treatments which provided a new insight into what heat acclimation can be used for aside from performance. 

When the time came to present my talk, the daunting nature of a fully populated auditorium was suddenly replaced by the green light on my webcam. The pressure of countless eyes loomed as I progressed through my research. My talk on short term heat acclimation highlighted that there is a given dearth in the literature when it comes to the heat shock response in females and that more research is required to ascertain the kinetics of the extracellular HSP70 response in females. In hindsight, I think I would have benefitted from a presentation in a lecture theatre as I forgot to switch my screen from my face to my PowerPoint initially. Integrating a conference with technology is fraught with little human mistakes, as often happens with live television. 

My overall experience of Future Physiology 2020 was a positive one. There has been a certain technological magic surrounding the online nature of this conference. I hope there are more opportunities like it where physiologists from all backgrounds and countries can come together and share their ideas. My next step, following Future Physiology 2020, is to meet the people I have connected with and have a real conversation with them and hopefully a pint as well. 

Masa Svent Winner of the Michael J Rennie Oral Communication Prize, awarded at Future Physiology 2020

Future Physiology 2020 was my first experience of a virtual conference. Attending the conference remotely allowed me to learn about a range of physiology topics and receive valuable feedback on my research, while continuing to work on my PhD. I enjoyed presenting my data to the diverse audience at the conference, and was honoured to be awarded the Michael J Rennie Oral Communication Prize for the best oral communication by an early career researcher. This was particularly rewarding as I am interested in pursuing a career in science communication. In addition to building on my physiology knowledge and presentation skills, Future Physiology 2020 also gave me additional confidence to pursue my career goals.