The purpose of these short updates is to keep you informed about the work of our committees. The following summaries detail the meetings of the past few months.

Conferences Committee

April 2022

Dr Catherine Hall (University of Sussex, UK) was welcomed as Chair, together with Professor Dan Martin (University of Plymouth) representing the clinical community and also Dr Jo Lewis (University of Cambridge representing Metabolic Physiology.

The main agenda item centred on Society conferences and meetings for 2023 and beyond, and how these could best support physiology and physiologists, also engage the membership and their communities, particularly post-COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of The Society’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, an Events Code of Conduct was accepted. All attendees will agree to abide by this when they register to attend a Society conference or meeting. Dr Karen Mifsud (University of Bristol, UK) was selected as the new Theme Lead for Neuroscience. Karen will take up the post immediately, joining Professor Charlotte Stagg (University of Oxford, UK) and Dr Laura Rich (University of Nottingham, UK). She will remain in position until 2026.

Publications Committee

April 2022

The Publications Committee met in April 2022, chaired by Professor Paul McLoughlin. The Editorial Reports for The Journal of Physiology (JP), Experimental Physiology (EP) and Physiological Reports were presented. Both JP and EP had seen a decline in submissions, and The Committee discussed the possible causes and remedies of these declines. Online usage and social media followings of all three Society journals remained impressive.

New JP Editor-in-Chief, Professor Peter Kohl, outlined his vision for his term. He was keen to stimulate further contributions from both existing Board members and current Physiological Society members. He also called for strategic investment in targeted Board appointments.

Professor Mike Tipton, Editor-in-Chief of EP, highlighted the success of the Mid-Career Researcher Prize initiative. He believed that the introduction of this popular prize highlighted the importance of engaging a talented, enthusiastic, yet often overlooked demographic of the research population. Professor Tipton’s tenure comes to an end in September 2022, and The Committee approved the formation of a recruitment panel to oversee the appointment process of his successor and ensure a smooth handover of the role.

The publishing landscape continues to change in the face of the Open Access movement, and it remains highly likely that EP will “flip” to Open Access in January 2023. This will provide the journal the opportunity to monetise its growth. While JP has no immediate plans to “flip”, The Committee was cognisant of the potential effect on revenues that Open Access might have on The Journal, and consequently The Society.