Dr Keith Siew
Scientific Editor, Physiology News

Welcome to the Winter issue of Physiology News, and what I hope will be another thought-provoking and stimulating issue of PN magazine for our readers.

In this issue we bring you Professor Angus Brown’s recounting of the fascinating life of Peter Roget, a true polymath who despite a troubled life made innumerable contributions to both physiology and medicine, who in his spare time gifted the world the modern thesaurus (see p.20). We also have an essay from Eniola Awodiya on the interplay between genetics and physiological limitations in running speed (see p.27), as well as a discussion by Kyrstal English et al. on not just the similarities between hepatic stellate cells and astrocytes, but also their functional connections in regeneration and health of the brain and liver (p.24).

This time around we bring you a mini-collection of education-themed articles hot off the conference circuit at Europhysiology 2022 held in the lovely Copenhagen, Denmark this September. These were fascinating talks to attend and I’m thankful the authors have been willing to share their unique perspectives and experiences with us. Dr Paul Murphy reintroduces us to lessons from Claude Bernard and demonstrates how intertwining medical physiology and the dramatic arts can truly enrich the learning experience (see p.15). Professor Derek Scott recounts his use of popular culture in the classroom, and the highly entertaining and engaging use of Game of Thrones deaths (of which there is no short supply) to teach about pathophysiology and toxicology (see p.18). While, Kate Brown a 4th year medical student speaks about an often neglected subject in physiology and medical teachings – death. Something that at times seems taboo but is the grand ultimate physiological process, which we all must undergo, and her work opens the floor for a much-needed discussion on how we should be actively filling this gap in education and perhaps viewing death through a more physiological lens (see p.16).

And lastly, as 2022 draws to a close, and the new year approaches, I am reminded that it has been one of great change for many of us. Here at PN things are no different, and we are extremely grateful to Julia Turan for the solid ship she left us with, to Jane Shipley who helped navigate us through the choppy waters of transition, Alanna Orpen and Emily Wilde who have been a joy to work with, grow and learn from in this new collaboration, and now the wonderful Susan Patterson who helps steer our ship while Emily is on maternity leave (may I extend the congratulations from the whole PN editorial board and staff)!

But no ship can sail without its crew, and in our case, it is through the hard work and dedication of numerous volunteers who contribute to the commissioning, editing and long-term direction of PN. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by colleagues who are creative and enthusiastic, diverse of background and thought, and most importantly fun to work with! However, all good things must come to an end. And so, I would like to dedicate this editorial to my colleagues and friends who are stepping down from the Editorial board, many of whom have been with me since the start of my tenure as Scientific Editor.

These are namely Dr Ronan Berg, Dr Derval O’Malley and Dr Philip Lewis who have been with us since PN111 and brought expertise in respiratory medicine, gut microbiome and chronobiology research. As well as Dr Havovi Chichger, Dr Michael Preedy and Dr Richard Hulse who joined with PN116 and have given us valuable insights into diverse areas of research in epithelium, pharmacology and neurophysiology. Your contributions over the last few years have been both immense and invaluable, we are all grateful and you will be missed. (I highly recommend you check out p.40 in the membership section to read some of their parting thoughts). I wish you all the very best of luck in all your future endeavours.

Looking forward to the future, I am excited for the injection of new ideas that comes with new PN editorial board members. In particular, I am pleased to announce we will be revisiting the Education Special Theme for PN130 in an aim to capture how radically the teaching landscape has changed since summer 2020 and share the exciting new innovations in the field with our readership. As always, we welcome suggestions for themes, articles and indeed letters to the editor from our readers. And with that, enjoy the well-earned holidays, Happy Near Year, and we’ll see you in 2023!