Jonathan Goodchild
The Physiological Society

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.94.17

16–20 November 2013, Dallas Convention Center, USA

The American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions of 2013 were held in the Dallas Convention Center. That week in November marked the 50th anniversary of the death of JFK, and it was but a short walk to the white X in the road below the former Book Depository. On a cheerier note, ‘Wild Bill’ was in the exhibition hall itself to fit people out with cowboy hats; at the pub next to his downtown store they had wonderful smoked steak and black beer; and there was an exhibition of Edward Hopper’s drawings at the Museum of Art.

The Physiological Society had a stand along the main aisle of the exhibition hall, and few could have missed The Journal of Physiology logo emblazoned on the backdrop. To publicize The Journal to cardiovascular physiologists, both the Editor-in-Chief, David Paterson, and Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Europe, Julian Paton, were there to talk to potential authors.

Especially for the meeting, the 1 September issue of The Journal was dedicated to the subject of cardiac arrhythmia (bit.ly/17azzJn), and featured a historical item on one of the pioneers, George Ralph Mines. We gave away a stack of them and when they’d gone we handed out leaflets about it. Leaflets also advertised an online-only collection of classic cardiovascular papers published in The Journal over the past century and a quarter (bit.ly/JPCARDIAC), and a historical display in a glass case featured volumes of The Journal open at three of them, by George Mines, Ernest Starling (the ‘law of the heart’ paper) and August Krogh (one of his Nobel Prize-winning series).

The stand also had publicity material for The Society and its other two journals: on the first morning the delegates came in droves for the free notepads, pens and bags, and stripped it bare. With renewed stocks of pads and pens, from here The Society and its journals go on to EB2014 in San Diego in April.