Stefan Trapp, University College London, UK

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International Working Group, The Physiological Society

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.112.8

All members recently received by post The Society’s Strategy 2018–2022 with the overall objective to ‘increase recognition that physiology is essential to solving the health challenges faced throughout life’. Science is international, it thrives on open exchange and gathering information from as many sources as possible. However, we are now increasingly facing challenges from the current political climate in Europe and the US, which is building barriers for the exchange of knowledge and the free movement of scientists. It is strategically important to safeguard international collaboration in science, and The Physiological Society should play a clear role in promoting the international, inclusive and multicultural nature of science.

We are the oldest network of physiologists worldwide and currently have members in over 60 countries. In fact, 30% of our members are based abroad, and thus offer the perfect foundation to develop lasting international collaborative links and combat national isolation promoted by recent political tendencies. The Society has a rich international history and has always been an advocate of inclusiveness, even in difficult times, such as when The Society fought for the early readmission of German scientists to its meetings after WW1.

Whilst it was felt a decade ago that the world was growing together and the appointment of an International Secretary was deemed superfluous, times have changed and The Physiological Society’s Council feels that we must develop a clear international strategy again for physiology to weather the current geopolitical turbulences as unscathed as possible and ensure that ‘physiology flourishes’.

It is the remit of the International Working Group (IWG) to develop this strategy in order to make sure we maximise the benefits we gain from our international position for our membership and for physiology. So how will the IWG achieve this?

During the inaugural meeting in July, the IWG considered the international aspects of the four strands of The Society’s strategy: Publications, Meetings, Engagement and Internal Processes. It was agreed that in the first instance we need to hear from our members what they would like from their Society. The Insight Survey that all members will have received by the time this article goes to print will inform us on some international issues, but we are additionally very keen to hear from you directly about your thoughts and ideas regarding our international activities. Please email any feedback/comments you may have to me, s.trapp@ucl.ac.uk, or to membership@physoc.org marking the subject international.

It was agreed that it would be desirable to enhance the information in The Society Members’ directory by adding the possibility to link to publication lists (e.g. via ORCID), or institutional WWW profiles, and to add keywords to directory profiles, thus enabling easier identification of relevant collaborators at other institutions and countries from our directory. It was also recognised that the website needed to reflect better the international and inclusive nature of The Society, and this will be reflected in the new website when it launches in December 2018.

The IWG itself would like to become more international to reflect the interests of various member groups. To this end, we are interested in recruiting new members to the IWG, particularly those who are based outside of the UK. Currently, the IWG only has members from Ireland and the United States, in addition to the UK. The IWG recognised the importance of not replicating or competing with the home societies and sees the current positive collaborations with the American Physiological Society, the International Union of Physiological Societies and the Federation of European Physiological Societies, as well as Europhysiology, as an excellent model to connect widely and collaborate on the international stage. It was recommended that following Europhysiology and meetings with IUPS, the IWG should consider where else to establish collaborative relationships, including consideration of international groupings such as the Pan Americas. To strengthen The Society’s presence in Asia and Oceanic countries, the IWG suggests that The Society attend the Federation of Asian and Oceanic Physiological Societies (FAOPS) 2019 Congress and the 2019 International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHAD) conference.

Our mission is to make sure, that despite political obstacles, The Society continues to bring together the brightest minds on the globe to ensure physiological research and education is thriving, in order to solve the health challenges humanity faces now and in the future. We would like to galvanise our members worldwide to fight for this aim. So we would love to hear from you, our members, how we can support you most effectively.