The Physiological Society has been proudly awarding prize lectures for over sixty years. These lectures play an important role in our commitment to advancing and promoting the physiological sciences and delivering our core charitable objects while continuing to recognise the excellent achievements of those physiologists who have made significant contributions to the discipline.
As we look forward to our 150th anniversary in 2026, and we work hard to make steady progress against our 2023-2027 Strategy, it was decided that it was an opportune time to review our Prize Lectures to ensure our offering continues to remain relevant for today’s diverse community of physiologists and our forward-looking approach.
Consequently, following feedback from Nominations Committee, a small Trustee working group supported by senior staff was formed early this year to carry out this review. Their recommendations were fed back to the Board of Trustees and considered and approved. The Society’s ‘2026 and beyond’ prize lecture programme reflects the true breadth of our community, representing many different demographics. For example:
- Early-career physiologists (See: The R Jean Banister Prize Lecture for Early-Career Physiologists)
- Mid-career physiologists (See: The Bayliss-Starling Prize Lecture for Mid-Career Physiologists)
- Female physiologists making an impact (See: The Joan Mott Prize Lecture celebrating Women Physiologists)
- Physiologists from underrepresented backgrounds (See: The Mabel Fitzgerald Prize for Diversity in Physiology)
- International physiologists working outside the UK and Republic of Ireland (See: The Hodgkin-Huxley-Katz International Prize Lecture)
- Physiology educators (See: The Otto Hutter Teaching Prize and Lecture)
- Physiologists improving diversity in their field (See: The Widening Participation in Physiology Prize)
- Primarily schools, the wider public, students and staff with an interest in physiology (See: The GL Brown Annual Public Prize Lecture)
Excellence in Physiology remains at the heart of our Prize Lecture awards while offering a unique opportunity to serve many valuable purposes simultaneously. These include:
- Recognition: Through our prize lectures we recognise and celebrate outstanding contributions to physiology.
- Dissemination: These lectures are an opportunity for the recipient to share their research and insights with a broader audience, including fellow scientists, students and the public. Many prizes include publication in The Journal of Physiology and Experimental Physiology, subject to Editorial Board approval.
- Inspiration: By highlighting important work and innovative ideas, prize lectures can inspire others in the field, stimulate further research, and foster new ideas and collaborations.
- Education: Prize lectures offer a deeper understanding of the awarded research and its impact on the scientific community and society at large.
- Engagement: Prize lectures encourage dialogue and discussion among scientists, which can lead to new perspectives and advancements in the field.
We are delighted to share some additional key improvements we have actioned to assist with the nomination process including:
- No requirement to be a member to be a prize recipient: one year’s membership now accompanies the prize and/or lecture, if not already a member.
- A prize which supports nominations from individuals and groups
- A Frequently Asked Questions page on our website to support the nominator and improved information on each prize’s webpage.
- Specific questions in the nomination form tailored to each prize to solicit better information for the Prize Lecture Award Panel to fairly and accurately score the nominations with word limits to standardise nomination lengths
- All prize lectures will now be annual with the option to be delivered online to improve their sustainability and accessibility credentials
- Nomination forms have a section where career breaks/challenges that have been overcome can be documented
To see the full breadth of the prize lecture offering and make a nomination please visit the Prize Lecture section of our website. We are accepting nominations between 1 October and 30 November 2024. We are very grateful for all of our member’s contributions to this cherished tradition.
We have come a long way since 1963 when the much-loved physiologist Charles Lovatt Evans delivered The Society’s first ever Prize Lecture, the inaugural Baylis-Starling Prize Lecture (‘Reminiscences of Bayliss and Starling’) to an enthusiastic audience at University College London. Our prestigious Annual Review Prize Lecture has been going strong since 1968, The Society’s premier award recognising research that has a wide interest and impact. We are excited to open the door to the next generation of prize lectures helping us to achieve our vision of a world in which physiological discovery leads to healthier lives.