The Physiological Society


The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is a learned society for physiologists in the United Kingdom.

History

The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit and protection" by a group of 19 physiologists, led by John Burdon Sanderson and Michael Foster, as a result of the 1875 Royal Commission on Vivisection and the subsequent 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act. Other founding members included: William Sharpey, Thomas Huxley, George Henry Lewes, Francis Galton, John Marshall, George Murray Humphry, Frederick William Pavy, Lauder Brunton, David Ferrier, Philip Pye-Smith, Walter H. Gaskell, John Gray McKendrick, Emanuel Edward Klein, Edward Schafer, Francis Darwin, George Romanes, and Gerald Yeo. The aim was to promote the advancement of physiology. Charles Darwin and William Sharpey were elected as The Society's first two Honorary Members. The Society first met at Sanderson's London home. The first rules of The Society offered membership to no more than 40, all of whom should be male "working" physiologists. Women were first admitted as members in 1915 and the centenary of this event was celebrated in 2015
Michael Foster was also founder of The Journal of Physiology in 1878, and was appointed to the first Chair of Physiology at the University of Cambridge in 1883.
The archives are held at the Wellcome Library.

Present day

The Society consists of over 3500 members, including 14 Nobel Laureates and over 700 affiliates drawn from over 50 countries. The majority of members are engaged in research, in universities or industry, into how the body works in health and disease and in teaching physiology in schools and universities. The Society also facilitates communication between scientists and with other interested groups.
The Physiological Society publishes the academic journals The Journal of Physiology and Experimental Physiology, and with the American Physiological Society publishes the online only, open access journal Physiological Reports. It also publishes the membership magazine Physiology News.
The Society's current president is Bridget Lumb.
The post of president was established in 2001. Past holders include:
The Society awards a number of prizes for meritorious achievement.

Annual Review Prize Lecture

The society considers its Annual Review Prize Lecture, first awarded in 1968, to be its premier award.

International Prize Lecture

Named for William Bayliss and Ernest Starling.
Named in memory of Kathy Biller.
Named for George Lindor Brown.
Named in memory of. It was discontinued following the 1996 lecture.
Name after Alan Hodgkin, Andrew Huxley and Bernard Katz.
Named for Joan Mott.

Michael de Burgh Daly Prize Lecture

Named for.
Named for Otto Hutter.
Named for William D.M. Paton.
Named after Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer.
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