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2^nd Meeting of the Gulf Coast Physiological Society

The Gulf Coast Physiological Society held its second meeting at the University of Mississippi Medical Center on March 1^st and 2^nd, 2002. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular-Renal Research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The event was attended by nearly 140 investigators and interested undergraduate students from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, LSU - Shreveport, LSU - New Orleans, Tulane University, University of South Alabama, Tougaloo College, Jackson State University and Seminary College. Joey Granger, President of the Gulf Coast Physiological Society, organized the meeting. The organizing committee also included Robert Hester, Raouf Khalil, and Jane Reckelhoff.

Left to right, Dr. Marty Frank, Executive Director of the American Physiological Society; Dr. Joey Granger, GCPS President; Dr. Sanjiv Ghambir, UCLA and GCPS Meeting Lecturer; Dr. Daniel Jones, Associate Vice Chancellor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center; Dr. John Hall, President of the American Physiological Society.

The meeting began with welcoming remarks from Dr. Dan Jones, Associate Vice Chancellor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The first session began with the Gertrude and Florian Nelson Cardiovascular Research Lecture. Dr. Sanjiv Ghambir of UCLA School of Medicine presented an exciting lecture on “Multimodality Molecular Imaging with Applications in Biology and Medicine”. The American Physiological Society, the American Heart Association, and the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular – Renal Research sponsored the lecture.

Dr. Ghambir’s lecture was followed by a two-hour poster session. The session included 60 poster presentations by faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The meeting consisted of four major sessions that included 30-minute state-of-the-art presentations from faculty representing all major institutions of the GCPS. Following the state-of-the-art lectures were 10-minute presentations from junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students.

The meeting also included a presentation by the President of the American Physiology Society, John Hall. Dr. Hall discussed new and exciting initiatives at the American Physiological Society. 

One of the highlights of the meeting was the GCPS banquet that was held at the elegant Fairview Inn in Jackson. The banquet was held in honor of  Drs’ Aubrey Taylor, University of South Alabama and John Spitzer, LSU - New Orleans. Both Aubrey and John served as Chairmen of their respective physiology departments for over 25 years.  Dr. Harvey Miller of LSU – New Orleans, summarized Dr. Spitzer’s accomplishments. Dr. Neil Granger presented Dr. Taylor’s achievements to the GCPS group.  The evening concluded with Dr. Marty Frank presenting Drs’ Spitzer and Taylor with a plaque from the APS in recognition of their contributions to the APS and the discipline of physiology.

Marty Frank presents John Spitzer and Aubrey Taylor with a plaque from the APS in recognition of their contributions to the APS and the discipline of physiology.  

The meeting concluded on Saturday, March 2, with a brief business meeting. New officers were elected and they included Dr. Mary Townsley as President and James Parker at Secretary and Treasurer.  Both Mary and Jim are from the University of South Alabama. The new Councillors of the GCPS include Heather Drummond, University of Mississippi Medical Center; Lisa Harrison-Bernard, Tulane University; Patricia Molina, LSU – New Orleans; and Matt Grisham, LSU – Shreveport. It was decided that the next meeting be held in 2003 in Mobile, Alabama. The new GCPS President, Mary Townsley, will be chairing the organizing committee for the meeting.