Five senior physiologists (Drs. Clark Blatteis, William Dantzler, Frank Knox, and Philip Posner) comprised the Senior Physiology Committee in 2010. One of the primary duties of each Committee member is to “develop and maintain liaison with emeritus members and members about to retire”. This liaison is accomplished by submitting, on behalf of the Society, a personal 70th, 80th, 90th, or 100th birthday greeting. Thus, each committee member makes about three dozen mailings in the course of the year. Each greeting includes an invitation for the senior recipient to inform APS about his current activities, interests and whereabouts, and requests “words of wisdom” for younger colleagues. The historical and philosophical commentaries evoked by this invitation provide the material subsequently published in “Senior Physiologist’s News” in each issue of The Physiologist. By the end of 2010, the Senior Physiologist Committee members will have sent birthday wishes to 97 members reaching age 70, to 60 members reaching age 80, and to 25 members reaching age 90. Nineteen letters have been received and published in The Physiologist.
Responses from recipients of these birthday greetings are extremely positive and enthusiastic. Whether retired or still working in their labs, the majority of seniors obviously retain their passion for science. They express in innumerable ways how fulfilling they have found life and how important APS has been during their careers.
Another responsibility of the Senior Physiologists Committee is to review applications and recommend to Council the annual awardees of the $500 G. Edgar Folk, Jr., Senior Physiologists Award. This award is designed to support the scientific activities of a senior member. In 2010, two awards were made. The awardees were Walter J. Freeman, M.D. to help defray costs of travel to and registration fees for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping meeting and N. Herbert Spector, Ph.D., to help defray costs of travel to Rome, Italy, from Carlsbad, California to speak at the 5th Stromboli International Conference on Aging and Cancer.