XXXV INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

The 2005 IUPS Congress was held in San Diego, March 31 through April 5 under the meeting-wide theme of “From Genomes to Function”. As reported previously, the scientific programming was handled by an IUPS International Scientific Program Committee, chaired by Walter Boron. The program was largely organized around thirteen programming Tracks that encompassed 89 symposia or featured topic sessions. The programming Tracks were entitled: Calcium Signaling; Cardiac; Ecophysiology for the 21st Century; Education; Epithelia; Feeding, Fuel and Fat: Energy Metabolism; Genomics; Mechano- and Chemo-transduction; Muscle-Exercise; Neural Control of Locomotion: From Genes to Behavior; Regulatory Brain; Renal Control of Blood Pressure; Thermoregulation and Energetics; Tissue Dynamics in the Lung; and Vascular Physiology. Additionally, there were 43 free-standing symposia or featured topic sessions not designated into a Track.

There were 330 sessions in total: 177 poster sessions, 78 symposia, 49 featured topics, 20 lectures, 3 controversies, 1 panel discussion, 1 tutorial, and 1 refresher course. The lectures included the traditional APS Society-sponsored named lectures (Walter B. Cannon, Henry Pickering Bowditch and Walter C. Randall) plus the 12 section-sponsored named lectures. In addition, there was The Microcirculatory Society’s Landis Award Lecture, and four IUPS-sponsored lectures (Wallace O. Fenn, Robert Pitts, Ernst Knobil and IUPS President’s Lecture).  The panel discussion topic was Ethics and Physiology in the Era of the Human Genome and included the APS Walter C. Randall Lecturer on Biomedical Ethics.

 The 2005 IUPS/EB included AAA, AAI, APS/IUPS, ASBMB, ASIP, ASNS and ASPET. Total registration (including exhibitors and press) was 15,868. Scientific registration totaled 12,613. This is a 17% increase over EB04 in Washington, DC, where 6 societies met; and a 12% increase over EB02 in New Orleans, the last 7-society meeting.

 The JPC was responsible for scheduling the submitted abstracts into poster sessions and selecting the abstracts for the featured topics. A total of 8,628 (including 886 late-breaking) abstracts were submitted to the joint EB/IUPS meeting. Of that total, 3,189 (including 196 late-breaking) were scheduled into the IUPS program. 

 EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY 2006

The JPC met at the IUPS Congress on March 31 to begin organizing EB 2006 that will be held Saturday April 1 through Wednesday April 5 in San Francisco. The meeting will once again feature the slogan: Translating the Genome.  The Call for Abstracts and online abstract submission site will be available by September 2005. The abstract deadline will be November 2, 2005. EB06 will again provide for a late breaking abstract deadline, anticipated sometime in February 2006.

 The sections will regain their autonomy over their individual symposia and featured topics. The JPC received eleven Cross-Sectional symposium proposals of which four were approved:

1) Lipid Mediated Regulation of Membrane Transport, chaired by M.S. Awayda and J.D. Stockand;

2) Development and Maintenance of Epithelial Polarity, chaired by J. Goldenring;

3) Spinal Interneurons: Underappreciated Players in Autonomic and Respiratory Regulation?, chaired by I.J. Llewellyn-Smith and L.P. Schramm; and,

4) Could Cell Dehydration Promote Obesity and Chronic Disease? A Multidisciplinary Look at the Effects of Hypertonic Dehydration, chaired by J. Stookey.

 In addition, two Techniques and Technology workshops will be scheduled on the first day of EB06:

1) Atomic Force Microscopy: Tools for the Physiologist, chaired by G.A. Meininger and M.J. Davis; and,

2) Live Imaging, Whole Body/Animal Imaging, organized by P.D. Bell.

 The Physiology InFocus program, organized by Douglas Eaton, is entitled “Cellular Signaling: New Ideas and Approaches and Translational Research” and will feature a series of four symposia focusing on: 1) Cellular Signaling with Atomic Force Microscopy, 2) Cellular Signaling and the Role of Central Cilium in Polycystic Kidney Disease, 3) The Lipid in Lipid Rafts: Lipids and Signaling Molecules, and 4) Acute Lung Injury and Regulation of Alveolar Fluid Clearance.  Note that the first tutorial fits very nicely with the first session of the InFocus program.  This is something we have been trying to accomplish each year there is an InFocus program.

 The meeting will also feature sessions organized by the APS Publications Department, Careers in Physiology Committee, Public Affairs Committee, Women in Physiology Committee, Education Committee and the Liaison with Industry Committee. 

 APS CONFERENCES

The 2004 APS Translational Research Conference entitled “Immunological and Pathophysiological Mechanisms in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”, organized by Matthew Grisham and Fabio Cominelli, was held September 8-11, in Snowmass, Colorado. 50 volunteered abstracts were received and the total meeting attendance was 119, including 30 invited speakers.

 The 2004 APS Intersociety Meeting entitled “Integrative Biology of Exercise”, organized by Ronald Terjung, Chair was held October 6-9, in Austin, Texas. 337 volunteered abstracts were received and the total meeting attendance was 606, including 68 invited speakers.

 The 2005 APS Conference entitled “Neurohypophyseal Hormones: From Genomics and Physiology to Disease”, organized by Celia Sladek, will be held July 16-20, 2005 at the Sheraton Steamboat Resort & Conference Center Steamboat Springs, CO. 

 The 2006 APS Intersociety Meeting entitled “Comparative Physiology 2006: Integrating Diversity”, organized by David Goldstein, Chair, will be held October 8-11 in Virginia Beach, VA. 

 OTHER ACTIVITIES

The Committee is discussing the possibility of an exchange program with the Australian Physiological Society (AuPS), as well as a joint meeting with The (British) Physiological Society (TPS).  The TPS is requesting that a symposia (or several symposia) be developed for their Main meeting of the Physiological Society to be held at University College London (UCL) in July 2006.  The APS would sponsor this meeting.

Council Actions

• Council accepted the report of the Joint Program Committee.

• Council approved entering into a speaker exchange program with The Physiological Society (TPS); and authorized funding needed for travel and lodging costs for the selected US speakers to attend TPS� annual meeting.