The Porter Physiology Development Committee is pleased to provide this report of the Committee's activities during the year. The purpose of the Porter Physiology Development Program is to stimulate and support the development of minority students engaged in graduate study in physiology through the awarding of predoctoral fellowships. In addition, the program provides assistance in the improvement of underdeveloped American departments of physiology, particularly in those colleges and medical schools with predominantly minority enrollment. Duties of the Porter Physiology Development Program Committee are to: supervise administration of the Porter Physiology Development Fund; approve visiting scientists and professorships; approve teaching and training fellowships; recommend to the William Townsend Porter Foundation specific needs for laboratory and teaching equipment; counsel underdeveloped physiology departments on curriculum and other improvements; provide annual written reports to Council and the William Townsend Porter Foundation; rank applications of minority students to attend meetings of the Society, which are collated by the Executive Director and/or Education Officer; solicit outside funds for support of the program.

This report includes information on the financial status of the Porter Physiology Development Fund, travel applications reviewed and approved, Porter Fellowships reviewed and approved, progress reports on current Porter Fellows, and a summary of the Committee's discussions during its conference call held in place of its normal annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2003.

On March 31, 2003, The Porter Physiology Development Committee Fund had a budget of $209,954. During 2002, the fund received the following contributions: $20,000 from Merck, $100,000 from the William Townsend Porter Foundation (including a one-time donation of $50,000), $40,000 from the APS, and $308 in private contributions in revenue. The Committee expresses its sincere appreciation for this continued support that makes the important work of the committee possible.

Minority Travel Fellows Selection

In January 2003, the Committee served as the review panel for the APS Minority Travel Fellowship Awards. Fifty-one (51) travel fellows were funded to attend Experimental Biology 2003 in San Diego. Fourteen (14) additional travel fellowships were awarded to attend various APS conferences.

Committee Meeting

Due to travel conflicts for a number of committee members, the annual meeting of the Porter Physiology Development Committee was held via conference call rather than during EB2003. Participating in the conference call were: Pamela Gunter-Smith (Co-Chair), H. Maurice Goodman (Co-Chair), Mouhamed Awayda, Sarah England, Rayna Gonzales, Cynthia Jackson, Irving Joshua, Terry Thrasher, Martin Frank (APS, ex officio) and Melinda Lowy (APS, by invitation). Committee members not able to participate included Susan Kandarian and Marsha Matyas (APS, ex officio). The following agenda items were discussed during the call: implementation of action items approved by APS Council last year, the continuing need to investigate potential sources of new funding with the greater number of high-quality applications being received, possible revisions to the application form and development of review criteria, and review of fellowship applications.

Porter Fellowships

The Committee is pleased to report a significant increase in the number applications received. The number of new applications increased from nine for the January 2002 deadline to 12 for the January 2003 deadline, an increase of 33%. The number of new applications for the June deadline also rose substantially, from 4 in 2002 to 11 in 2003, an increase of 175%. Presently, funds are not sufficient to fund all meritorious applications. In addition, given the NIH recommendation of an increase in predoctoral stipends to $26,573 by 2006, the number of Porter fellowships available will decline if the Porter stipend level is to keep pace with these changes. Thus, there is an urgent need to raise additional funds to support Committee goals. Last year, Council approved an increase in APS contributions to the fund of $9,000 providing that the William Townsend Porter Foundation matched this amount. These funds were not distributed, however, as the foundation provided a one-time additional contribution of $50,000 rather than committing to a "matching" donation.

Presently, there are two application deadlines for Porter Fellowships, January 15th and June 15th. While both applications dates are open to predoctoral fellows requesting "new" funding, fellows requesting a second year of funding are required to submit renewal applications for the January cycle. The June 15th deadline serves predoctoral students who have an unanticipated need or incoming predoctoral students for the fall. As mentioned earlier, this year the Committee received substantially more new fellowship applications in both cycles than in previous years. When reviewing the funding available this year (enough for seven to eight fellowships because of the additional one-time Porter Foundation donation) and next year (enough for six fellowships), the Committee decided to award a total of seven fellowships this year, which will allow for seven fellowships to be awarded next year as well. One renewal application and two new applications were funded from the January 2003 pool of 12 applicants. Decisions for six additional new applications were deferred and four were not approved. The decision to defer a funding decision was made so that there would be sufficient funds available for awards for the June applicant pool. Deferred applicants were informed that their applications would be reviewed with the June applications. Four fellowships from the June pool will be awarded, including two possible renewal applications that were deferred from the January pool. This means potentially only two of the 11 new applications will be approved, leaving several meritorious applications not approved because of limited funding. In a similar vein, the designation of the Merck and Ison-Franklin fellows was also deferred to include the June 15th awardees.

The Committee has successfully reached its goal of increasing the applicant pool. However, the increased number of applications has raised additional challenges. The Committee recognizes the need to increase the amount of Porter Physiology Development funds to keep pace with current Committee goals. In addition, the Committee continues to consider whether it needs to rethink the Porter Fellowship application deadlines for the future.

Review of Porter Fellowship applications. The Porter Development Committee reviewed three renewal applications and 12 new applications from the January 15, 2003 application deadline. One of the renewal applicants was awarded a second-year fellowship; the other two were deferred to the June 15 deadline to allow them to present more complete applications. Two new fellowships were awarded and decisions for six were deferred until the June cycle.

New Awardees

Johanna Vallejo, third-year graduate student, Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri at Columbia; Research mentor: Christopher Hardin; Dissertation project, "Functional role of caveolae in the compartmentation of carbohydrate metabolism;" Claudio Villanueva, second-year graduate student, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco; Research Mentor: Robert V. Farese, Jr.; Dissertation project, "Mechanisms by which DGA1 deficiency alters energy metabolism."

Renewal Application Awardee

Rashad Belin, fourth-year graduate student, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at Chicago; Research mentor: P. de Tombe; Dissertation project, "Molecular mechanisms of depressed myofilament function in heart failure." Rashad has completed his course work and been cleared by his committee to proceed with his mid-thesis presentation later this year. He is expected to defend his thesis in about two years.

Final Reports

Wendy Brisbon, fourth-year graduate student, Depart-ment of Anatomy and Physiology, Meharry Medical College; Research Mentor: John T. Clark; Research area: Physiological effects of estrogen, particularly its involvement in the regulation of blood pressure in postmenopausal women. Brisbon finished her course work and successfully completed her dissertation research proposal and preliminary exams. She is expected to defend her dissertation by June 2005.

Jorge Gonzalez-Perez, third-year graduate student, Department of Pharmacology, University of Puerto Rico; Research Mentor: Maria J. Crespo; Dissertation title, "Effects of toremifene on the vascular status of ovariectomized rats." Gonzalez-Perez has passed his comprehensive exams and successfully presented his research proposal to his thesis committee. He continues to present his work at local meetings, the Experimental Biology meeting and the Society of Gynecological Investigation meeting. He also has submitted a paper for publication on his work.

Becky Marquez, fifth-year graduate student, Depart-ment of Physiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Research Mentor: Susan Suarez; Dissertation project, "Regulatory mechanisms of mammalian sperm motility." Marquez is working full-time on her research, collecting data for her dissertation. She has presented her work at the annual Cell Biology meeting and has a manuscript ready for submission. She recently received a two-year NIH fellowship.

Carmen Padró, fifth-year graduate student, Department of Physiology, University of Puerto Rico; Mentor: Miguel Rivera; Dissertation project, "K+ channel genes in chromosome 11 and genetic polymorphisms." The results of her work have been submitted for publication and presented at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting and the upcoming APS Physiological Genomics conference.

Maurice Williams, fifth-year graduate student, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Forth Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Mentor: Patricia A Gwirtz; Dissertation project, �Renal hypertension impairs coronary hyperemia during exercise in dogs.� This spring Maurice successfully defended his dissertation proposal, officially qualifying him as a PhD candidate. He also completed a first-author manuscript that has been submitted for publication. He also made several presentations including a poster at the Annual Research Appreciation Day at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (where he was awarded fourth place out of 120 posters). Other poster and oral presentations have occurred at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. In addition to his research activities, Williams is active locally as Treasurer of the UNTHSC Graduate Student Association and President of the Black Graduate Student Association. He also is a student member of the Diversity Task Force Committee and the McNair/Smart selection committee at UNTHSC. Nationally, Williams co-founded and is currently co-chair of the Minority Health and Interest Group of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Porter Reception

Council approved and provided funding for the Committee's recommendation for a reception for travel fellows and their mentors and past and current Porter Fellows. This recommendation was made with the goal of building stronger connections between minority students and the larger community of APS scientists, especially minority scientists. The reception was very successful with more than 125 people in attendance. Importantly, the reception continued for more than two hours as participants interacted and networked with one another. Given the success of the reception, the Porter Committee requests continued funding of this event.

Goals for Next Year

Discuss/develop review criteria for Porter Physiology Predoctoral Applications: The increase in the number of meritorious applications for a limited amount of funds has significantly increased competition for these awards. The development and articulation of a common set of factors to be considered in reviewing applications would be helpful in reaching a consensus regarding funding decisions.

Re-examine the current activities of the Porter Physiology Development Committee with respect to the charge given to the Committee by APS: Although eight duties are listed, currently the Committee primarily functions in reviewing and administering the minority predoctoral and travel fellowships. A review of Committee duties will provide an opportunity for the Committee to make recommendations to Council for possible revisions to its charge, perhaps removing some activities and expanding others. 

Pamela J. Gunter-Smith, Co-Chair

Council Actions

• Council accepted the report of the Porter Physiology Development Committee.

• Council approved the requested funding for APS awards for students at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.

• Council approved funding for a reception for the Porter Fellows at EB 2004.