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; and solicit outside funds for support of the program

The Porter Physiology Development Committee Fund (Financial Status)

On March 2004, The Porter Physiology Development Committee Fund had a budget of $216,317. During 2003, the fund received the following contributions:  $20,000 from Merck, $85,017 from the William Townsend Porter Foundation, $40,000 from the APS, $210 in private contributions and $497 from interest revenue. The Committee expresses its sincere appreciation for this continued support that makes the important work of the committee possible. Given remaining commitments for 2002-2003 Porter Fellows of $37,500, the fund had a balance of $176,817 for new fellowships and activities.

Minority Travel Fellows Selection

In January 2004, the Committee served as the review panel for the APS Minority Travel Fellowship Awards.  Fifty-five (55) travel fellows were funded to attend Experimental Biology 2004 in Washington, DC. Thirteen (13) additional travel fellowships were awarded to attend various APS conferences.

Committee Meeting

The Porter Physiology Development Committee met April 18, 2004 during EB04.  Attending the meeting were: returning members, Pamela Gunter-Smith (Co-Chair), Rayna Gonzales, Marsha Maytas (ex officio) and Brooke Bruthers (APS); and new members, Johnny Porter and Heidi Collins. The Committee thanks former members Mouhamed Awayda, Cynthia Jackson and Irving Joshua for their years of service to the Committee.

Porter Physiology Development Fellowships

The number of new applications received for Porter Fellowships continues to reflect the substantial increase noted following the change in fellowship guidelines approved by Council several years ago. Present funds are sufficient for eight fellowships, four renewal and four new fellowships. The Committee�s ability to award eight fellowships can be attributed, in part, to the generous and recent one-time supplemental contribution made by the William Townsend Porter Foundation. The number of Porter Fellowships that the Committee can support will soon decline, a trend that will accelerate if the Porter stipend is to keep pace with the level recommended by the NIH for predoctoral stipends ($26,573 by 2006). Thus, the Committee�s need to raise additional funds to support and expand Committee goals is becoming increasingly more critical.

Review of Porter Fellowship Applications

The Porter Development Committee reviewed two renewal applications and seven new applications from the January 15, 2004 application deadline.  Both of the renewal applicants were awarded a second-year fellowship.  Two new fellowships were awarded and decisions for three were deferred until the June cycle. Given current practice, at least two new fellowships will be funded during the next round of reviews.  In addition, the opportunity exists to fund two additional non-renewable (e.g., terminal graduate school year) new fellowships.

Renewal Application Awardees

Adrienne Bratcher (MERCK  Fellow), second-year graduate student, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Louisville School of Medicine; Research mentor: Irving G. Joshua; Dissertation project: The role of dietary salt in the changes in arteriolar responsiveness with the development of hypertension. 

Gary Morris, fifth-year graduate student, Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri at Columbia; Research mentor: Stephen Beebe; Dissertation project: Structure function differences between the catalytic subunits Ca and Ci to the cAMP-dependent protein kinase.   

New Awardees

Jessica Clark, third-year graduate student, Physiological Sciences Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, College of Medicine; Research mentor: Bohuslav Dvorak; Dissertation project: The protective role of epidermal growth factor in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.

Damon Jacobs, third-year graduate student, Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, School of Medicine; Research mentor: Richard Cheney; Dissertation project: Identification of Myo5c associated organelles and Myo5c function. Damon is our first Native American Porter Fellow.

Review Criteria for Porter Physiology Fellowships

The increase in the number of meritorious applications for a limited amount of funds has significantly increased competition for these awards.  Council charged the committee with the development and articulation of a common set of factors to be considered in reviewing applications to assist the Committee in reaching a consensus regarding funding decisions. The Committee developed a set of guidelines and criteria based upon those used by other APS fellowship review committees and a historical perspective of Porter Committee practices.

Porter Reception

Council approved and provided funding 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 Porter reception was extremely successful with an increase in attendance.  Importantly, the reception continued for more than two hours as participants interacted and networked with one another.  In addition there was an increase in the number of former Porter Fellows who attended.

APS Awards for Undergraduates at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for

Minority Students (ABRCMS)

This meeting attracts minority undergraduate and graduate students across the country and provides an opportunity to recruit students into the physiological sciences and the APS. The Committee requested and received $1,000 for four $250 cash awards for the most outstanding undergraduate presentations in physiology.

Presidential Award

On May 6th, the American Physiology Society received the 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. The award was given to APS based upon its longstanding commitment to increasing the representation of minorities in the sciences through various educational programs including those supported through the Porter Physiology Development Committee.  The Committee takes great pride in its role in this achievement.  Committee Co-Chair, Pamela Gunter-Smith, was on hand for the awards ceremony along with APS President-Elect Douglas Eaton and APS staff members Martin Frank and Marsha Matyas. The $10,000 award will be applied to Porter Physiology Development fund for continuation of its programs. 

Goals for Next Year

This report marks the last that I will give as the Committee's Co-Chair.  On behalf of the Committee, I welcome the new Co-Chair and look forward to the new directions and ideas s(he) will bring. 

Pamela J. Gunter-Smith, Co-Chair

Council Actions

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

• Council approved the funding for the APS awards at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS).

• Council approved the necessary funding for a Past Porter Fellows reception at the 2005 IUPS Congress.

• Council approved the new "Guidelines for Reviewers of Porter Physiology Fellowships."