The Gulf Coast Physiological Society (GCPS) met at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Mobile, Alabama on March 5-6, 2004, hosted by the University of South Alabama and the USA Medical Sciences Foundation. The meeting attracted 143 attendees from 14 institutions or research centers, including the University of South Alabama, Alabama State University, Auburn University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Talladega College, Spring Hill College, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Tulane University, Louisiana State University (LSU) New Orleans, LSU Shreveport, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Xavier University, University of New Orleans, and Emory University. One of the successes of the meeting was the significant participation of undergraduate students and undergraduate faculty advisors from regional institutions. The meeting was organized by Mary Townsley, President of the GCPS. The local organizing committee also included James Parker, James Downey, Thomas Lincoln, and Michael Cohen.
Poster session from the 3rd Meeting of the Gulf Coast Physiological Society.
The two-day meeting opened with a welcome from the GCPS President, who introduced the keynote speaker, Clinton Webb. Webb is the Robert B. Greenblatt Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia. His lecture on "Integration of sympathetic neural control and inflammatory mediators in the regulation of blood pressure" was sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS). The keynote address was followed by an oral session organized around renin-angiotensin signaling and hypertension. An additional oral session on Friday afternoon began with a talk from invited speaker Michael Cohen, whose talk on signaling involved in cardioprotection set for focus for oral presentations in the session. The poster session was held early Friday evening following a talk by D. Neil Granger, the new APS President, who gave an overview of APS and discussed goals for his term of office.
From Left to Right: D. Neil Granger; Mary Townsley, President of the GCPS; Thomas Lincoln.
The banquet on Friday evening concluded with a brief business meeting and election of new officers. Patricia Molina (LSU New Orleans) was elected as President. Michelle Meneray (LSU New Orleans) will serve as Secretary/Treasurer. New Councillors for the Society include Mouhamed Awayda (Tulane University), Barbara Alexander (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Matt Grisham (LSU Shreveport), and Mark Taylor (University of South Alabama).
The meeting continued Saturday morning with two oral sessions. Invited speakers William Chilian and Thomas Lincoln, gave talks on control of coronary vascular tone and vascular signaling due to nitric oxide and cyclic nucleotides, respectively, which set the focus for other oral presentations in those sessions. Overall, attendees presented more than 80 abstracts, programmed either as oral presentations or as posters.
Patricia Molina will chair the organizing committee for the next meeting of the GCPS, targeted for spring, 2005 in New Orleans.
Mary Townsley
President, GCPS