EB '02 Statistics

Experimental Biology 2002 Statistics

As originally published in The Physiologist
Volume 45, Number 5, October 2002, page 448

Physiology and Experimental Biology 2002

    Experimental Biology 2002 was held April 20-24 in New Orleans, LA and was a joint meeting of seven FASEB societies. The principle-programming societies were: American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), American Association of Immunologists (AAI), and American Association of Anatomists (AAA). The APS hosted six guest societies: American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR), Association of Latin American Physiological Societies (ALACF), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the Microcirculatory Society (MCS), Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM), and the Spanish Physiological Society (SECF).
    EB ?02 marked the first meeting-wide theme adopted by all participating societies entitled ?Translating the Genome.? Several societies scheduled sessions relating to the genome and genomic research. The EB Meeting hosted a symposium organized by the FASEB MARC Program entitled ?Genomics: A Unified Approach to Solving Diverse Problems in Health and Disease? which provided a forum for interaction between minority junior and senior scientists and included selected genomics-related posters that were displayed throughout the symposium. Additionally, EB hosted a FASEB Public Affairs symposium entitled ?Bioterrorism: New Threats Facing the Nation, New Challenges for the Scientific Community,? featuring Anthony Fauci of NIAID, NIH; Tara O?Toole of Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies; and Julie Louise Gerberding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Special posters were scheduled throughout the meeting related to teaching and the use of computers in research and teaching.
    A total of 6,977 volunteered abstracts were submitted for presentation by the submission deadline of November 7, 2001. Thirty-five percent (2,444) of the total abstracts submitted were sponsored by APS or its guest societies and 34% (2,416) of the total were submitted to APS topic categories. Additionally, 577 late-breaking abstracts were accepted with a deadline of February 28, 2002 of which 21% (123) were from members of APS or its guest societies. Late-breaking abstracts were scheduled as posters on the last day of the meeting and printed in the program addendum.
    Of the 2,416 abstracts programmed by APS, 27% (654) had female first authors, 11% were received from institutions outside The Americas (representing an 11% decrease from EB 2001), 3% (82) were from US government laboratories, and 1% (30) were from industry. The decrease in foreign abstracts can be attributed to lingering concern resulting from the September 11 attacks on the United States. Table 1 provides the departmental affiliations of the abstracts programmed by APS and indicates that 22% (539) were from departments of physiology and 5% (144) were from departments of physiology and biophysics.
The APS programmed a total of 318 scientific sessions including, 189 poster sessions, 47 symposia, 53 featured topics, 17 lectures, 4 workshops, 4 Physiology InFocus symposia, 1 poster discussions, 1 forum, 1 tutorial, and 1 refresher course. The lecture sessions included 12 Section Distinguished Lectureships, the Walter B. Cannon, Henry Bowditch, and Walter C. Randall, FASEB Excellence in Science Award, and The Microcirculatory Society?s Landis Award lectures.
    Session highlights included four workshops: ?Understanding Organ Function through Real-time Fluoresence,? chaired by Jahar Bhattacharya and Bruce Pitt; ?Peer Review and Publication of APS Journals,? chaired by Dale Benos, ?How to be a Good Mentor: How to be a Good Mentee,? cosponsored by the ASPET and chaired by Robin Davisson; ?Physiology and Risk Assessment: Predicting Adverse Effects of New Chemicals on Critical Organ Functions,? chaired by Lewis Kinter and Alan Bass; and one tutorial entitled ?Bioinformatics for Physiologists,? chaired by Peter Tonellato. The Public Affairs Symposium entitled ?Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the IACUC but were Afraid to Ask,? chaired by John Stallone, was supported by the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and jointly sponsored by six of the seven primary participating societies. The Refresher Course was entitled ?Recent Advances in Neuroscience,? chaired by Cheryl Heesch and J. Thomas Cunningham. In addition, Phyllis Wise selected EB 2002 as the venue for her FASEB Excellence in Science Award Lecture entitled ?Estrogens: Potent Protective Factors in the Adult and Aging Brain.?
    The Physiology InFocus Program, organized by John Hall, was entitled ?Translating the Genome: Physiology and Pathophysiology of Obesity? and included four symposia: ?Gene Environment Interactions in Obesity,? chaired by Theodore Kurtz and James Hill; ?Neurobiology of Obesity,? chaired by William Haynes and Michael Schwartz; ?Endocrine/Metabolic Consequences of Obesity,? chaired by Barbara Horwitz and Barbara Kahn, and ?Obesity and Cardiovascular Regulation,? chaired by Allyn Mark and John Hall.
    The APS Mixer was held on Saturday evening and included sumptuous desserts, dancing, and an opportunity to meet with colleagues in a relaxed, festive atmosphere. The fourth annual Young Experimental Scientist (Y.E.S.) Mixer, designed to enhance interaction between younger members of the participating societies, was held on Monday and was very well attended.
    The total meeting registration was 14,537 of which 11,228 were scientific registrants. The scientific registrants were represented by 5,329 (47%) members, 135 (1%) retired members, 2,901 (26%) nonmembers, and 2863 (25%) students. EB 2002 marked the first year where registration was offered to high school teachers and students and undergraduate students at no cost. There were 219 (1% of the total registrants) high school teacher/student registrants and 633 (4% of the total registrants) undergraduate registrants. Additionally, the total registration included: 2,022 (14%) exhibitors, 195 (1%) guests of exhibitors, 205 (1%) guests of scientists, and 35 press registrants.
    The American Physiological Society gratefully acknowledges financial support through educational grants from Taylor University, Upland, Illinois, National Institutes of Health, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, The Grass Foundation, the William Townsend Porter Foundation, Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals, ADInstruments, and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals.

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