157th APS Business Meeting

Time: 5:45 pm, Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Place: Washington, DC

I. Call to Order
     The meeting was called to order at 5:45 pm by President John A. Williams, who welcomed the members to the 157th Business Meeting of the American Physiological Society. A booklet containing the agenda and a listing of all the APS award recipients was distributed.

II. Election of Officers
     Executive Director Martin Frank announced the results of the election of officers that was conducted by mail ballot. The membership elected Douglas C. Eaton, Emory University School of Medicine, GA, as President-Elect (April 21, 2004-April 5, 2005). The three newly elected Councillors for three-year terms are Carole M. Liedtke, Case Western Reserve University, Thomas E. Lohmeier, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Irving H. Zucker, University of Nebraska College of Medicine (April 21, 2004-May 2, 2007). They will assume office at the close of the Annual Meeting. They are replacing Kim E. Barrett and Joseph R. Haywood, who are completing three-year terms on Council.

III. Proposed Amendments to the Bylaws
     In compliance with the Bylaws of the Society, the proposed amendments to the Bylaws to 1) allow APS the flexibility to nominate and elect officers by mail and/or electronic ballot; and 2) increase the membership of the Finance Committee from four to five members was put before the membership for a vote. The proposed amendments were published in The Physiologist [46(6): 357, 2003].
     The motion was unanimously passed by the membership approving the amendments to the Bylaws as follows:

IV. State of the Society
President John A. Williams addressed the membership and spoke on the state of the Society. He told the membership that over the past year, APS has moved into its new headquarters at FASEB, instituted new programs and awards, met a significant financial challenge, and began preparations for a new Strategic Plan.

Society Finances
     Williams said that in 2003, APS appeared to be heading towards a deficit, but due to cost containment measures, the Society was able to end 2003 with a positive balance of $300,000. The Society is also on track for a budgeted modest surplus in 2004. He said that the APS staff had done a good job with cost containment, and the rate of inflation had also helped. Unfortunately, the long-term projections still show expenses growing faster than income. As a result, Council is trying to find ways to increase revenue, and diversify income sources. Currently, the main source of income is the APS publications. The Society will try to build up the Endowment Program as a source of additional income.

Publications
     In August 2004, the journal News in Physiological Science (NIPS) will be renamed Physiology. The journal has a new Editor-in-Chief, Walter Boron, and a new editorial board. Physiology will have a new format, professionally done artwork, and more color. The publication will continue to include short review articles.
     New editors have been chosen for Physiological Genomics, AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology, and AJP: Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. Williams said that the journal impact factors remain high, and are in the top 10% of scientific journals. Physiological Genomics is experimenting with an open access policy. Since July 2003, 16% of the accepted manuscripts have been published through open access. The journal Advances in Physiology Education will be available to the membership in either paper or electronic format.
     The complete content of the Legacy Project will be online by summer in a searchable format. The content will be
accessible through individual memberships or through library subscriptions. Williams said that the FASEB Directory would eventually be an electronic-only directory. APS will probably offer only the electronic version to members starting in 2006.
     Williams reported on the Washington DC Principles for free access to science and how Frank had spearheaded the drafting and presentation of the DC Principles. DC Principles was created to counteract the open access supporters, and represents more than 50 scientific publishers.

Meetings
     Much of the past year has been spent planning the XXXV Congress of the IUPS, which will be held with EB 2005. The dates of the Congress are March 31-April 5, 2005. The scientific program, planned by the International and US Programming Committees, and the Joint Program Committee (JPC), is mostly complete. Williams informed the membership that there will be two APS conferences in 2004. The first, “Immunological and Pathophysiological Mechanisms in Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” will be held September 8-11, 2004 in Snowmass, CO; and the second, “The Integrative Biology of Exercise,” will be held October 6-9, 2004 in Austin, TX. One conference has been approved for 2005. Williams said that many of APS’ conferences have been scientifically successful, but they did not draw enough attendees to meet financial expectations. Therefore, the JPC will be evaluating the format of the conference program at its June Committee meeting.

Public Affairs
     Williams said that APS continues to work with FASEB to advocate realistic increases for the NIH, NSF, and VA in this post-doubling period. APS is participating in the “Bridging the Sciences” coalition and is participating financially in the Society for Neuroscience initiative to counter animal personhood. APS has met with NIH Director Elias Zerhouni on NIH’s support of Integrative Biology training programs, and with Jeremy Berg, the new director of NIGMS.

Education
     The APS/ACDP List of Professional Skills for Physiologists and Trainees has been finalized and accepted, and is now available on the APS website. Williams thanked Rob Carroll, chair of the Education Committee, for his leadership and hard work on the document. Work has begun to evaluate ways in which undergraduate physiology programs are set up as a way of facilitating undergraduate physiology education. And the very successful program, Frontiers in Physiology, has been renewed for funding by NIH.

Careers
     APS has established a new committee, The Trainee Advisory Committee. The committee consists of one graduate student or postdoctoral fellow from each section, a faculty advisor and a council liaison member. The first meeting of the Committee occurred at EB 2004.
     APS has two new award programs. The first is the Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award. The first awardee is Clinton Webb. The second award is the David S. Bruce Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. This year’s David Bruce awardees are David Arnolds, Harvard University, Lauren Parish, Texas Tech University, Jacob Rullo, McMaster University, and Steven Smith, Queen’s University.

Society Governance
     For the first time, APS implemented online voting for society officers. Council also established the Council liaison program where each committee is assigned a Council liaison member. This program will aid with communications between Council and the committees. Also, this is the first year of phasing in three new Councillors to increase the number of councillors from six to nine members.

Strategic Plan
     A Strategic Planning retreat will be held in fall 2005 at which time a new five-year Strategic Plan will be developed. To assist with the planning of a new Strategic Plan, a web-based Membership Needs Questionnaire is being developed and will be available to the membership this fall. The planning meeting for this retreat will be held with the fall 2004 Council meeting. The sections and committees will review the results of the Membership Survey and will present position papers to Council before the retreat.
     Williams thanked many of the APS Staff, including Martin Frank, Robert Price, Marsha Matyas, Margaret Reich, Linda Allen, Alice Ra’anan, Sue Sabur, and Linda Dresser, who have helped to make his presidency very successful. He also thanked all the committee and section chairs, especially Rob Carroll, Dale Benos and Peter Wagner, for all their hard work and help. And thanked all members for making APS a great organization and for makig his year enjoyable and rewarding.

V. Report on Membership

A. Summary of the Membership Status
     President-Elect D. Neil Granger reported on the status of the Society membership. As of March 1, 2004, the current membership of the Society is 9,866, of which 7,301 are regular members, 37 are honorary members, 1,104 are emeritus members, 47 are affiliate members, and 1,377 are student members. The Society also has 23 Sustaining Associate members.

B. Deaths Reported Since the Last Meeting
     Granger read the names of those members whose deaths had been reported since the last meeting. The membership stood and observed a moment of silence in tribute to their deceased colleagues.

VI. Awards and Presentations

A. Ray G. Daggs Award

APS President John Williams presents the Ray G. Daggs Award to Alfred Fishman.

Ray G. Daggs was the APS Executive Secretary-Treasurer from 1956 until his retirement in 1972. In tribute to his devotion to the Society, the Ray G. Daggs Award was established, and is given annually to a physiologist for distinguished service to the Society and to the science of physiology. The 2004 Daggs Awardee is Alfred P. Fishman, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
     Fishman has been a distinguished leader in physiological research and has provided outstanding service to the profession of physiology in general and to the American Physiological Society in particular for many years. It would be difficult to overestimate the impact of Fishman’s leadership on the APS. He has served as APS President, 1983-1984, Chairman of the Program Committee (1964-67), Chairman of the Editorial Committee of the Handbook of Physiology (1967-72), and Chairman of the Publications Committee (1975-1981). As chair of the Publications Committee, Fishman spear-headed the sectionalization of the American Journal of Physiology, arguably the most significant single development in the Journal’s long history. He has also served the society as Chair of the Task Force on Programming, the International Committee, and the Centennial Committee, as well as editor of the Journal of Applied Physiology and Physiology for Physicians.
     While President of the Society, Fishman encouraged the US National Committee of the IUPS to assume its proper role in international science. The APS Council offered to collaborate with the IUPS to establish an international physiological journal, which was the first step toward the creation of News in Physiological Sciences. Fishman later served on the editorial board of this journal.
     As a scientist, Fishman has made important contributions in the field of integrative cardio-respiratory physiology, especially as applied to humans. His contributions have included developing ways to use the Fick principle to determine cardiac output and to study collateral circulation in human subjects. He has also contributed significantly to the understanding of the control of breathing and of the pulmonary circulation.
     Fishman has been honored with numerous awards and distinguished lectureships. In 1980, he was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences.
     In his accepting the Ray G. Daggs Award, Fishman said “The APS has been my Society ever since I entered research and academic medicine. It is my home. I appreciate this award and I thank you.”

B. Orr E. Reynolds Award

The Orr E. Reynolds Award, established in 1985 in honor of the second Executive Secretary Treasurer, is presented for the best historical article submitted by a member of the Society. Members may receive the award only once, and those members who have advanced degrees in the history of science or medicine are not eligible. The recipients receive $500 and expenses to attend the spring meeting of the Society. The 2004 Reynolds Awardees are George W. Rodway, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, for his article entitled “Prelude to Everest: Alexander M. Kellas and the 1920 High Altitude Scientific Expedition to Kamet,” and Lawrence P. Schramm, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, for his article entitled “Homer Wheelon, M.D., Gastrointestinal Physiologist and Artist: Origins of the Decorative Tailpieces in Journals of the American Physiological Society.”

APS President John Williams presents the Orr E. Reynolds Award to Lawrence Schramm.

George Ordway and William Schmidt present the Arthur C. Guyton Teacher of the Year Award to Rob Carroll.

     The Arthur C. Guyton Teacher of the Year Award was established in 1993 by the Teaching of Physiology Section and is supported by the W. B. Saunders Company, publisher of Guyton’s Textbook on Medical Physiology, used to educate generations of medical and physiology students. The award is given to an APS member who is a full-time faculty member of an accredited college or university and involved in classroom teaching and not exclusively the teaching of graduate students in a research laboratory. The recipient receives $1,000 and expenses to attend the Experimental Biology meeting.
     Williams introduced William Schmidt and George Ordway who made the presentation to Robert G. Carroll, East Carolina University School of Medicine.
Ordway said “I am pleased and honored to recognize Rob Carroll. Rob exemplifies all that the award represents. He excels at all the criteria. He is an outstanding teacher on many fronts, and has won many teaching awards at East Carolina. Carroll is known nationally and internationally; in places such as Russia and Pakistan. He is an outstanding citizen. He has serviced on curriculum development committees, and has played a key role in developing the APS Teaching Section and served as chair of the Education Committee. He edits and writes for Advances in Physiology Education. He is an outstanding role model for all of us. No one is more deserving of this award than Rob Carroll.”

D. Giles F. Filley Memorial Awards
     As a result of a bequest from the family of Giles F. Filley, a memorial fund was established in 1993 to recognize excellence in respiratory physiology and medicine. Two annual awards of $20,000 are made to investigators who hold an academic rank no higher than assistant professor and are pursuing research in respiratory physiology and medicine. Awards are made to APS members working in the United States, who have demonstrated outstanding promise based on their research program. This year the Society is pleased to recognize the promise of Sarah A. Gebb, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and Dolly Mehta, University of Illinois at Chicago.

E. Lazaro J. Mandel Young Investigator Award
As a result of a bequest from the wife of Lazaro J. Mandel, a memorial fund was established in 1999 to recognize excellence in epithelial or renal physiology. An annual award is made to an investigator who holds an academic rank no higher than assistant professor and is pursuing research in epithelial or renal physiology. An award is made to an APS member working in the United States who has demonstrated outstanding promise based on his or her research program. Each award is for $7,500 and is designated for the use of the awardee in his/her research program. Williams presented the 2004 Mandel Award to Bruce D. Schultz, Kansas State University.
Schultz received a $7,500 check for use in his research program and a plaque.

F. Arthur C. Guyton Award for Excellence in Integrative Physiology
A donation to the Society in honor of Arthur C. Guyton led to the establishment in 1997 of an award to recognize excellence in integrative physiology. One award is made annually to a regular APS member who demonstrates outstanding promise based on his/her research program in feedback, mathematical modeling, and integrative physiology. President Williams presented the 2004 Arthur C. Guyton Award in Integrative Physiology to Armin Just, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Just received a $15,000 check for use in his research program and a plaque.

G. Liaison With Industry Awards
The Liaison With Industry Awards are given to for the best abstract describing a novel disease model. This is the fourth year this award has been given. Williams and David Brooks, representative of the Liaison With Industry Committee, presented the 2004 Liaison With Industry Awards to Dmitry V. Ostanin, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and Eric A. Mokelke, University of Missouri-Columbia.

H. David S. Bruce Awards
The annual David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research is granted to up to four currently enrolled undergraduate students who are first authors on a poster presented at the EB meeting. Each will receive a cash award of $500. This year the Society is pleased to recognize David Arnolds, Harvard University, Lauren Parish, Texas Tech University, Jacob Rullo, McMaster University, and Steven Smith, Queen’s University.

Janet Bruce, center, presents undergraduate students with certificates for the David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. The awardees were: Jacob Rullo, Lauren Parish, David Arnolds, and Steven Smith.

I. Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Awards
     Thirty-six awards were made possible by the bequests of Caroline tum Suden and Frances Hellebrandt, who were long-time members of the Society. Awards are open to graduate students or postdoctoral fellows who present papers at the spring meeting. Recipients receive a $500 check for travel to the Experimental Biology meeting, paid registration, and have access to the FASEB Placement Service. Carol Liedtke, Chair of the Women in Physiology Committee, presented the awards.

J. Procter & Gamble Professional Opportunity Awards
     The Procter and Gamble Company, a multinational, technically based consumer products corporation, provides support for the APS Professional Opportunities Awards. The APS sections selected nine pre-doctoral students who are within 12-18 months of receiving a PhD degree and are presenting a paper as first author at the spring meeting. Paid registration and $500 checks were given to the awardees.

K. Minority Travel Fellowships
     Frank announced that 55 Minority Travel Fellowship awards, funded by NIDDK and NIGMS, were presented to minority students to help them attend the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting.

L. Recognition of Outgoing Section Chairs
     William Chilian, Chair of the Cardiovascular Section; Michael Jennings, Chair of the Cell and Molecular Physiology Section; Stan Lindstedt, Chair of the Comparative Physiology Section; Charles Lang, Chair of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Section; and Kenneth Baldwin, Chair of the Environmental and Exercise Physiology Section complete their terms at the close of this meeting. Williams thanked them for their service to their sections and to APS.

M. Recognition of Outgoing Committee Chairs
Williams recognized the outgoing committee chairs and thanked them for their service to the APS. The outgoing chairs are John Stallone, Chair of the Animal Care and Experimentation Committee; Francis Belloni, Chair of the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee; William Talman, Chair of the Public Affairs Committee; and Michael Barany, Chair of the Senior Physiologists Committee.

N. Recognition of Outgoing Councillors
Councillors Kim E. Barrett and Joseph R. Haywood will complete their terms at the close of this meeting. Williams expressed his pleasure at having had the opportunity to serve on Council with them and recognized their dedication and guidance to the Society.
When presenting Horwitz with the Past president plaque Williams said that he had learned a lot from working with Barbara. “She was a steady source of guidance and calmness and good counsel. It gives me great pleasure to present this plaque,” he said.

O. New Business
No new business.

VII. Passing of the Gavel
     Williams then passed the gavel to D. Neil Granger, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the incoming President of the American Physiological Society.
     Granger thanked John for the past year of dedicated service to the APS saying, “Thanks, John, for your outstanding leadership. Knowing that you will be available to me and to the Council for guidance is a comfort. Please join me in thanking John.” He also thanked the APS membership for electing him and said that he was looking forward to the coming year.
     There being no new business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 PM, April 20, 2004.

D. Neil Granger
President-Elect