Proposed Reorganization of NIGMS

In response to a request for input from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) on the proposed reorganization of the Division of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biological Chemistry, APS sent a letter urging NIGMS leadership to retain the term “physiology” in the names of the scientific branches.

August 1, 2023

Ayanna Vest
Supervisory Management Analyst
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institutes of Health

Dear Ms. Vest:

The American Physiological Society (APS) appreciates the opportunity to submit comments on the proposed reorganization of the branches within the National Institute of General Medical Science’s (NIGMS) Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry (PPBC). APS members have a strong interest in the organization of this division because it supports several areas of active physiological research.

While the proposed reorganization would create a new branch and rename the two existing branches, we understand that the areas of research focus for the division will remain the same. The proposed new branch would be entitled “Clinical and Systemic Sciences” and would presumably include several of the research areas that were previously part of the Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences Branch. Because the term “systemic sciences” does not have a standard or specific definition in this context, APS suggests that the title of the new branch be revised to more accurately reflect the physiological research areas that will be represented with inclusion of the word physiology.

With respect to the renaming of the Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences Branch to Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, many molecular and cellular studies are relevant to physiology and APS urges you to retain “physiological” in the name of this branch.

NIGMS is an important home for fundamental research within the National Institutes of Health, and researchers who conduct basic physiological research look there for funding opportunities. Providing more accurately descriptive names for the branches will help guide researchers appropriately. Physiology is a vibrant area of scientific research and discovery, and APS urges NIGMS to continue to use the term physiological both administratively and scientifically.

Thank you for considering these comments.

Willis Samson, PhD, DSc, FAPS, FAHA
President

Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE
Executive Director

Dennis Brown, PhD, FAPS
Chief Science Officer