The American Physiological Society (APS) will hold a conference on Global Change and Global Science: Comparative Physiology in a Changing World," scheduled for August 4-7, 2010 in Westminster, CO. This will be the first conference of any type to focus on the effects of global climate change on animal physiology. Comparative and evolutionary physiologists are uniquely trained to contribute to our understanding of the effects of changing environmental conditions on animals, and, therefore, help predict the complex consequences of anthropogenic climate change for humans and ecological communities. APS will administer a travel award program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from groups underrepresented in science in order to provide opportunities to learn about this field of investigation, interact with established investigators, and to participate in workshops on career development in comparative physiology.
The 2010 APS Intersociety Meeting: Global Change & Global Science: Comparative Physiology in a Changing World was held in the city of Westminster which is located approximately sixteen miles northwest of the Mile High city of Denver. The meeting took place over four days at the Westin Westminster hotel located close to the majestic Rocky Mountains, the historic city of Boulder and numerous trails, shopping and dining amenities. The Organizing Committee, chaired by Jon Harrison, Arizona State University, included Siribhinya Benyajati, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Andrew Biewener, Harvard University, David Goldstein, Wright State University, Carlos Martinez del Rio, University of Wyoming, Don Mykles, Colorado State University, Hans-O Pörtner, Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany and Patricia Schultz, University of British Columbia, Canada. The organizers worked together to select the wide array of different symposia, plenary lectures, speakers, topics, social networking opportunities and award competitions in order to make this meeting exciting and productive for the attendees. The conference was attended by 254 total registrants: of whom 39% of registrants were represented by young scientists, including twenty-nine postdoctoral and seventy-one students. Thirty-eight attendees were APS members (15%), and thirty-two attendees were nonmembers (13%), seventy-eight (31%) were invited chairs and speakers and exhibitors made up the remaining six registrants (33%). The meeting program consisted of a series of concurrent symposia each morning on a wide variety of topics. The audience was encouraged to share their ideas and thoughts with the speakers at the end of their talks. Each afternoon the attendee’s were invited to participate in the workshops and attend the oral presentations of their peers and support those who were competing in the prestigious Scholander Award oral presentation completion. The meeting had two plenary lectures scheduled including the opening plenary lecture presented by George Somero, Stanford University and Elizabeth Brainerd who presented during the Closing Banquet and Awards event. There were also three poster sessions where scientists presented their work, were able to network with colleagues and peruse the booths in the exhibit area. A total of 226 abstracts were submitted for the meeting. A hundred and twenty of these abstracts were programmed as poster presentations. Twenty-six abstracts were programmed in oral presentation sessions. The remaining eighty abstracts were submitted by invited speakers. Of the abstracts submitted for the meeting, seventy-two (32%) had a female first author; 63 (28%) were submitted from institutions outside of the United States, including twenty-eight from Canada, fourteen from Europe, eight from Brazil, six from Israel, as well as abstracts from Australia, Japan and South Africa. The American Physiological Society and the Organizing Committee gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided through generous educational grants from NIH-NIDDK, National Science Foundation, The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, the European Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Sable Systems International, Wiley-Blackwell, Australian & New Zealand Society of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Journal of Comparative Physiology, Journal of Experimental Biology, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology Journal and the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.
