The Physiological Society

15/06/2026

At on 8-9 June, we explored immune surveillance, brain mechanisms and brain border dynamics, to astrocyte signalling, as we considered how glia research could address neurodegeneration and neuropsychiatric disorders.

📸 Here are a few photo highlights from the meeting. In the first photo, Professor Mike Tipton, President of the Physiological Society, stands with Dr Valentina Mosienko, one of the meeting programme organisers and co-founders of the UK Glia Network. Valentina welcomed all to the meeting and kicked off two days packed with fascinating and insightful discussions.

👏 Thank you to all the programme organisers, presenters and attendees who joined us at the University of Bristol, UK.

View the programme to find out more about the research presented 🔗 https://buff.ly/ua0uvHo

13/06/2026

Could use protect the health of our hearts?

Finnish sauna use is growing in popularity globally due to the associated links with physical health benefits, such as improved heart health. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown.

Society member Dr Amélie Debray, a postdoctoral researcher working at the Cardiovascular Health and Autonomic Regulation Laboratory at McGill University (Canada), has been looking into this.

She tells us more about the randomised controlled trial she carried out at the Montreal Heart Institute (Canada) with her principal investigator Dr Daniel Gagnon to investigate the relationship between sauna use and its cardioprotective potential.

Read the article in 🔗 https://buff.ly/6CTRXHZ

11/06/2026

Fancy an ice slurry? Stacey Cowe (Nottingham Trent University, UK) is researching ways to keep athletes’ core temperatures down when competing in hot conditions.

Using a combination of internal and external methods, which includes ice slurries and neck collars, Stacey evaluated the influence on athletes’ cognitive and neuromuscular function, as well as key physiological and perceptual responses to heat.

We interviewed Stacey for to find out more about her paper on cooling strategies for game players, which is published in Experimental Physiology. Read the article 🔗 https://buff.ly/qbnvgeE

10/06/2026

🏆️ Presenting the early career researcher prize winners announced at our meeting 🎉

On 8 - 9 June, researchers across all career stages, from undergraduate students to leading experts, gathered at University of Bristol (UK) to explore the pivotal role of glia in brain physiology, sharing insights on glia function in health and disease.

Professor Baljit Khakh, University of California (US) presented the awards. Here's the list of prize winners:

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞
Uroosa Chughtai (Cardiff University, UK)

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞
Inés Jiménez Pulido (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Matilda Kakengi (Cardiff University, UK)
Ilke Guntan (Cardiff University, UK)
Norah Prendergast (University of Bristol, UK)

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞
Sandrine Armanville (University of Montreal, Canada)

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐳𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞
Sara de Leo (University College London, UK)

👏 Many congratulations to all the presenters and awardees. Find out more about the topics discussed at the meeting🔗 https://buff.ly/ua0uvHo

06/06/2026

Cycling, respiratory health, and why research is a team sport. We interviewed Society member Dr Pascale Kippelen (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) to learn more about her career as an exercise and respiratory physiologist.

✍️ "I remember one day testing a swimmer who narrowly failed to cross the Channel because he suffered from a bad asthma attack as he was getting close to shore. After testing him in the laboratory and getting a better sense of the severity of his condition, I helped him to get his asthma under control. The following year, he made another attempt and succeeded!" exclaims Pascale.

Read the article in to find out more about Pascale's career and how she is making a difference to people’s respiratory health 🔗 https://buff.ly/kOv7HSK

04/06/2026

The human body has its own inbuilt protective mechanism against heat injury. It is activated to protect us against internal damage from heat. Unfortunately, the evolutionary stress response can fail to prevent heat stroke, despite the shield launching a powerful defence response.

Abderrezak Bouchama, scientist and clinician, has been researching heat stroke for 40 years. We interviewed Abderrezak to learn more about this heat shield and how it works.

Read the interview published in magazine ⬇️ https://buff.ly/Xnr1Yjo

In this interview with Abderrezak Bouchama, read about the heat shock response, our inbuilt protective mechanism against heat injury.

02/06/2026

This August, join us to delve into the cutting-edge science of vascular ion channels, spanning from their intricate molecular mechanisms to their influence on the complex physiological functions of the cardiovascular system.

'Ion Channels in Organ Microcirculatory Control: Emerging Ideas and Pathological Relevance' is our two-day meeting taking place on:

📆 27 - 28 August 2026
📍 University of Oxford, UK

Don't miss your opportunity to present your research ⏰ Submit your abstract by 8 June ⬇️

Ion Channels in Organ Microcirculatory Control: Emerging Ideas and Pathological Relevance - Find out more about this two day meeting.

21/05/2026

Join us in Parliament to discuss the issue of extreme heat in the workforce and the challenges of establishing effective thresholds.

The Society has partnered with the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee to organise the public event, 'Extreme Heat in the Workplace: developing effective responses', taking place:

📆 Monday 29 June 2026
🕔️ From 17:00 onwards
📍 Houses of Parliament, London, UK

Spaces are limited, so please register your interest ➡️ https://buff.ly/sUBGhLV

20/05/2026

Discover how scientists solved the mystery of nerve transmission with the aid of a deep water marine predator, the squid.

The Historic Objects and Collections at UCL series presents a model made of wax representing the ganglion of a squid from the collection of the UCL Grant Museum currently on display at the UCL Object-Based Learning Laboratory, London.

The object featured in this blog is a model created from the work of John Zachary Young, a UCL Professor of Anatomy from 1945 till 1974. It showcases his research on squid giant axons, which inspired Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley to record the first action potentials from inside a nerve fibre.

Read the historic tale 'Jet propulsion' to learn more about the squid, nerve transmission, and physiology research ➡️ https://buff.ly/rGyUHfY

19/05/2026

Call for FIFA to update its current heat safety measures to protect the health of players at the men’s 2026 World Cup.

Professor Mike Tipton, President of the Physiological Society, is among a group of 20 leading international experts in health, climate and sports performance who have urged FIFA to address dangerous heat stress risk for players at the men’s 2026 World Cup.

Players will be competing in extreme heat, with temperatures and humidity expected to soar in the 16 cities across the US, Mexico and Canada that will host the tournament.

🗞️ Read our news story to find out more about the open letter that addresses heat stress and player welfare https://buff.ly/AKRlpVm