Major advances in physiology: celebrating a centenary of contributions by women

2015 is the 100th anniversary of women becoming members of The Physiological Society. To celebrate this important anniversary, this issue of Experimental Physiology comprises invited review articles by distinguished women physiologists, all of whom have delivered either the Joan Mott Prize Lecture or one of the other prestigious Prize Lectures awarded by the Society. The Physiological Society was established in 1876 by 19 men, most of them Fellows of the Royal Society, physicians or surgeons. They were responsible for developing the new academic discipline of physiology in the UK so that it became part of teaching in medical schools, with the movement spreading throughout the British Empire and USA. A particular concern was the increasing number of animal experiments carried out to study physiological processes, which was attracting agitation from anti-vivisectionists. The UK Government set up a Royal Commission to develop legislation to regulate procedures on animals, which included senior physiologists, and those working in physiology were keen to have a formal grouping that could offer advice to the Commission. With this background, the Rules of The Physiological Society included promoting the advancement of physiology and facilitating intercourse between physiologists. Membership was initially limited to 40 men, all to be working physiologists, while ‘Men of distinction in Science . . . were eligible for election as Honorary Members’. Minutes of the Society over this period make little mention of women except as guests at the dinner that was associated with each Scientific meeting (Sharpey-Schafer, 1927a). In 1913, the proposition was made that women should be eligible for membership. The motion was carried by 16 votes to 13, but an amendment that the membership should be circulated for their opinion was lost. In 1914, the proposition was considered again. This time, a poll of the membership was carried out by postcard. It delivered a clear majority that women should be admitted on the same terms as men, rather than the alternatives of associate membership with no right to attend Society dinners, or no change in the Rules. The Committee changed the Rules in January 1915, and in June 1915 six of the eight newly elected members were women. There was a steady increase in women members over the following years, and in 1920 the first woman was elected to the Committee (Sharpey-Schafer, 1927b). Since then, women have played a full role in The Physiological Society; many have been elected to the Committee or Executive Committee, held Officer roles and chaired Sub-Committees. In parallel, many women have become nationally and internationally recognized for their contributions to science and to physiology in particular. One of these was Joan Mott who, after graduating in 1943 with a first class degree in Zoology at Newnham College, Oxford, took an Assistant Lectureship at Royal Holloway College, London, investigating methods of preventing barnacles from colonizing ship hulls. She later returned to Oxford and was awarded a DPhil for pioneering work using cine-angiography on the circulation of eels. Her interests in the circulation flourished, developing into a passion to understand reflex regulation of the cardiovascular system in neonatal mammals. She became Foundation Fellow of Wolfson College in 1966 and secretary of the newly formed Neonatal Society from 1963 to 1967. At meetings of The Physiological Society, she was known for her direct questions and forthright views. However, she always showed an interest in the work of young physiologists. It was therefore fitting that when she died in 1995 and left a bequest to the Society, the Committee decided to award a Prize Lecture biennially, to be