Newswise — (San Diego) October 28, 2022—Comparative physiologists from around the world converge on San Diego this week for the American Physiological Society (APS) Intersociety Meeting in Comparative Physiology: From Organisms to Omics in an Uncertain World conference, October 28–31. The conference will feature presentations from leaders across the field, including a keynote lecture by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, PhD.
From studying grasshoppers to Greenland sharks, comparative physiologists examine how the creatures of our world function, their adaptations to the challenges imposed by their environments and, increasingly, how human-caused changes to that environment affect their survival. “Comparative physiologists take an integrative approach to understand organismal function at multiple levels of biological organization,” explains conference organizer Daniel Warren, PhD, of Saint Louis University, who studies the extreme hypoxia tolerance of animals such as pond turtles, some of which can survive complete oxygen deprivation for months.
“Historically, comparative physiologists have aimed to understand the fundamental mechanisms of physiological function, their variation across different taxa and to explain their evolutionary origins. Sometimes, this work can help us to better understand human and animal diseases. But we have also tried to understand how animals function in the context of variable environmental conditions. Until recently, those conditions have been, more or less, predictable,” Warren continues.
“Now that humans have imposed climate change and other perturbations on our planet, we are increasingly called upon to predict the impacts of these challenges on the physiology of ecologically sensitive or commercially important species. We are learning how and why some animals will cope and others will not, which helps to inform the decisions of resource managers, policymakers and others in positions to mitigate or eliminate the effects of climate change. This conference will showcase many novel discoveries and cutting-edge approaches with the aim of empowering researchers to address all types of basic and applied questions in comparative and evolutionary physiology.”
Program Highlights
Friday, October 28
Keynote Lecture: Experimenting in Microgravity: Full Circle for a Physiologist Turned Astronaut
Speaker: Jessica Meir, PhD, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston
Saturday, October 29
Session 2: Open Electronics in Comparative Physiology
Chair: Sergey Morozov, MSc, University of Helsinki, Finland
Session 3: Thermal Biology I
Chair: Katie Marshall, PhD, University of British Columbia, Canada
Session 4: Osmotic and Ionic Physiology I
Chair: Jonathan Wilson, PhD, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
Session 5: Developmental Physiology
Chair: Claire Riggs, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
Session 6: Field Energetics Compared to Lab: Multiple Stressor Impacts from Organisms to Omics
Chairs: Britney Firth, PhD, University of Waterloo, Canada; Paul Craig, PhD, University of Waterloo, Canada
Session 7: Physiological Mechanisms of Stress-induced Evolution
Chairs: Dietmar Kueltz, PhD, University of California, Davis; Jason Podrabsky, PhD, Portland State University, Oregon
Session 8: Thermogenesis: Physiology and Molecular Mechanisms
Chairs: Martin Jastroch, PhD, Stockholm University, Sweden; Michael Gaudry, MS, Stockholm University, Sweden
Session 9: Conservation Physiology
Chair: Craig Franklin, PhD, University of Queensland, Australia
Session 10: Fishes in a Changing Climate: The Interaction between Temperature and Oxygen
Chairs: Rachel Morgan, PhD, University of Bergen, Norway; Anna Andreassen, PhD, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Session 11: Links between Mitochondrial Efficiency and Whole-animal Performance Traits under Stressful Environmental Conditions
Chairs: Julie Nati, PhD, Memorial University, Canada; Loic Teulier, PhD, University of Lyon, France
Session 12: Metabolism and Energetics I
Chair: Omera Matoo, PhD, University of South Dakota, Vermillion
Session 13: Vertebrate Cardio-respiratory Physiology
Chair: Christian Damsgaard, PhD, Aarhus University, Denmark
Sunday, October 30
Session 15: Open Electronics in Comparative Physiology
Chair: Sergey Morozov, PhD, University of Helsinki, Finland
Session 16: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology I
Chair: Michael Hedrick PhD, California State University, East Bay, Hayward
Session 17: Ecotoxicology
Chair: Kristin Nielsen, PhD, University of Texas at Austin
Session 18: Osmotic and Ion Physiology II
Chair: Farwa Sajadi, York University, Canada
Session 19: The Response of Fishes to Ocean Acidification, Hypoxia and Their Interactions
Chairs: Garfield Kwan, PhD, NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California; Till Harter, PhD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
Session 20: Metabolism and Energetics II
Chair: Grant McClelland, PhD, McMaster University, Canada
Session 21: NO, H2S and CO Action in an Uncertain World—The Role of Gasotransmitter-mediated Signaling in Stress Response and Adaptation
Chair: Lucie Gerber, PhD, University of Oslo, Norway
Session 22: Experiment-based Data and Cues about the Evolution of Physiological Processes
Chairs: Luciane Gargaglioni, PhD, São Paulo State University, Brazil; Cleo Leite, PhD, Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
Session 23: The Complex Lives of Mitochondria
Chair: Dillon Chung, PhD, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Session 24: Microbiomes: Implications for Organismal Physiology in a Changing World
Chairs: Nick Barts PhD, University of Pittsburgh; Kevin Kohl, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
Session 25: Acid-base Physiology
Chair: Rachael Heuer, PhD, University of Miami
Session 26: Origins and Mechanisms of Insect Flight
Chairs: Lisa Treidel, PhD, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Caroline Williams, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Monday, October 31
Session 28: Thermal Biology II
Chair: Maria Christina Vasquez, PhD, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Session 29: Morphology and Biomechanics
Chair: Jake Socha, PhD, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg
Session 30: Evolutionary Physiology
Chair: Lynn Hartzler, PhD, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
Session 31: Omics in Comparative Physiology
Chair: Erica Heinrich, PhD, University of California, Riverside
Session 32: Thermal Biology III
Chair: Johannes Overgaard, PhD, Aarhus University, Denmark
Session 33: Respiratory Physiology
Chair: Scott Kirkton, PhD, Union College, Schenectady, New York
Session 34: Metabolic Suppression
Chair: Les Buck, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada
Session 35: GI and Microbiome Physiology
Chair: Justin Conner, PhD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Session 36: Hot and Toxic: Understanding Animal Physiology and Behavior in the Context of Climate Change and Pollution
Chairs: Lela Schlenker, PhD, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina; Kerri Lynn Ackerly, PhD, University of Texas at Austin
Session 37: Novel and Understudied Mechanisms of Epithelial Ion Transport
Chairs: Dennis Kolosov, PhD, California State University, San Marcos; Sima Jonusaite, PhD, University of Guelph, Canada
Session 38: Living in a Seasonal, and Warming, Environment
Chairs: Kenia Bicego, PhD, São Paulo State University, Brazil; Jose Eduardo de Carvalho, PhD, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil
Session 39: The Physiology of Tracheal Respiratory Systems
Chairs: Jon Harrison, PhD, Arizona State University, Tempe; Philip Matthews, PhD, University of British Columbia, Canada
Plenary Lecture: “Dining with Snakes”
Speaker: Tobias Wang, PhD, Aarhus University, Denmark
In addition to the American Physiological Society, this conference is supported by the Society for Experimental Biology, the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology and a grant from the National Science Foundation (2225414). Individual sessions are sponsored by American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative; Journal of Experimental Biology; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A; Journal of Thermal Biology; Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, and by Pyroscience. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the National Science Foundation; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: The Comparative Physiology: From Organism to Omics in an Uncertain World conference will be held October 28–31 in San Diego. To schedule an interview with the researchers, conference organizers or presenters, contact . Find more highlights in our Newsroom.
Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical and basic scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.
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