Scientific Program Committee

The Scientific Program Committee is composed of a chair and at least one representative from each of the sections and interest groups. The term of office for both section/group representatives and at-large members will be made annually for a maximum of three years. The president-elect, Section Advisory Committee chair and the chief science advisor are ex officio members of the committee, without vote. The chair also serves on the APS Advisory Council. The director of scientific meetings and programming shall serve as staff liaison.

• Develop the scientific program for the Society’s annual meeting.
• Ensure the scientific integrity of the Society’s scientific sessions at the meeting.
• Develop oral sessions (approximately one-third of the total) for the meeting.
• Coordinate the abstracts for the meeting.
• Coordinate inter-Society programming.
• Review the sections’ programming to avoid overlap or duplication.
• Determine oral session allocation across sections, interest groups and guest societies.
• Promote and ensure inclusion of underrepresented groups at the annual meeting.
• Submit a written annual report to the Board of Directors at their spring meeting, as part of the consent agenda, providing activities from the previous 12 months. The report will be due three weeks ahead of the meeting.
  

Position Overview

The chair of the Scientific Programming Committee holds a critical role in creating the framework for member-submitted scientific programming for the American Physiology Summit, one of the American Physiological Society’s (APS) most premier offerings.

In leading representatives from APS sections and interest groups, the chair designs the process to ensure a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to scientific programming to meet the learning needs of early-career through to senior level scientists. The chair advises on topic categories and learning formats; oversees calls for proposals and abstracts; assists in any ethics issues; and works in partnership with APS staff to plan activities in the PhysioHub.

The chair works to engage ideas from throughout the Society including from APS leadership, journal editors and committee members, and is actively involved in decisions regarding scientific programming policies and rules related to speakers and honoraria, among other topics.

The chair is responsible for evaluating success metrics, improving where needed, sharing results with the committee and APS leaders and assists in onboarding new members onto the committee.

Deciding Governance Group

The APS Executive Committee (president, president-elect, past president, treasurer and CEO) will interview the nominees, and the Board of Directors will approve the Chair.

Time Commitment

• The Scientific Programming Committee Chair position is a five-year term. One year of shadowing the outgoing chair, a three-year term as chair, and one year of transitioning/mentoring the incoming chair.
• Leads the Scientific Programming Committee at in-person meeting, typically held in July, to oversee the selection of foundational science sessions, design abstract submission process, determine topic categories, frame cross-sectional programming, among other duties.
• Participates in monthly Section Advisory Committee meetings (via Zoom) when agenda items indicate discussions of Summit scientific programming.
• In-person attendance at the biannual Advisory Council meetings. Typically, these meeting are held in April at the Summit and during the summer at APS headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. Occasional meetings held on Zoom.
• Participates in the Physiology Summit Leadership Committee. Approximately four meetings per year (three virtual and one in-person breakfast at the Summit) to determine game-changer topic areas and speakers.

Calendar Workflow

• Ongoing email communication throughout the year with the APS staff liaison.
• May–July are busy months with session proposal review and discussion.
• July in-person meeting in Washington D.C. (two days) with the full committee. This meeting determines all foundational science sessions and scheduling.
• December–January are busy months reviewing and scheduling abstracts (work done solo and over Zoom/Basecamp).

Applicant Requirements

• Must be an APS member in good standing.
• Must have served on the Physiology Summit Program Working Group in 2023, 2024 or 2025. Candidates who served on the Joint Programming Committee for Experimental Biology in 2019, 2020, 2021 or 2022 may also apply.
• Must have attended the American Physiology Summit in 2023 or 2024.
• Must hold an associate professor title or higher.
• Additional service on an APS interest group or committee is desired.

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