Sigmund, Yosten Win Prestigious Awards Recognizing Excellence in Physiological Research

Rockville, Md. (November 4, 2022) – Each year, the American Physiological Society recognizes two outstanding member-researchers with the Physiology in Perspective: The Walter B. Cannon Award Lecture and the Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecture. These awards recognize the lifetime achievement of an established researcher and the physiological research excellence of an early-career researcher, respectively.

The Society’s Executive Cabinet has announced that Curt D. Sigmund, PhD, FAPS, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, has received the 2023 Walter B. Cannon Award, and Gina L.C. Yosten, PhD, of Saint Louis University, has received the 2023 Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecture.

This year’s awardees will each present a virtual award lecture in early 2023, host a curated poster session at the American Physiology Summit in April and present a virtual symposium related to their research after the Summit.

About the Recipients

Curt D. Sigmund, PhD, FAPS, is the James J. Smith & Catherine Welsch Smith Chair of Physiology, chair of the Department of Physiology and associate director of the Cardiovascular Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He will present the virtual 2023 Physiology in Perspective: The Walter B. Cannon Award Lecture titled “A Multigenerational Exploration of Vascular Smooth Muscle Control” on February 23, 2023. This lectureship is the most prestigious award that APS bestows and recognizes the lifetime achievement of an outstanding physiological scientist and APS member. Sigmund is a former member of the APS Council, past chair of the APS Joint Program and Publications committees and past editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. Watch Sigmund's lecture on-demand.

Gina L.C. Yosten, PhD, is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Science at Saint Louis University. She will give the 2023 Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecture titled “Orphan GPCRs as Novel Therapeutic Targets in Human Disease” (date to be announced). This lectureship is awarded to a regular member who is 42 or younger or less than eight years from the start of their first faculty or staff research scientist position beyond postdoctoral training. The recipient is recognized for original and outstanding accomplishments in the field of physiology. Yosten is editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology and is past chair of the APS Endocrinology & Metabolism Section. Watch Yosten's lecture on-demand.

“The recipients of these annual awards truly represent the best in physiology. Past Cannon awardees are among the giants of physiological research, and many Bowditch lecturers have gone on to illustrious research careers,” said APS Executive Director Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE. “On behalf of the APS community, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Curt and Gina. We are all looking forward to celebrating them and hearing more about their important research throughout the year and at the American Physiology Summit.”

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 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.