Departments with APS members most affected are at Tulane University School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Xavier University and Loyola University. There are just over 100 APS members from New Orleans.
APS is serving as a clearinghouse for information about physiology students and faculty in the area. "The APS Katrina Bulletin Board has been up for over a week and has served as a key element in learning how our colleagues are faring and delivering offers of help," APS President Douglas C. Eaton said.
"So far we have had offers of assistance for one to over 10 students each from about 40 universities from as far afield as Taiwan, Alaska and Puerto Rico," noted Eaton, who is also professor and deputy chair of the Department of Physiology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. The offers consist of graduate and post-doc openings, laboratory space, research assistance and fellowships, and often include housing, meals and stipends.
Donations to the APS Katrina Relief Fund donation
APS launched the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund drive to supplement the initial APS $50,000 contribution. The APS Council recommended that $2,000 unrestricted grants be made to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows affected by Katrina. The Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology and its members are fully involved in the program.
Donations from APS members and the public can be made online at: http://www.the-aps.org/katrina.htm.
"While we all wish we could do more for all the people of New Orleans and the other affected areas, as a society, the American Physiological Society has the unique ability to directly help our scientific colleagues and friends cope with the aftereffects of this terrible storm," Eaton said.
Based on response from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, the APS Council will consider increasing its contribution to the relief fund.
The American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 to foster basic and applied bioscience. The Bethesda, Maryland-based society has more than 10,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals containing almost 4,000 articles annually.
APS provides a wide range of research, educational and career support and programming to further the contributions of physiology to understanding the mechanisms of diseased and healthy states. In May 2004, APS received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).