Background and History of the Physiological Society of Thailand
By Professor Dithi Chungcharoen

(Taken from 9th Annual Meeting of the Physiological Society of Thailand, April 10-11, 1980)

During my study and training abroad, I have had the opportunity to attend many scientific meetings of physiologists, including the International Congress of Physiological Sciences. I noticed that other countries have physiology societies of their own. Moreover, the scope of the physiology research they conduct is very broad, and great progress has been made. I have also seen an impressive amount of international collaboration between these researchers. It is therefore my wish to see the same progress in physiology research in Thailand as in other countries. Over the past thirty years, however, there have been few researchers in the field of physiology at home here in Thailand, so nothing has been done concerning the setting of Thai society. In 1971, the organizing committee for the Regional Meeting of International Union of Physiological Sciences to be held in Sydney, Australia asked me to announce this meeting to physiologists working in Thailand. Then, I observed that there were many new institutions and many professors working in physiology in Thailand. However, there was still a problem with insufficient teachers and equipment, making it difficult to create a decent physiology department in any given Thai institution. The way forward then was to work together in accordance with our aptitudes in order to improve the academic prosperity of the nation. I, therefore, took that opportunity to invite scholars to discuss the organization of our own physiology conference in Thailand.

The department heads from the physiology departments of various institutes agreed to hold the 1st annual meeting of the club at the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital on March 20, 1972. In addition to the attending the academic meeting, participants agreed that the meeting should be held every year thereafter. The following year, the 2nd annual meeting of the club was held by the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Science at Mahidol University on March 26, 1973. It was decided then that the purpose of the meeting was to form a physiological society in Thailand that would organize academic conferences and facilitate interaction between Thai physiologists and members of the International Union of Physiological Sciences. Three different ways of organizing the group were considered: 1) as a club or society, 2) a branch of the Science Society of Thailand, or 3) a branch of another existing Thai scientific organization. It was agreed at the meeting that the first step should be the establishment of the organization as a club for physiologists for the sake of legal convenience, and to let department heads or representatives draft regulations for the club.

The 3rd annual meeting of the club was held by the Department of Physiology of the Faculty of Dentistry at Chulalongkorn University on March 28, 1974. At the meeting, the regulations for the club were drafted, specifying that the purposes of the club were:

1. To support the teaching of physiology and related subjects.
2. To promote research and academic progress in the field of physiology.
3. To disseminate knowledge to members and related academic societies.
4. To build relationships and unity among people working in the field of physiology.

Also at this meeting, some regulations were amended, the club president was elected, and an executive committee was appointed.

The 4th annual meeting of the club was held by the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at Chiang Mai University on April 18-19, 1975. At this meeting, the regulations of the club were completed. The 5th annual meeting of the club was held by the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital on April 16, 1976. This meeting was followed by training in physiological electronics. Also at this meeting, the club president and a new committee were elected. The 6th annual meeting of the club was hosted by professors at Khon Kaen University on April 22-23, 1977. The 7th annual meeting of the club was held by the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Science at Prince of Songkla University on April 26-28, 1978. At the meeting, it was generally agreed that the club was fairly solid, and it was agreed to officially establish it as a society. The regulations were again drafted, and another purpose for the society was added: “To act as a central point of contact, and to exchange knowledge of physiology with foreign institutions”. The society applied for formal association with the Department of Religious Affairs of the National Culture Commission in Ministry of Education on January 10, 1979, with the following people as founding members:

1. Professor Dithi Chungcharoen
2. Professor Chusak Vejbaesya
3. Assistant Professor Liangchai Limlomwongse
4. Professor Chalao Limpinan
5. Professor Sutip Pattanapad

On January 17, 1979, the society received notice to correct its regulations in accordance with Thai law. After this was completed, the application was submitted on January 25, 1979.

The 8th annual meeting of the society was held by the Department of Physiology of the Faculty of Science at Mahidol University on April 27-28, 1979. On July 23, 1979, the Secretary General of the National Culture Commission granted permission for the establishment of the society, and the Physiology Society was formally registered on October 22, 1979. After the Society was stronger and accumulated more members, it changed its name to “Physiological Society” in 1980. Later in 1982, it changed its name again to “The Physiological Society of Thailand”, (abbreviated as PST), which it has continued to use until the present time. The Society now has a fairly long history.

In addition to establishing annual physiology meetings since 1972, the PST has organized pathophysiology training courses starting in 1983 with the cooperation of the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Pharmacy at Mahidol University and various other institutions, especially in central Thailand. It continues to facilitate interaction and educate its members and other parties with an interest in physiology up until now.