HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH SOCIETY FOR EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
In the Spring of 1938 an interim committee comprising John McNee (Medicine, Glasgow), John McMichael (Clinical Laboratory, Edinburgh Royal), James Learmonth (Surgery, Aberdeen), CP Stewart (Clinical Laboratory, Edinburgh Royal), H Scarborough (Clinical Laboratory, Edinburgh Royal) and WC Wilson (Surgery, Edinburgh) sent out a call for papers and demonstrations to be presented at the first meeting of A Scottish Society for Experimental Medicine which was held in the Clinical Laboratory at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh on Saturday 29th October 1938 at 3.00pm. 26 members attended this meeting.
From the outset the Society met once in each academic term and in each of the four Scottish Medical Schools - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and St Andrews - in turn. The initial membership was restricted to 40 and the Society undoubtedly adopted an elitist attitude. The distribution of the membership reflected the numerical strength of the four schools and election was jealously controlled by the committee and after a short time offered only to those who had presented a paper as guests.
Unfortunately, details of papers and demonstrations given to the Society in the 'forties and early 'fifties are very sparse. With the creation of the Scottish Medical Journal in 1956 began the regular publication of the proceedings of the Society and the holding of more complete records. Initially absence of members on more than three consecutive occasions provided grounds for statutory retirement, but this rule has since fallen into disuse.
Among the highlights of the Society have been several combined meetings with the Medical Research Society, the last being held in 1982. Even with provisions for Senior and Honorary members, the limitation on the numbers of ordinary members was gradually increased over the years - to 55 in 1949 to 115 in 1955, when such numerical limitation was abolished completely. The annual subscription of 10 shillings in 1938 has risen modestly over the years to £10 at present.
The SSEM together with the Royal Medico Chirurgical Society of Glasgow and other societies have sponsored the Scottish Medical Journal (SMJ). The journal is now edited and published from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and distributed to all Scottish based consultants, together with members of the sponsoring societies.
In recent years the SSEM has developed its role in nurturing the careers of young researchers. The meetings provide an excellent forum for researchers to gain their first experience of presenting to a critical, but friendly, audience. As an incentive, significant prizes are offered for the most impressive presentations. In addition, the SSEM initiated a highly successful Vacation Scholarship scheme in 2001, which supports students who wish to perform 10 week research projects during the summer vacation.
About 30-40 papers are submitted for each meeting of the SSEM with 12 to 16 being chosen for oral presentation and, a variable number of the others being presented as posters. At each meeting awards are made to the best oral and poster presentations, the most prestigious of these being the Sir James Black Award. A keynote lecturer is also invited to address each meeting.
The SSEM is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC023625.
