@awmackenzie
Associate Director of Strategy & External Relations, The Physiological Society (@physoc.bsky.social). Trustee of Faculty of Sport & Exercise Medicine. Council Member of Parliamentary & Scientific Committee. Own views.
Heading home after a really interesting discussion and dinner in Parliament on the [often overlooked] role of microbiology in environmental legislation. Congrats to @amiposts.bsky.social and Parliamentary & Scientific Committee for a great event.
Take a look at our work on physiological thresholds and how this provides a basis for resilience: www.physoc.org/thresholds
A clear message that plans and frameworks only work if they translate into protection for people in practice. Grounding resilience in human tolerance and vulnerability is essential - and this relies on physiology.
Fantastic evening at @physoc.bsky.social , Council for Science and Technology, and @foundscitech.bsky.social event on climate adaptation and resilience.
The event will explore how the UK can strengthen climate preparedness and resilience, grounded in the latest scientific advice to government.
A core focus will be the role of human physiology in defining the limits of adaptation and the effectiveness of resilience planning.
How do we enhance the UK’s preparedness and resilience to climate change?
We will be asking this Q next week at an event in partnership with @physoc.bsky.social, @foundscitech.bsky.social and the Council for Science and Technology (the government’s top-level advisory body on science & technology).
Great couple of days up in Glasgow with fellow @ukhealthclimate.bsky.social trustees discussing strategy and next steps. Exciting things to come!
What a fantastic day at @sciencecampaign.bsky.social 40th anniversary conference! From hearing about CaSE’s origins through to the challenges facing R&D today, there were loads of great insights into how we reimagine UK science in 2026 and beyond.
Fascinating day yesterday at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social Policy Forum AI fundamentals course. Lots of interesting insight into how AI is changing the policy landscape: both how it is advancing key government priorities and also how it is reshaping the policy making process itself.
Great evening yesterday at a Foundation for Science Technology discussion on resilience of national infrastructure. As @physoc.bsky.social has pointed out, we should also think about national resilience from a health perspective. Health is critical element of any country’s infrastructure!
Great to tour the new GSK HQ today and see how much workplace science has gone into its development, both to improve staff wellbeing and also reduce climate impact. Highlight definitely was the hydroponic vertical farm, growing produce used in the onsite restaurant.
A pleasure to join the Nutrition Society at their annual reception and presentation of the Gowland Hopkins
Award, with a lecture from this year’s recipient, Professor Harry Flint.
Was a privilege to join the rest of the @ukyoungacademy.bsky.social membership selection committee yesterday to review this year’s applicants. Such a broad array of excellent candidates… a show case of how UK R&D really is full of innovate, inspiring people. The 2026 cohort will be fantastic.
For a toddler, nothing is more exciting than trying to catch projectile poo from a zebra’s bottom. Well done @londonzoo.bsky.social - thoroughly recommend ZooTown 🦓
Great to hear from Patrick Valance on his optimism for the year ahead. He spoke about the UK’s strong R&D foundations, world class universities, and strong science & tech business sector…And that these collaborations have to go further & faster to deal with the UK’s long term scale up problems.
Fantastic start to the year at @ncub.bsky.social reception in Parliament this evening.
⏰ Tick tock...abstract submission closes on 16 January for UK Glia 2026.
🎤 Present your research as an oral or poster communication.
🏆 For early career researchers, you could be in with a chance of winning a prize for best oral communication or poster.
Submit now ⬇️
🌍 As the UK and world gets hotter, physiology has a critical role to play in shaping action that genuinely protects health.
➡️ Check out the report from the Global Climate and Health Summit and get involved: www.globalclimateandhealthsummit.org.
🌳 Physiology also shows there are limits to adaptation. That is why slowing emissions and tackling the root causes of climate change must go hand in hand with protecting people now.
🩺 At @physoc.bsky.social our work focuses on the human limits behind the headlines. How heat affects the heart, brain, mental health and ability to work safely. Who is most at risk. And where physiological thresholds are being crossed long before systems adapt.
🥵 This is not just a climate statistic. It means physiological limits are being pushed more frequently: in other words, temperatures are reaching levels where the human body struggles to regulate heat, protect vital organs, and function safely.
🔥 Today, the @metoffice.gov.uk have confirmed that 2025 was the UK's hottest year on record. The 2nd hottest was 2022 and the 3rd hottest was 2023. All of the top 10 hottest years have been in the last two decades.
🎄 Lovely evening in parliament celebrating UK science at the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee Christmas Reception.
👍Great too see members from all over the world join us for our award ceremony and member forum. And the highlight was a fabulous President’s Lecture from Dame Sally Davies on leadership, influencing policy, and tackling antimicrobial resistance
🥳🍾🎈What a fantastic day at the @roysocmed.bsky.social to kick off @physoc.bsky.social 150th anniversary celebrations!
Huge credit to Lloyd’s Register Foundation for investing in the long term advancement of safety, prevention and learning. Exciting and important things to come!
There is also a clear role for physiology, particularly in understanding human limits, stress, fatigue, heat, and risk exposure, and how these shape real world safety outcomes in complex systems. These are areas @physoc.bsky.social explored at the the Global Climate & Health Summit earlier this year
There is a clear emphasis on evidence as a public good. Safety decisions are often made under pressure, with high stakes and complex trade offs. Improving access to robust, trusted evidence is essential if we are serious about reducing avoidable risk at scale.
