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A century of inheritance and innovation: historical development and experience of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences

WANG Yun^1,*, WANG Xiao-Min², FAN Ming³, YAO Tai⁴, YANG Xiong-Li⁵

¹Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China；²Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China；³Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China；⁴Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China；⁵Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China

Abstract

The Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences (CAPS), founded in 1926, is one of the earliest and most influential national academic organizations in the field of biological sciences in China. Over the past century, the development of CAPS has been closely linked with the modernization of medical education, the growth of experimental life sciences, national scientific reconstruction, and the increasing demand for public health. Based on historical materials prepared for the centennial of CAPS, this article reviews the major stages of its development, including its foundation and institutional establishment, post-1949 reorganization and disciplinary expansion, revival after the reform and opening-up, internationalization in the new century, and modernization of governance in the new era. From 1926 to 1949, CAPS established an academic community through annual meetings, membership development, and the founding of the Chinese Journal of Physiology, providing an important platform for Chinese physiological research to communicate with the international scientific community. From 1949 to 1977, the society restored its organizational network and expanded into the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences, reflecting the broader formation of physiology-related disciplines in the new national scientific and educational system. Since 1978, CAPS has resumed national academic conferences and journal publication, strengthened talent cultivation, teaching reform, disciplinary planning, and international cooperation, and gradually transformed from a meeting-oriented society into a comprehensive academic organization. In the new era, the establishment of Party committee, a board of supervisors, improved professional committee management, digital office systems, and international conferences has further promoted standardized, modernized, and internationalized governance. The century-long history of CAPS shows that academic excellence, service to national needs, talent development, the inheritance of scientific spirit, and open collaboration constitute the key experience for the sustainable development of a scientific society and have together shaped an organizational culture characterized by rigor, innovation, collaboration, and dedication.

Key words: Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences; history of physiology; academic community; Acta Physiologica Sinica; scientific spirit; scientific society

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 王韵　　E-mail:

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2026.0088

Citing This Article：

WANG Yun, WANG Xiao-Min, FAN Ming, YAO Tai, YANG Xiong-Li. A century of inheritance and innovation: historical development and experience of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences. Acta Physiol Sin 2026; 78 (4): 713-719 (in Chinese with English abstract).