About Us
OUR HISTORY
Founded in 1994
The International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience came to life on 2nd July 1994 at a meeting in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Those present at this meeting which established the Society were Roger Dampney, John Furness, David Hirst, Marcello Costa, Bill Blessing and Max Bennett. The following issues were key drivers for discussion:
At this original meeting John Furness brought his colleague, Joel Bornstein, into the group and suggested that Jim Angus should also be invited to join. Max Bennett presented the Statutes and By-Laws of IBRO at the meeting for the purposes of setting up what he suggested should be called the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN). It was decided at this fist meeting in Melbourne that Geoff Burnstock be approached to become President, and that the executive would consist of Max Bennett (Executive Vice-President), Joel Bornstein (Executive Secretary), John Furness (Treasurer), David Hirst (Conference Convenor) and Jim Angus (Finance Officer). The ISAN Interim Executive Committee was thus bootstrapped into existence. [derived from a history by MR Bennett]. The existence of the society was proposed by Australian Autonomic Neuroscientists at a meeting on July 2nd 1994 and formally constituted in March 1995 with Geoff Burnstock elected as the Foundation President [personal communication; G Burnstock].
The core purpose of the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience is to provide regular opportunities for researchers, clinicians, and industry partners to converge in order to share ideas, scientific data, and best practice on a global stage. To this end, the Society hosts an international scientific congress, usually every two years.
Conferences are typically held over three days, attract 200 – 500 delegates, and feature a combination of plenary talks from internationally renowned investigators, parallel symposia on emerging topics, and poster sessions. The Society recognises the importance of conference participation to our trainees and offers reduced registration fees and prizes to postgraduate students
Previous conference venues include:
1997 Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Australia | |
2000 London, UK | |
2003 Calgary, Canada | |
2005 Marseille, France | |
2007 Kyoto, Japan | |
2009 Sydney, Australia | |
2011 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
2013 Giessen, Germany | |
2015 Stresa, Italy | |
2017 Nagoya, Japan | |
2019 Los Angeles, California, United States | |
2022 Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Australia |
Society
ISAN promotes dialogue and research dissemination on various topics related to the autonomic nervous system, both basic and clinical.