Constitution

  1. The Society shall be called the “British Microcirculation and Vascular Biology Society”.
  2. The objects of the Society shall be to advance the study of the circulation of the blood and other tissue fluids especially though not exclusively in the small vessels and of matters relating thereto.
  3. The Society shall consist of Associate (or Student), Ordinary and Honorary members. The acceptance of membership shall be deemed to imply an agreement to be bound by the Regulations of the Society for the time being.
  4. Any person who is or has been engaged in research or teaching in any of the subjects in which the Society is interested shall be eligible for membership.
  5. Any person of distinction in science who has contributed to the advancement of knowledge of the subjects in which the Society is interested shall be eligible for election as an Honorary Member.

RULES

  1. The Society shall elect one of its members to act as President who shall serve for a maximum of three years and shall not be eligible for re-election. One year before the President is due to retire the Society shall elect the next President who shall take office as President one year later. The Society shall elect one of its members as Secretary and another as Treasurer. The Secretary and Treasurer shall hold office for a maximum of five years and shall not be eligible for re-election.
    Process for appointment of BMVBS President-Elect: Expressions of interest for nomination will initially be sought from the membership. If only one member expresses interest (or is nominated by another member) and they have the support of the Committee, this individual will be asked by the Committee to stand as President Elect at the next AGM as the Committee’s nominee.  If two or more individuals express an interest, who all have the support of the Committee, then a ballot of the membership may be held at the next AGM if more than one candidate agrees to stand for election.  If no individual expresses interest, then the Committee will draw up a short list of potential President-Elects, internally agree on the most suitable candidates and approach these persons directly. Candidates will be told that others are also being approached, but names will remain confidential. If more than one candidate agrees to stand for election, then the names of all individuals prepared to stand will be circulated to the other candidates and if necessary, a ballot of the membership will be held at the next AGM with no Committee nomination of any candidate. In all cases the appointment will be voted on by the membership at the AGM.
  2. The business of the Society shall be conducted by the Committee, consisting of the President, the President-elect when in office, the Secretary, the Treasurer and five or six other elected members. The other members of the Committee, of whom one or two shall be elected in each year so that the total number of the Committee shall not ordinarily exceed nine, shall each serve for a maximum of four years (five for the Editor of Proceedings) but be eligible for re-election after a period of two years off the Committee. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members and the Secretary shall report this to members at the next meeting of the Society.
  3. The Secretary shall keep minutes of the proceedings of the Society’s meetings and of the meetings of the Committee, and at the Annual General Meeting shall report on the work done by the Society during the previous year.
  4. The Treasurer shall collect the subscriptions of the members and shall notify to the Committee the cases of any members whose subscriptions are one year in arrears. The Treasurer shall pay accounts due by the Society and shall prepare for circulation to the members before the Annual General Meeting a balance sheet of the accounts corrected to the first day of January in that year.
  5. The Committee shall elect one of their number to serve as Editor of the Proceedings who shall be responsible for the production of any volume published by the Society or any other material by members of the Society or others. The Editor shall act with the advice of two or more members jointly as an Editorial Board. The term of the Editor of Proceedings shall not exceed five years. The estimates for the cost of any proposed publications shall be approved by the Committee.
  6. Three members of the Committee shall form a quorum.
  7. The Committee shall meet previous to every meeting of the Society and more often if deemed necessary by one of the Office-bearers or by two of the ordinary members of the Committee after submission of their request in writing to the Secretary stating their reasons for calling the extra meeting. The Secretary shall be responsible for calling meetings of the Committee and shall send to its members a note of the Agenda.
  8. Names of members to serve on the Committee may be proposed by any member who has obtained the written consent of the nominee; such nominations to be sent to the Secretary at least two months before the Annual General Meeting unless, in the opinion of the Committee, special circumstances require less notice.
  9. The names of the existing Committee and of the retiring members shall be included with the preliminary notice of the Annual General Meeting to be issued by the Secretary under Rule 17. One full week before the Annual General Meeting the Secretary shall send to each member a ballotting paper containing (1) the names of the Committee, (2) the names of the retiring members, (3) the names of those nominated to fill the vacancies.
  10. There shall be an annual election for all Officers and members of the Committee and the Society shall, from the names submitted to it, select by ballot members to fill the vacant places.

MEMBERSHIP

(a) Ordinary Members

  1. Any member may submit to the Committee, through the Secretary or their designated proxy (the membership secretary), the name of any person desirous of election to the Society, along with a note of their field of interest and any contributions which they may have made to the scientific literature. The Committee shall consider such a person as a candidate for election and have power to elect them as a member of the Society. The Committee shall also have the power to elect an Associate or Student Member, on the nomination of a member, for a period of not more than three years at a time at their discretion; the fee for an Associate or Student Member shall be less than that for an Ordinary Member but an Associate or Student Member shall have the same rights as an Ordinary Member.

(b) Honorary Members

  1. Honorary Members may be elected at the Annual General Meeting on the nomination of the Committee, notice being given on the agenda paper. The number of such Honorary Members shall not exceed twelve. Honorary Members shall have the rights of Ordinary Members of the Society and shall not be called upon to pay the annual subscription.
  2. The Committee may propose admission to Honorary Membership for any member of the Society who has retired from their official appointment(s) and who has been a long-standing and distinguished member of the Society (long-standing meaning not less than five years); or any non-member who is a person of distinction in those aspects of science in which the Society is interested. Such proposals are to be voted on by the Society membership at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with Rule 12.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

  1. The annual subscription for ordinary members is due on 1 January each year. The amount of the annual subscription shall be reviewed annually at the Annual General Meeting in the light of the Treasurer’s report.

MEETINGS

  1. The scientific work of the Society shall be carried on at ordinary meetings. At the Annual General Meeting the number of ordinary meetings to be held during the ensuing year, their places and approximate dates shall be determined, the Secretary shall present their report, and the Treasurer shall submit the accounts. The Rules may be revised. The Committee shall be elected.
  2. The meetings of the Society shall be held in different parts of the United Kingdom as may from time to time be suitable. The work of the meeting shall consist of the making of communications and the discussion of these and of the giving of demonstrations. The time allotted for each communication shall be determined by the Committee been obtained for extra time to be allowed.
  3. The Secretary shall give at least two months’ notice of the place and date of the meeting, and shall at the same time intimate a date by which titles and abstracts of intended communications and demonstrations must reach them. One clear week before the meeting the Secretary shall issue the agenda paper containing the titles of the selected communications and demonstrations. Whenever possible abstracts of these shall also be circulated to members.
  4. A register of the members present at each meeting shall be formed by delegates signing their names in a book kept for the purpose.
  5. Whenever it is possible to make suitable arrangements, the members of the Society shall dine together on the evening of the day of the meeting. Each member shall defray the expense of their own dinner and that of any guest they may introduce.
  6. The Committee may bring up before any meeting any matter of business which they consider required the attention of the Society. Notice of such business shall be given on the agenda paper.
  7. A special meeting of the Society may be summoned at any time by the Committee; at least four weeks’ notice shall be given to each member of the Society, with a note of the purpose for which the meeting is summoned.
  8. The Committee may invite any scientific society to join in the work of the meeting.
  9. Members of other Microcirculation Societies may attend a British Microcirculation Society meeting at member registration rates. The introduced member may attend the scientific sessions and the dinner but shall not attend the business meeting unless specifically invited to do so, and if they do so shall not be entitled to vote(i).

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Grants available to junior members of the Society

  1. A “student” is defined here as a person studying for a primary degree (e.g. BSc, BM) or a postgraduate student studying for a higher research degree (e.g. MPhil, MSc, PhD), irrespective of the source of income of the individual (i.e. whether a research student, research assistant or technician). All recipients must be members of the Society, i.e. have paid the subscription fee or enclosed a membership application form and fee together with the Grant Application. For the Terence Ryan Microcirculation Conference Grant and the Laboratory Visit Grant, they must be a current member and have been a member of the Society for at least one year or have attended the most recent annual BMS conference as a member. Any student so defined may apply once per annum for any of the grants available. More than one type of grant may be applied for in any one year. Application forms and further details are available from the website.
  2. Student Assistance Scheme (SAS)
    The purpose of the grant is to contribute towards the direct costs of eligible student members attending a BMVBS Scientific Meeting (namely travel by the cheapest route, standard accommodation and registration), and to allow the student to attend the Society’s dinner in order to promote integration into our scientific community. The total sum set aside for this purpose will be a minimum of 250GBP per annum or some larger sum depending on current circumstances. If there are several applicants and the total sum applied for exceeds the sum allocated by the Treasurer, grants will be awarded on the basis of competition. Applicants must be a current member, and have been a member of the Society for at least 1 year or have attended the most recent annual BMVBS conference as a member.
  3. Terence Ryan European/International Microcirculation Conference Grant
    This scheme provides financial assistance for up to two eligible postgraduate student or junior postdoctoral workers (within the first three years of their first postdoctoral position), or equivalent, to attend and present at a relevant international conference. The initial grant is set at 500GBP per awardee, subject to revision according to the Society’s current financial circumstances. Applicants must be a current member, and have been a member of the Society for at least 1 year or have attended the most recent annual BMVBS conference as a member.
  4. Laboratory Visit Grant
    The purpose of the grant is to provide a sum to assist an eligible student member to visit a laboratory in this country or abroad for the purpose of learning new techniques or other worthwhile scientific purposes related to microvascular research. The initial grant is set at a maximum of 750GBP per person, subject to the Society’s financial circumstances. Two grants may be awarded per annum with a deadline of January 31st or June 30th. The eligibility of these grants has been extended to encompass junior postdoctoral workers (defined as postdoctoral workers within the first two years of their first postdoctoral position). In the event of contending applications from postdoctoral workers and postgraduates, postgraduate applications will receive priority. Applicants must be a current member, and have been a member of the Society for at least 1 year or have attended the most recent annual BMVBS conference as a member.
  5. The Olga Hudlická Early Career Investigator Award(ii)
    This award is open to postdoctoral researchers and PhD students. The award consists of the opportunity to chair and run a BMS Early Career Investigator Symposium (ECIS) at a World Congress for Microcirculation or a European Conference on Microcirculation. The Society has agreed to sponsor symposia at the World and European Conferences on Microcirculation hosted by an early career investigator. Application for the award will generally take place at the same time as abstract submission for a BMS meeting (with sufficient lead time before the conference). It will provide the successful applicant with the opportunity to host a symposium of their choosing (approved by the committee) at the following WCM or ECM. The successful awardee will select speakers for the symposium in the first instance from abstracts and presentations at the Spring Meeting of the Society. It is expected that the awardee will be one of the speakers. In the event that sufficient quality abstracts within the appropriate area of research are not available, the awardee may, in consultation with the President and Editor of Proceedings, invite early career investigator speakers from outside the abstract submission, but from within the Society membership. The Society will pay the costs of the symposium (up to an upper limit advised by the Committee), which will be chaired by the awardee and co-chaired by one of the committee (the President if possible).

GENERAL

Grants available to junior members of the Society

  1. If upon the winding up or the dissolution of the Society there remains, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any funds whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among members of the Society but shall be given or transferred to some other institution or institutions which has or have objects similar to the objects of the Society, and which shall prohibit distribution of its income and property amongst its or their members.
  2. Any member, whether Honorary or Ordinary, may resign from the Society by writing to the Secretary expressing they wish to do so.  They will not thereafter receive notifications of meetings or other communications, and their name will be removed from the list of members.
  3. The Rules of the Society can be altered only at the Annual General Meeting or at a special meeting as defined by Rule 20.  Any proposed alteration of the Rules suggested by the Committee shall be circulated to the members by the Secretary when the notice of the agenda of the Annual General Meeting is sent out.  Members who are unable to be present at any meeting at which the alteration of the Rules is to be considered may submit their views in writing to the Secretary for consideration by the Committee and subsequent submission to the members of the Society. The approval of three-fifths of the members who can vote, in person or by proxy, shall be required before an alteration in the Rules may be effected.   For this purpose only the vote of those members whose subscriptions are not in arrears, and whose names are on the Secretary’s list at that time, shall be valid.

Notes

  • (i) A list of eligible microcirculation societies should be included on the annual meeting registration forms.
  • (ii) The naming of this award shall be reviewed by the Committee every five years and agreed by the membership