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Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience

 

Sir Michael FosterSir Michael Foster was the father of experimental Physiology in Cambridge. Upon his arrival in Cambridge in 1870, from University College London, Sir Michael Foster was appointed Praelector in Physiology by Trinity College. At first he worked in a room furnished with equipment provided by Trinity, later in two rooms off of Downing Street where he gave lectures, ran practical classes and carried out his research. He called these rooms ‘the Physiological Laboratory of the University of Cambridge’. In 1883 Sir Michael Foster became the first Professor of Physiology at the University of Cambridge and held this post until 1903. He also founded The Journal of Physiology, was instrumental in setting up The Physiological Society and was a secretary to the Royal Society. He died in 1907, having inspired many students of Physiology and built a strong centre of Physiological research in which ground breaking research would unfold in the following decades.