The community site for and by
developmental and stem cell biologists

Celebrating 100 years of The Company of Biologists

Posted by , on 14 January 2025

Happy New Year, everyone. 2025 is a big year for us at The Company of Biologists, marking 100 years since the Company was founded. We’re using this opportunity to reflect on what we do, how we got here and what lies ahead, alongside some special celebrations of this once-in-a-lifetime milestone.

Here, I highlight four projects to look out for during the year. You can help celebrate by visiting our anniversary page here, where you can register for updates, or by following #biologists100 on social media (The Company of Biologists is on BlueSky, X, Mastodon and LinkedIn).

The Company of Biologists: celebrating 100 years

To begin celebrating our 100-year anniversary, four of our Directors (Sarah Bray, Stephen Royle, Holly Shiels and Daniel St Johnston) reflect on the story of The Company of Biologists so far. They consider the Company’s current charitable activities and support for our communities, and highlight some of the inspiring articles and activities to come this year. You can read the cross-title Editorial in Development here.

During 2025, we will be publishing lots more content across each of our journals about the past, present and future of the Company and its activities, as well as some articles about the biology published in the journals. Keep an eye on our anniversary collection as it continues to grow here.

A short snippet of a poster entitled The Company of Biologists: the journey so far. A timeline. With key events in the history of The Company of Biologists illusrated. Intended for the reader to click through to read the main article.

100 extraordinary biologists

Throughout 2025, we will be featuring 100 biologists with extraordinary links to The Company of Biologists, highlighting a new pair of researchers each week. We begin with our founder, George Parker Bidder III, who hit the news most recently in 2015 after one of his messages in a bottle was discovered – the oldest of its kind at the time. If you’re on social media, you can follow our collection using the hashtag #100biologists, and if you’re not, you can take a look at the developing archive on our anniversary page here.

An image reading 100 extraordinary biologists. George Parker Bidder III. Prominent marine biology, Geroge Parker Bidder III is accredited with founding The Company of Biologists in 1925 to save the British Journal of Experimental Biology. He served as the inaugural Managing Director and Secretary, remaining on the Board until 1942. #100biologists #biologists100

Message in a bottle

Inspired by George Parker Bidder III, we have set up our own digital ‘message in a bottle’ project. We would like to hear stories about how The Company of Biologists has supported you over time and the impact that has had on your research or career.

For example, we want to hear from you if you have:

  • published in one of our journals
  • received a Travelling Fellowship or other Company grants
  • received support from the Company as a member of BSCB, BSDB or SEB
  • attended a scientific meeting hosted by the Company
  • contributed to one of our community sites
  • acted in the role of Director, Editor or other partner
  • worked with us in one of the many other projects we have run over the past few decades

Tell us your story by sending us your own digital ‘message in a bottle’ here.

Message in a bottle. Share your story on how The Company of Biologists has supported you in your career by sending us a virtual message in a bottle.

Biologists @ 100 conference

A key event in our programme of activities is our interdisciplinary Biologists @ 100 conference in Liverpool, which brings together each of the communities served by The Company of Biologists’ journals. You can learn more about the programme and register to attend on the conference website here.

Poster with the following text:
Conference announcement
Join us in Liverpool to celenbrate our 100th anniversary
24-27 March 2025 ACC Liverpool UK
Biologists @ 100
Incorporating
- BSCB/BSDB Spring Meeting
- JEB Symposium 
- DMM programme: antimicrobial resistance
- Sppecial plenary sessions covering issues of global importance to the biological community

Keynote speakers
Climate change and biodiversity: Hans-Otto Portner and Jane Francis
Health and disease: Sadaf Farooqi and Charles Swinton
Emerging technologies:
Manu Prakash and Jennifer Lippencott-Schwartz

Register now
Extended abstract deadline: 17 January 2025
Early-bird deadline: 17 January 2025
Final deadline: 28 February 2025

biologists.com/100-years/conference
#biologists1000

We’ve made a video (below) that discusses some of the ways we’ve made this a sustainable event and encourage you to also think sustainably when making travel plans to join us in March. See you there?

The Company of Biologists 100 logo
Thumbs up (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Tags: ,
Categories: News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get involved

Create an account or log in to post your story on the Node.

Sign up for emails

Subscribe to our mailing lists.

Do you have any news to share?

Our ‘Developing news’ posts celebrate the various achievements of the people in the developmental and stem cell biology community. Let us know if you would like to share some news.