On October 5, 1946, representatives from 19 Southern Medical Schools met in New Orleans to organize the formation of a regional society of clinical investigators. The new organization, named the Southern Society for Clinical Research (SSCR), held its first meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans on January 25, 1947. Fifty selected “Founders” attended, 18 abstracts were presented, and Tinsley Harrison was named the organization’s first president.

The annual New Orleans meeting grew steadily in size and popularity over the subsequent years. By 1960, about 80 abstracts were being presented annually and these abstracts were being published in the American Journal of Medicine. The name SSCR was changed in 1966 to the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI) to avoid confusion with the Southern Section of the American Federation for Clinical Research, which held its meeting at the same time. As the SSCI grew, it was felt that the leaders of the organization should be formally recognized, hence the creation of the annual Founder’s Medal in 1973. A list of awardees over the past 30 years can be found at the bottom of this page and in the members section. In 1984, the SSCI became the official sponsor of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, a journal with origins in the 1820’s (for more information on the journal and its history, click on the Journal link above).

By the 1980’s and early 1990’s, the SSCI peaked in terms of membership and participation in the annual New Orleans meeting. Trainee involvement in the meeting, encouraged by the institution of trainee travel awards, contributed to that expansion. The annual meeting grew to involve many regional organizations, among them the SSCI, S-AFMR, SSPR, and SSGIM. The growth of national subspecialty meetings during this time, however, was beginning to have a serious negative impact on all regional societies (and their meetings). By the late 1990’s, SSCI membership and SRM enrollment had fallen. That trend is now reversing, as the SSCI has aggressively sought to focus on the academic development of trainees and junior faculty. In 2004, new mission and vision statements of the SSCI were released that reflect that commitment, and over the past four years, meeting enrollment has risen ~50%. The SSCI remains financially strong and looks forward to continued growth in the years ahead.

*from: Pittman, JA and Miller, DM. The Southern Society for Clinical Investigation at 50: The End of the Beginning. Am. J. Med. Sci. 311:248-253, 1996.