This year promises to be an exciting and busy year for the ATA and our members. Below are a few important dates to block out on your calendars for the coming year: April 25-26, 2013 is the ATA Spring Symposium and Research Summit in Washington, DC: 'Treatment of Hypothyroidism: Exploring the Possibilities' The Research Summit on Thursday, April 25th will feature 12 talks and discussions focusing on the science behind thyroid hormone action, transport and metabolism as well as regulation of TSH and the potential of thyroid hormone analogues and stem cells in the treatment of hypothyroidism. With this basic and translational biology foundation, the Spring Symposium on Friday April 26th will provide an applied clinical focus with talks, discussions and Meet the Professor luncheons focused on goals of therapy, different types of therapy (T4/T3 therapy, slow release T3, analogues), practical and ethical challenges of therapy as well as thyroid hormone in special circumstances (pediatrics, pregnancy, the elderly). This comprehensive and exciting Symposium will end with a broad panel discussion on where the field is headed and what we as leaders in thyroidology should be considering as we move forward. Many thanks to Jacquie Jonklaas, Ken Burman and Tony Bianco for putting together this important and comprehensive program. October 16-20, 2013 in San Juan, Puerto Rico is the 83rd Annual Meeting of the ATA Julie Ann Sosa and Ron Koenig are leading the Program Committee in developing an outstanding program, which will feature a broad array of symposia covering basic, translational and clinical topics in thyroidology. This meeting will also feature the 'year in review' series at the beginning of the meeting as well as an interactive tumor board session to complement the plenary and award lectures as well as MTP sessions. This is a must attend meeting to review the latest in all things thyroid and to catch up with colleagues and friends in a wonderful venue. ATA Committees and Task Force Accomplishments: The Ethics Committee is in the final stages of an important draft document entitled 'Clinical and Professional Ethics Guidelines for the Practice of Thyroidology'. This comprehensive and practical document uses the four basic principles of ethics (respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice) to explore our ethical duties to patients, research ethics, conflict of interest, ethical refusal of care and end-of-life decision-making among other topics. Glenn Braunstein, Sara Rosenthal and the committee are to be congratulated for this outstanding document that will provide ethical guidance in our research and care for patients with thyroid disorders. The ever busy and productive Surgical Affairs Committee is near completion on a statement on Outpatient Thyroidectomy. The Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) Communications Project is moving forward under the leadership of Greg Randolph, David Rosenthal, Bryan McIver, Manisha Shah and Steve Sherman. This project is designed to develop a vetted mechanism for our corporate partners to communicate with ATA membership in such areas as pharmaceutical alerts, black box warnings and requests for educational programs. This communications partnership will also allow ATA leadership and members a formal mechanism to communicate with CLC corporate partners. More to come as this project develops. Finally, I would like to formally acknowledge and thank the Research Affairs Task Force for their rapid and thoughtful deliberations on my charge to address the question 'What can the ATA do to attract and retain scientists doing thyroid-related research as active members of the ATA? The chair, Sheue-yann Cheng, and members (Inna Astapova, Tony Bianco, Greg Brent, Fran Carr, Antonio DiCrsitofano, Tony Hollenberg, Sissy Jhiang, Ron Koenig, Sandy McLachlan, Martin Privalsky, Rebecca Schweppe, Yun-Bo Shi, Michaela Stefan, Kristen Vella) and Board liaison Peter Kopp developed some creative and practical suggestions to address this question. These suggestions have already been discussed at the Board level and many are currently being acted upon including sending personal invitations to scientists doing thyroid research who are not currently ATA members, establishing basic science research awards and a focused award oral session for the Annual Program, exploring funding opportunities to support thyroid-related postdoctoral research grants, and making our membership fees and meeting registration fees for PhD scientists competitive with other professional scientific societies. I believe that acting on these and other suggestions from the Task Force will strengthen our Association and continue to position the ATA as the leading organization devoted to thyroid biology and to the prevention and treatment of thyroid disease through excellence in research, clinical care, education, and public health. Best wishes for a happy, healthy and productive 2013
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Happy 2013!