Secretary's Update, July 2015

John C. Morris, M.D. ATA Secretary/ Chief Operating Officer

15th International Thyroid Congress (ITC)

Preparations for the 15th ITC meeting in October are accelerating daily. As you can imagine the ATA office and meeting planners are very busy. The closer we get to the date, the more exciting it becomes. You should have received notice from the ATA in the last few days about the acceptance and designation of your submitted abstract. The program organizing committee reviewed and assigned the type of presentation, date, time, and venue for 854 abstracts at a meeting in New York only a few days earlier. Please also remember the short-call abstract submission process, which opens on August 12 and closes on August 26. Now is the time to register for the meeting and reserve your room if you have not already done so. You can begin the process by clicking here.

Research Grants for 2015

The ATA Research committee has very recently announced the recipients of this year's ATA-sponsored research grants. You can see these outstanding projects listed here. As noted on the list, the funding comes from a variety of sources including ATA designated research funds as well as from our important partners ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors', Inc., a donor designated fund through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and the BiteMeCancer Foundation. Congratulations to each of the recipients! I also wish to point out the hard work completed by the research committee, which is led by Chair Mingzhao Xing, and this year reviewed 61 grant proposals to select the most outstanding for funding.

John Stanbury

We were saddened to learn of the passing of former ATA President, John B. Stanbury at his home at age 100 years. Dr. Stanbury was a preeminent leader in thyroidology and for our organization over several decades. We heard from many ATA members after his passing, and perhaps the most poignant of comments came from another former ATA President who knew Dr. Stanbury better than most, Leslie De Groot: "May I join the chorus noting John B Stanbury's death at just over 100 years.. John was a most important leader in thyroidology for decades and trained a large group of fellows, many of whom became leaders in their own right. He more or less invented the field of "in born errors of metabolism" for the thyroid, and his book on the topic became a Bible. He led the world wide fight against the adverse effects of iodine deficiency. John dedicated his life to medical research, teaching and patient care, and provided a model that is a great legacy for all. Leslie De Groot, MD 7/7/15". At the ITC meeting in October, Sheue-yann Cheng will receive this year's Stanbury Pathophysiology Medal, which is named for John B. Stanbury and we will honor his contributions further at that time.

I hope you are enjoying the summer and staying cool. We look forward to seeing everyone in Orlando in October!

John C. Morris, MD
Secretary/Chief Operating Officer