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Elizabeth N. Pearce, MD, MSc
President, American Thyroid Association |
President's Update
October 2018
Welcome to a new ATA program year!
Our recent 88th annual meeting, held in Washington DC, was a resounding success. The final registration included 1,621 attendees, breaking our prior record of 1,322 from last year in Victoria. A total of 543 abstracts were submitted. The conference was truly international, including attendees from 37 countries outside of the US and Canada. Rooms were occasionally packed to overflowing -- while we recognize that this is not always comfortable, it was a reflection of the remarkably robust turnout. Thanks to co-chairs Greg Randolph and Mabel Ryder and to all of the Annual Program Committee members for ensuring an outstanding program, filled with exciting and cutting-edge clinical and basic science. Thanks, as always, to Adonia Coates, ATA Director of Meetings and Program Services, and to all of the other ATA staff members who made the meeting logistics seamless. The Ridgway Trainee Conference also had a record attendance this year, with 311 participants. Many thanks to the Trainees and Career Advancement Committee co-chairs Jacqueline Kung and Jennifer Sipos and the committee members who contributed substantial time and energy to the organization of the Ridgway program. Planning for next year's annual meeting in Chicago is already underway, with the new program Committee being co-chaired by Antonio di Cristofano and Mona Sabra. Suggestions for next year's program content can be submitted through October 31st at the Members Resources page of the ATA website. As a reminder, CME and MOC credit needs to be claimed by October 31.
Highlights of the annual meeting included the Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lecture, which was delivered by Anthony Hollenberg. The Lewis E. Braverman Lecture was presented by R. Michael Tuttle. Carmelo Nucera was the 2018 Van Meter recipient. Scott Rivkees was the recipient of this year's Paul Starr Award, Marvin Gershengorn was awarded the John B. Stanbury Pathophysiology Medal, and, finally, the Distinguished Service Award was presented to David Sarne.
Election results were announced at the recent business meeting. Congratulations to new Board of Directors members Joshua Klopper and Angela Leung, and to new President-Elect Martha Zeiger. The upcoming year promises to be extremely active for ATA leadership in light of approaching transitions. Plans are underway to start a search to replace Thyroid Editor-in-Chief Peter Kopp when he completes his term at the end of 2019. We are also planning for the retirement of executive Director Bobbi Smith in 2020; hers will be extremely difficult shoes to fill. We are working to establish a task force to oversee the Executive Director search process, and it is likely that the ATA will partner with an executive search firm in this effort. The current ATA Strategic Plan, developed in 2015, was intended to remain in place for three years. A meeting will be held in the late spring of 2019 to refresh the ATA's strategic goals in advance of the start of Jacqueline Jonklaas' term as Secretary/COO next fall.
Two important fundraising efforts are now ongoing. The Ridgway Legacy Fund, which honors the memory of Dr. E. Chester "Chip" Ridgway, is used to support the Ridgway Trainees Conference. Currently just over $200,000 has been raised, but an additional $47,000 is needed in order to achieve full funding of this endowment. The Samuel Refetoff Endowment Fund is newly-established and is intended to support fellows, trainees, and young investigators; to support the International Workshop on Resistance to Thyroid Hormone; and to support ATA research awards. Please consider a donation to one or both of these funds as you make plans for end-of-year giving.
We encourage you to read Charles Emerson's outgoing president's report presented at the ATA business meeting on October 4. Our thanks for his leadership this past year. You received Vic Bernet's report in your September SIGNAL and it is posted to members only as well. I look forward to working with the executive committee and the Board of Directors to continue the many programs and projects of the ATA. ATA members are the lifeblood of the society, please stay in touch with comments and suggestions.
Finally, mark your calendars now for the ATA's Spring Symposium, which will be held in New Orleans on March 22, 2019, one day before the start of the Endocrine Society meeting. This Symposium, being co-chaired by Jennifer Sipos and Ralph Tufano, is titled "Diagnostic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapies for Thyroid Disease." Through a combination of lectures, panel discussions, and case-based presentations, this symposium will explore the role of various imaging modalities in the evaluation of patients with thyroid disease, and examine the clinical indications for various image-guided therapies for management of thyroid nodules and cancer.
Elizabeth N. Pearce, MD, MSc
President, American Thyroid Association
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