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Elizabeth N. Pearce, MD, MSc
President, American Thyroid Association |
President's Update
January 2019
Greetings from Boston, where we have been enduring a week of sleet and slush. In addition to snow flurries, January often brings a flurry of interest in all things thyroid, having been designated as Thyroid Awareness Month (although, obviously, ATA members believe that thyroid awareness should be a focus year-round). This has generated some recent media interest.
There have been several important recent developments related to the ATA's publications. First, the inaugural issue of Clinical Thyroidology® under Angela Leung's editorship has just been published. The journal has a new look, an expanded editorial board, and an increased presence on social media. Angela will be building on the outstanding stewardship of Jerry Hershman, who served as Editor in Chief from 2010 to 2018. Under his leadership, Clinical Thyroidology® became a monthly publication with a readership, which has increased every year, most recently with a record 50,350 article downloads for 2018. More editorial turnover at the ATA journals is coming, as, after a seven-year tenure, Peter Kopp will be stepping down as Editor in Chief of Thyroid® at the end of 2019. An active search for his successor is currently underway, being led by Publications Committee Chair Brendan Stack. Finally, after a year of intense negotiations, spearheaded by Vic Bernet, Brendan Stack, and Charles Emerson, we have just signed a new contract with Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., the publisher of Thyroid®, Clinical Thyroidology®, and VideoEndocrinology™. The new agreement promises to maintain our journals on a solid footing over the next ten years, will be financially more favorable to the ATA than the previous version, and will ensure that subscription rates for members remain stable.
The ATA website has undergone some recent upgrades. The 2019 members for each committee can be found at https://www.thyroid.org/about-american-thyroid-association/society-committees/. The website now also lists each committee's charge.
Please remember to renew your membership for 2019, if you have not done so already. In 2019 we hope to achieve full funding of the Ridgway Legacy endowment, which supports the annual trainee conference at the annual meeting. In addition, fundraising for the new Samuel Refetoff Fund, which is intended to support trainees and young investigators, to support ATA research awards, and to support the resistance to thyroid hormone symposium is getting underway. We have asked the members of the Board of Directors for "across the board" giving, since having 100% of board members donate annually provides a powerful signal to funders and grantmakers that the ATA leadership is fully committed to supporting the ATA's mission. You can make your own donation at https://www.thyroid.org/donate/.
Finally, there is still time to register for the upcoming spring satellite meeting on Friday, March 22 in New Orleans, (https://www.endocrine.org/endo2019/register) just before the Endocrine Society meeting. This symposium, co-chaired by Jennifer Sipos and Ralph Tufano, is titled Diagnostic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapies for Thyroid Disease, with program content designed to be truly cutting-edge and clinically relevant.
Elizabeth N. Pearce, MD, MSc
President, American Thyroid Association
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