Martha A. Zeiger, M.D. ATA President

President's Report February 2020

Dear ATA Colleagues,

As you all are aware of the COVID-19 epidemic in China and cases now in many other countries, our multiple international thyroid society leadership - the International Coordinating Committee (ATA, AOTA, ETA, LATS) are in close communication with AOTA and the ITC program organizing committee (POC) regarding our 16^th ITC meeting in Xi'an, China.

At this time the deadlines for registration and abstract submission have been postponed until May 2020. And, a decision regarding meeting postponement, cancellation, or relocation will be made by March 31, 2020.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our Chinese colleagues and we express our solidarity in supporting them and working with them to decide upon the best course of action. We will keep you apprised as decisions are made and appreciate everyone's patience and support.

ATA Board of Directors Nominations due March 31st!
As a reminder, nominations for the Board of Directors are due by March 31st. Our current directors include: Executive Committee (Martha Zeiger, Jacqueline Jonklaas, Julie Ann Sosa, Elizabeth Pearce, and Vic Bernet); Directors (Naifa Busaidy, Antonio Di Cristofano, Douglas Forrest, Tom Giordano, Megan Haymart, Joshua Klopper, Angela Leung, Scott Rivkees, Woody Sistrunk, and Ralph Tufano).

The responsibilities include serving as board liaisons to committees, fiduciary oversight, and strategic planning.
https://www.thyroid.org/professionals/nominations/

Moving forward with our Strategic Plan 2020-2022
We are so impressed and proud to inform you that we received over 120 suggestions for strategic initiatives from our ATA committees. The ATA Board recently reviewed suggestions and prioritized them based upon the strategic goals at our strategic review meeting.

The ATA Board is committed to fulfilling strategic goals in 4 areas over the 2020-2022 years: 1) Clinical, Scientific and Research Excellence; 2) Primary Health Education and Advocacy; 3) Operational Excellence; 4) Member Diversity, Growth and Engagement.

Implementation of the initiatives will begin in the next few months. We will be informing the committees regarding their actions and activities in year one, year two and year three. We appreciate the input of all ATA members and committees. ATA Strategic Plan 2020-2022 Activities (PDF File, 180 KB)

ATA 2020 Meetings

The ATA spring satellite, Personalized Approach to Thyroid Disorders, co-chaired by Laura Boucai and Francesco Celi, will be held March 27, 2020 in San Francisco just prior to the Endocrine Society annual meeting. Through a combination of lectures, panel discussions, and case-based presentations, the invited faculty will examine the critical management issues faced by clinicians across the full spectrum of thyroid disorders, with a goal of providing participants the tools to design a personalized, patient-centered approach to the care of patients with thyroid disorders.

At the ATA Spring 2020 Meeting, Controversies in Thyroidology, co-chaired by Whitney Goldner and Kepal Patel, will be held in New York City from 28-30 May 2020. The invited faculty will examine the most important, controversial, management issues faced by clinicians across the full spectrum of thyroid disorders. The optimal management of topics such as hyperthyroidism, nodules, and cancer as impacted by the emergence of newer, less invasive technologies, enhanced molecular diagnostics and improved, more accurate quality of life tools, will be topic of interest to all.

Please let me know any thoughts or suggestions you have for the ATA and how we might better serve our members.

Martha A. Zeiger, M.D.
President, American Thyroid Association