PRESIDENT-ELECT CANDIDATES

M. Regina Castro, MD, Mayo Clinic

Dr. Castro is a Professor of Medicine, and Consultant in Endocrinology & Metabolism at Mayo Clinic, Rochester where she currently serves as the Director for the Endocrinology fellowship program.

She has been an active member of the American Thyroid Association since 2000, and has served on multiple ATA committees and roles, including among others, the Board of Directors (2014-2018), Patient Education and Advocacy Committee (Chair, Co-chair), the Website advisory committee, the Editorial Board of Clinical Thyroidology® for the Public (CTFP), the Trainees & Career Advancement Committee, The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force (Co-Chair) and the Publications Committee. During her time as Chair of the Patient Education and Affairs committee she led the effort in developing extensive patient Education material (over 70 brochures and FAQs) and of translating the majority of this material into Spanish. Also, she helped to organize and lead the Annual ATA Patient forum for 5 years.

She is a Clinician, Educator, and Clinical investigator. Her main areas of interest include the evaluation of patients with thyroid disorders, especially thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. She has participated in ATA meetings over the years as Program Co-Director (2018), and Speaker. She has also served as President (and past-president) of Women in Thyroidology (2019-2021), and received the WIT Woman of the Year Award (2022) and the Distinguished Service Award (2023).

Ralph Tufano, MD, Florida State University College of Medicine

Dr. Ralph P. Tufano is Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Florida State University College of Medicine and Director of the FPG Multidisciplinary Thyroid and Parathyroid Center at the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System in Sarasota Florida. He was the Charles W. Cummings MD Endowed Professor in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) and the Director of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 2012-2021. He graduated SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine in 1995, completed his OHNS residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 and a fellowship in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2001. He joined the ATA in 2005 and served on the Board of Directors 2017-2020. He helped to establish the Surgical Affairs Committee and was its inaugural co-chair 2009-2011. He has served on many ATA committees: Program, Membership, Guidelines and Statements, Development, Ethics Advisory, Valerie Ann Galton Fundraising Team, Samuel Refetoff Fund Steering, Co-Chair ATA Spring Meeting 2019, ATA Centennial Task Force and the Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Guidelines Task Force. He has served as an Associate Editor for VideoEndocrinology™ since its inception and chaired the Corporate Leadership Meeting at the 2022 Annual Meeting.

TREASURE-ELECT CANDIDATE (BY ACCLIMATION)

Mark Zafereo, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Mark Zafereo is Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he is Section Chief of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery and Associate Medical Director of the Head & Neck Center. His clinical practice and research focus on patients afflicted with thyroid cancer and parathyroid neoplasms, particularly multidisciplinary care of patients with advanced thyroid cancer, wherein he leads several national multicenter clinical trials on neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery.

Mark currently serves on the Board of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and Board of the International Thyroid Oncology Group. He works on the Medical Advisory Council for the Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association (ThyCa), and holds committee appointments for the American Head and Neck Society and American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Zafereo has served on multiple committees and task forces within the American Thyroid Association, including the Internet Communications Committee (2016-2018); the Leadership Strategic Planning Retreat (2019); the Surgical Affairs Committee (2019-present; Chair, 2022-present); the Education and Outreach Task Force (2020-2021), the Spring Meeting Program Committee (2020-2021), and the Medullary Thyroid Cancer Guidelines Task Force (2022-present). He also serves on the Editorial Board and as an Associate Editor for Thyroid® (2022-present).

DIRECTOR – PHD SCIENTIST CANDIDATE

Cari Kitahara, PhD, National Institutes of Health – NCI

Cari Kitahara, PhD, MHS, is a Senior Investigator in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. She earned her master’s (2008) and doctoral (2011) degrees in Cancer Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dr. Kitahara leads multidisciplinary research programs focused on thyroid cancer etiology and survivorship and radiation-associated health risks to medical staff and patients. She is the Principal Investigator of the U.S. Radiologic Technologists Study (a cohort of 146,000 certified radiologic technologists followed since the mid-1980s), the Cooperative Thyrotoxicosis Therapy Follow-up Study (a multicenter cohort of patients treated for hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine, surgery, and/or drugs followed since the 1940s-1960s), and the Pediatric Proton and Photon Therapy Comparison Cohort (a multicenter cohort study designed to assess second cancer risks following proton or photon radiotherapy – currently enrolling). Her research in thyroid cancer aims to describe and understand changes in disease incidence, survival, and clinical management in the U.S. and globally, including the role of etiologic factors, health disparities, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment. Her work, including nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications and six book chapters, provides rigorous and high-quality evidence to inform cancer prevention efforts, radiation protection practices, and patient care.

Dr. Kitahara has been an active member of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) since 2018. She served briefly on the Public Health Committee in 2020 before joining the Program Committee from 2020-2023. She has served as an Editorial Board member of the journal Thyroid® since 2018. She is the recipient of the 2019 Van Meter Award from the ATA. She is also an active member of the International Society for Radiation Epidemiology and Dosimetry (ISoRED).

DIRECTOR – PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGIST OR PRIVATE & COMMUNITY PRACTICE ENDOCRINOLOGIST CANDIDATES

Maya Lodish, MD, University of California – San Francisco

Dr. Lodish holds the Selna L. Kaplan Chair as Distinguished Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology and Division Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Lodish attended the Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her Internship & Residency in Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD. She pursued her Fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. She completed a masters in clinical research at Duke University. Her research interests are in the endocrine-related complications faced by survivors of pediatric cancers, as well as in the genetic etiologies of pediatric endocrine tumors. She plays a leading role in a number of studies to understand the pathophysiology and to improve the clinical care for pediatric patients with endocrine tumors including pheochromocytoma, Cushing syndrome, and thyroid cancer. At UCSF, Dr. Lodish is part of a dynamic clinical research team in the field of thyroid cancer, together with colleagues in the Department of Surgery and Oncology. Dr. Lodish also leads endocrine care and clinical research in the UCSF cancer survivor multidisciplinary clinic, and the Pediatric Hereditary Cancer Clinic. Nationally, Dr. Lodish is a leader in the field of medical education as a member of the Clinical Education Committees of the Endocrine society, and the executive leadership board of the Children’s oncology group. Dr. Lodish has been an American Thyroid Association member since 2018 and has served on the ATA Education Leadership Committee (2020-2022). She is also a member of the Pediatric Endocrine Society and the Endocrine Society, and the International Thyroid Oncology Group.

Debra Margulies, MD, Summit Health

Dr. Debra Margulies is a clinical endocrinologist specializing in thyroid care at a multispecialty practice in New Jersey. Her particular areas of interest are thyroid ultrasound and non-surgical thyroid interventions. Dr. Margulies attended Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. She pursued her fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at New York University (NYU).

Dr. Margulies has been a member of the ATA since completing fellowship in 2009. She has served on the clinical affairs committee since 2020 and is the current chair of this committee. She has greatly valued the collaborative spirit of the ATA.

Dr. Margulies has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to neck ultrasound education. She has taught ultrasound and FNA skills to colleagues and trainees at numerous conferences held by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) and chairs the annual New Jersey Association of Endocrinologists course. She has been on faculty for AACE’s Endocrine University conference for endocrinology fellows since 2018.

Dr. Margulies is the immediate past president of the New Jersey Association of Endocrinologists and served as vice chair of the AACE Thyroid Disease State Network from 2020 to 2022.

DIRECTOR – ENDOCRINE SURGERY CANDIDATES

Elizabeth Grubbs, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Elizabeth (Libby) Grubbs is a professor and surgical endocrinologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also serves as Director of Faculty Academic Career Development for the institution’s 2000+ faculty members and Co-faculty Director of its Leadership Institute. Dr. Grubbs obtained her medical degree and General Surgery residency training at Duke University and completed her Surgical Oncology fellowship at MD Anderson. She received her Master of Science in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health after joining MD Anderson’s faculty in 2008.

Dr. Grubbs specializes in the surgical treatment of both benign and malignant conditions of the thyroid. She is the founder of the Medullary Thyroid Cancer Collaborative Registry (MTCCoRe), a multi-institutional effort whose federally-funded productivity has been pivotal in shaping disease guidelines. She has particular interest in the genotype-phenotype correlation within and among different germline RET mutations, non-RET mediated mechanisms of somatic MTC and understanding patient quality of life during the disease’s many phases.

Dr. Grubbs has been an active member of the ATA since 2012. She recently served as the Program Co-Chair for the Centennial 2023 ATA Annual meeting in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the writing taskforce for the Well Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Guidelines and a past member of both the ATA Surgical Affairs and Trainee and Career Advancement Committees. She serves as the ATA liaison to the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons and is within the ATA’s top 50 (maybe 100) karaoke singers as evidenced at the last annual meeting’s gala.

Kepal Patel, MD, NYU Langone Health

Dr. Kepal N. Patel is Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry/Molecular Pharmacology, and Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at NYU Langone Health, where he is also Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs; Chief, Division of Endocrine Surgery; and Director, Thyroid Cancer Interdisciplinary Program. His clinical practice and research focus on the multidisciplinary care of patients with benign and malignant thyroid disease and more recently the application of thermal ablative techniques. His work has been recognized by awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Thyroid Association (ATA), American Head and Neck Society and American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES).

Dr. Patel completed his Oncologic Head and Neck Surgery training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is the past President – NY Head and Neck Society, past Recorder – AAES, Founding member and inaugural Treasurer – North American Society for Interventional Thyroidology, and first author – AAES comprehensive guidelines for thyroid surgery.
Kepal has been actively involved in the ATA since 2009. He has served on multiple committees and task forces, including the Surgical Affairs Committee (2013-2016), Co-Chair and Chair, Surgical Affairs Committee (2016-2018), Co-Chair, Annual Spring Symposium- had to convert entire program to virtual format in 2 months due to pandemic (2020), Program Committee (2021-2024), International Thyroid Congress 2025 Planning Committee – ATA representative (2022-2025), ATA–Video Library (2022), Awards Committee (2023-present), Editorial board- VideoEndocrinology™ (2022-present), and had the privilege of giving the Opening Session – The Year in Surgery Lecture (2022).

TRAINEE OBSERVERS (BY APPOINTMENT)

Kharisa Rachmasari, MD, Mayo Clinic

Kharisa Rachmasari, MD is an Assistant Professor at Mayo Clinic, currently transitioning from her endocrinology fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN to become a consultant at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, WI. She is particularly passionate about thyroid disorders, including thyroid nodules, thyroid autoimmunity and thyroid cancer, and has published research in those topics. She has also written some review articles in Clinical Thyroidology®.

After finishing medical school at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar, she completed residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian-Cornell, New York. She then pursued a 3-year endocrinology fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, where she served as a fellow representative advocating for fellow education and wellbeing. Currently, Dr. Rachmasari is part of the ATA Trainee and Career Advancement Committee, where she had been actively involved in the E. Chester Ridgeway Trainee Conference. She hopes to improve interest in thyroid research and education among trainees beyond endocrinology fellowship.

Freddy Toloza Bonilla, MD, National Institutes of Health

Freddy Toloza Bonilla is an adult endocrinology fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Toloza Bonilla attended Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, and completed his internal medicine residency at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, MA. In addition, he received two years of training in clinical research focused on thyroid functional disorders at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR.

Dr. Toloza Bonilla held leadership positions during his medical school training, initially as a student representative and later as chief intern in his final year. He has several publications on thyroid functional disorders and has served as an ad-hoc reviewer for multiple journals, including Thyroid®. Dr. Toloza Bonilla aspires to continue a career as a physician-scientist with clinical and research activities focused on thyroid disease, with a particular interest in thyroid neoplasia.

Since joining the American Thyroid Association in 2019, Dr. Toloza Bonilla has engaged in numerous educational opportunities. He aims to give back to the organization as a trainee observer by proposing initiatives to increase the number of in-training members and enhance their interest in thyroidology.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Annually, the Board of Directors discusses its composition and the balance of specialty, practice area, and other demographic and geographic attributes for the next governance cycle. After evaluating its needs with an emphasis and focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, the Board of Directors then recommends that the Nominating Committee select individuals in designated practice and specialty areas. In addition to electing a President-elect, the recommendation for the 2024 Ballot was to elect new members of the Board of Directors in the areas of: Endocrine Surgery, Pediatric Endocrinology, Community/Private Practice, and PhD Only Scientist. Eligibility for the Board of Directors requires five years of membership, five years of recent meeting attendance, previous committee service and disclosure of conflicts of interest. The Nominating Committee will consider nominees who were not selected this year during future nomination cycles. Additionally, the Board of Directors asked that the Nominating Committee identify and appoint two Trainee Observers to a one-year term on the Board of Directors. Lastly, a Treasurer Task Force appointed a new Treasurer -elect (by acclimation).

Nominating Committee Process

We encouraged our members to nominate their colleagues for the Board by sending out a Call for Nominations through our various communication platforms including: Members Only, emails and newsletters, social media, colleague to colleague, and personalized emails to specific groups (i.e. WIT). The Nominating Committee is charged with presenting two candidates for each designated slot. To select the candidates, the committee reviews all the nominations and meets several times to consider, discuss and rank the final candidates. We appreciate the Nominating Committee’s service and dedication to the process.

Nominating Committee Members