First Impressions: Talking with First-Time ENDO 2024 Attendees

Once again, Endocrine News chats with a group of members whose trip to Boston made quite an impression on them when they experienced their very first ENDO. We find out what they thought about their first experience at ENDO 2024, what surprised them the most, their favorite sessions, and why they would recommend it to their colleagues.

As attendees crowded into the Boston Convention and Expo Center for ENDO 2024 June 1 to 4, the sights were familiar: smiling faces not seen since last year in Chicago; peels of joy and laughter as friends and colleagues from around the world spotted each other; eyes glued to smart phones as everyone quickly realized that the ENDO 2024 phone app was, once again, a must-have to help them navigate the hundreds of sessions, speakers, posters, presentations, workshops, exhibits, and so much more.

Since so many endocrinologists around the world consider the Endocrine Society their professional home, ENDO 2024 felt like a “homecoming” of sorts, as colleagues from around the world were reunited in corridors, session rooms, the EXPO floor – especially at the Endocrine Society booth, which was abuzz with activity throughout the conference! – hotel lobbies, receptions, restaurants, and more.

However, with every homecoming there is a “freshman class,” many of whom used ENDO 2024 as their first impressions of not only the event, but what they can expect from the Endocrine Society in the future. For many, an ENDO experience can be a deciding factor on the future of their careers, the course of their research, as well as the connections they make.

We reached out to a few of these newcomers to get their impressions of ENDO 2024, why they decided to come, what they learned while they were in Boston with over 7,000 of their colleagues, and even what they would say to their colleagues on the fence about attending ENDO 2025 in San Francisco next July. Answering our questions are: Andrew O. Agbaje, MD, MPH, FESC, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Luke Boyle, MD, MRCP (UK), RCP obesity fellow and specialist registrar in diabetes and endocrinology, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, U.K.; Carolyn Chlebek, post-doctoral research fellow, MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, Maine; Joseph Hadad, MD, endocrinology fellow PGY-5, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; Bhavapriya Mani, MD, clinical fellow in Pediatric Endocrinology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Jairo Norena, MD, endocrinology clinical fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.  

Endocrine News: What made you decide to come to ENDO 2024?

Agbaje: The extensive publicity of our previous research published in the Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by the Endocrine Society media team was a decisive factor. Incidentally, an abstract submitted for ENDO 2024 was accepted as an oral presentation, granted an outstanding abstract award, and selected for a  press conference. This almost seemed a red-carpet invitation to ENDO 2024, for which I am grateful.

Boyle: I was due to participate in ENDO 2020, then was obviously really disappointed when it was cancelled due to the pandemic. I wanted to come because it’s the premier endocrinology meeting in the world, and the best place to present my research to a global audience.

Chlebek: I had always heard wonderful things about ENDO, and I recently expanded my research to investigate the effects of obesity on the skeleton, so I wanted to learn more about obesity and metabolic diseases.

Hadad: ENDO is a great place to network and connect with current and future colleagues. As part of continued medical education, I decided to come to ENDO to learn, connect, and meet with all the different people in this beautiful specialty.

Mani: It’s one of the largest endocrine conferences and I felt I would learn a lot coming here, especially about newer treatments available in the adult world, which we could offer to our young adult patients. The fact that it was in Boston was an additional bonus, of course. 

“ENDO is a fantastic place where you can learn while connecting with amazing people. There is a huge diversity of topics, ensuring that there is something for everyone’s interests. I left ENDO with new endocrinology knowledge, new friends, and even new job offers!” — Jairo Norena, MD, endocrinology clinical fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.

Norena: I was always curious about what ENDO was like. Fellows and attendings had been talking about the upcoming meeting for many months since I started my fellowship at Stanford. I decided that being a first-year endocrinology fellow was a great opportunity to attend the meeting, and I put my efforts into preparing a few abstracts to present. In fact, I ended up getting two abstracts accepted, with one being nominated for the Presidential Poster Competition and for a rapid-fire presentation.

EN: What really surprised you about the ENDO experience?

Agbaje: The integration of basic science, clinical research, and public health into holistic healthcare is noteworthy. The organization of the program was fantastic, the genuine enthusiasm of the presenters, especially the poster presentations of early-stage researchers, was exceptional. It was a great experience interacting with fellow researchers, meeting the Endocrine Society media and editorial team in person. [Thank you, Mark Newman, Jenni Gingery, Aaron Lohr, and Colleen Williams, for the reception.]

Boyle: Although the meeting was huge, it still felt friendly. I was impressed by the senior leaders within the Endocrine Society, who were incredibly approachable and made themselves available to first-time attendees. They were also very generous with their time when it came to engaging with more junior members. I felt the organizing committee struck the right balance between the big plenary sessions and basic science pathways.

Chlebek: I was genuinely surprised by how welcoming and friendly the entire ENDO community was. I immediately felt like I belonged.

Hadad: What really surprised me about the ENDO experience is the breadth and depth of knowledge that is provided to all attendees. Also, opening borders and welcoming international endocrinologists to share their science and knowledge was amazing. 

Mani: The number and variety of people, to be honest. Also, I did not expect a whole session specifically for international medical graduates (IMGs) or an LGBTQIA+ reception. 

Norena: I was surprised by the immense diversity of attendance from all over the world. I had never seen an academic meeting as diverse. I even had the chance to connect with colleagues from my home country, Colombia, and meet in person many colleagues from the U.S. and India that I had previously met only virtually or through social media. Additionally, the diversity of the conferences was impressive, with many options in the topics I wanted to attend.

EN: What session or sessions really “wowed” you at ENDO 2024?

Agbaje: Many of the sessions were fantastic with good presenter/audience interaction. I attended pediatric endocrinology’s oral abstract and rapid-fire sessions. I also attended a few symposiums including the last symposium (Youth-Onset Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease Risk) of ENDO 2024 just in time to catch a flight back to Europe. Yet the symposium hall was nearly at full capacity on the last day and the last hour of ENDO 2024!

Boyle: The quality of the science was so high across the board that it’s difficult to choose! I feel ENDO does posters better than any other meeting – the poster sessions were really well attended, with lots of good discussions and, in my case, I was delighted our poster led to a new collaboration, too. I also really enjoyed the “Rising Stars Power Talks” and “Clinical Pearls from JCEM Case Reports.”

“It’s one of the largest endocrine conferences and I felt I would learn a lot coming here, especially about newer treatments available in the adult world, which we could offer to our young adult patients. The fact that it was in Boston was an additional bonus, of course.”   —Bhavapriya Mani, MD, clinical fellow in Pediatric Endocrinology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Chlebek: The NIDDK Early Investigator Symposium was fantastic. The speakers were all studying very distinct topics, but each speaker really wowed the audience, including me, and gave us a great overview of their current work.

Hadad: The [“Endocrine Society and American Association of Endocrine Surgeons Joint Presidential Session: MACS: To Treat or Not to Treat”] session with William F. Young, MD, MSc, and Martin Fassnacht, MD, really wowed me. Two world leaders in the field of endocrinology and adrenals were amazing to witness.

Mani: I really enjoyed the pre-menopausal osteoporosis symposium and the Meet the Professor talks. The session for IMGs which discussed the nuances we face was another one that stood out. The thyroid eye disease exhibit was another standout. 

 Norena: The “Artificial Intelligence in Health and Biomedical Research” session was truly impressive and eye-opening about what is coming to the field of medicine in the upcoming years.

EN: Did anything you saw or heard at ENDO 2024 have an impact on your future career aspirations?

Agbaje: I am optimistic that there is some information that could serve as useful nuggets to share with mentees, especially insights gained from the professional development workshop, such as strategies on effective work/life balance, developing research ideas, successful grant writing, and so much more.

“What really surprised me about the ENDO experience is the breadth and depth of knowledge that is provided to all attendees. Also, opening borders and welcoming international endocrinologists to share their science and knowledge was amazing.” — Joseph Hadad, MD, endocrinology fellow PGY-5, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

Boyle: I’m very grateful to The Endocrine Society for awarding me a place at the Early Career Forum this year. It was a fantastic day with inspiring speakers, and I got a lot out of it. It was also brilliant to have that additional protected time to network with early-career colleagues across the pond!

Chlebek: Several talks and posters at ENDO influenced the way I have been thinking about my own research projects and have inspired me to try new things in the lab.

Hadad: Attending the ENDO 2024 Early Career forum really helped me get a better look at what I want for my future career. This definitely gave me a better understanding of the future I would like for myself and helped shape me into the becoming the best endocrinologist I can be. 

Mani: I liked the sessions on bone health a lot and feel like I’d like to do more of this in future.

“Most of my colleagues work in bone or orthopedic tissues, and for that reason I would strongly recommend that they attend next year’s ENDO! I learned so much about other organ systems and crosstalk with musculoskeletal organs that completely changed the way I think about these disease states and their influence on bone.” — Carolyn Chlebek, post-doctoral research fellow, MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, Maine

Norena: I was very fortunate to be accepted into the Early Career Forum this year, and its impact has been enormous for my career. I gained multiple skills to improve my CV, enhance my contract negotiation abilities, and develop assertive communication. This is already making a significant impact as I immerse myself in interviews for potential jobs after I finish my training.

EN: Did you learn anything at ENDO 2022 that you can use daily?

Agbaje: There are lots of good suggestions that could be applied in the future. For example, skills in science communication, translational research, policy, and advocacy towards improving health for all.

Boyle: As an aspiring bariatric physician, I’m already using what I learnt in the numerous obesity sessions at ENDO 2024 in my daily practice and sharing this learning with my colleagues in the UK. I also found the interactive sessions introducing the new international consensus guidelines on glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency and vitamin D very informative.

Hadad: All sessions were extremely helpful, and I have learned from every lecture I attended and learned things that I can apply in my daily practice in the clinic.  

Mani: Oh yes, multiple things. Two that stand out are what I learned about the new medications out there for thyroid eye disease which I can talk more about to the young adults with Graves disease. The new medication which is a GH receptor analogue pill used for partial growth hormone deficiency is one I can see having to use a lot in future (if phase III trial show the same effect).

Norena: The new Vitamin D guidelines are definitely playing a role already in changing the frequency and indications for checking vitamin D levels on my clinic days. I also learned better approaches for managing dyslipidemias, obesity, diabetes, and adrenal disorders.

“I was due to participate in ENDO 2020, then was obviously really disappointed when it was cancelled due to the pandemic. I wanted to come because it’s the premier endocrinology meeting in the world, and the best place to present my research to a global audience.” — Luke Boyle, MD, RCP obesity fellow and specialist registrar in diabetes and endocrinology, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, U.K.

EN: What would you say to one of your colleagues who was on the fence about attending next year’s ENDO?

Agbaje: Clinicians are extremely busy with patient care, however, at ENDO there is an opportunity to hear the latest research that could improve clinical practice. It is also possible to directly ask colleagues questions after their talk and meet them in person to discuss challenges and new ideas. Everyone can give a presentation, which means a little discovery in clinical practice could be shared at ENDO. I would encourage colleagues to attend as well as submit an abstract to ENDO because your presentation could inspire other participants to undertake larger research projects and make scientific discoveries. The ENDO media team are incredibly ready to extensively disseminate your research ideas, findings, and publications, enhancing the international appeal of your work. Of course, there are also several awards and grants that could be won at ENDO. In a nutshell, ENDO enables the forging of crucial networks, enriching oneself with new ideas and information that could result in significant scientific breakthroughs, and healthcare improvement.

Boyle: To go! Without any hesitation I would urge colleagues to experience ENDO (and ideally to present too). Aside from the science, the overall administration of the event was the best I’ve seen in my career, so I know prospective delegates wouldn’t be disappointed.

Chlebek: Most of my colleagues work in bone or orthopedic tissues, and for that reason I would strongly recommend that they attend next year’s ENDO! I learned so much about other organ systems and crosstalk with musculoskeletal organs that completely changed the way I think about these disease states and their influence on bone.

Hadad: DEFINITELY ATTEND ENDO 2025!!!

Mani: It’s a great learning and networking experience for both pediatric and adult endocrine fellows. Also, [ENDO 2025 is] in San Francisco and no one should give up an opportunity to visit there! 

“The integration of basic science, clinical research, and public health into holistic healthcare is noteworthy. The organization of the program was fantastic, the genuine enthusiasm of the presenters, especially the poster presentations of early-stage researchers, was exceptional.”  —Andrew O. Agbaje, MD, MPH, FESC, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

Norena: ENDO is a fantastic place where you can learn while connecting with amazing people. There is a huge diversity of topics, ensuring that there is something for everyone’s interests. I left ENDO with new endocrinology knowledge, new friends, and even new job offers! I definitely recommend this meeting to anyone interested in the endocrinology field, regardless of how early or advanced you are in your career.

Newman is the executive editor of Endocrine News. ENDO 2024 marked his ninth in-person Endocrine Society annual conference.