The July issue is another themed issue that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and we finally have the opportunity to bring you a look at endocrinology from around the world. From Australia to Georgia to Pakistan and on to Turkey, this issue of Endocrine News spans the globe!
I originally wrote this while still recovering from the whirlwind that was ENDO 2023 – don’t worry; the August issue is all about what went on at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago last month! – where I got to meet the author of “GAEM Changer,” a detailed account of the history of the Georgian Association of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Natia Vashakmadze, MD. She created the organization when she first saw the need for more up-to-date endocrinology education in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Natia gives us an exclusive look at how she created an entirely new endocrine association from the ground up in a country where nothing like this had ever existed before. You’re sure to be inspired by her story. I know I was, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet her in Chicago, which was her very first trip to the U.S.!
Believe it or not, this is not the only tale of a woman endocrinologist launching her own association in her home country; Glenda Fauntleroy Shaw writes about the Endocrine Society’s 2023 International Excellence in Endocrinology Laureate Award recipient, Tasnim Ahsan, MRCP, FRCP, who also founded the Pakistan Endocrine Society. In “Nevertheless, She Persisted,” Ahsan details her challenges in treating transgender patients in a less-than-ideal political atmosphere, how she launched a national training program for endocrinologists, as well as her own words of wisdom for other endocrinologists around the world who could find themselves in a similar situation.
From Pakistan we journey down under to Australia where Rudolf Hoermann, MD, PhD, talks to senior editor Derek Bagley about a new approach to treating hypothyroidism. In “A Second Opinion,” Hoermann says that regulating the HPT axis from a T3-inclusive perspective as well as considering other factors other than just TSH levels could potentially cause a “rebirth of endocrinology as a unique regulatory discipline” beyond just statistical analysis.
Next stop on the Endocrine News world tour is Turkey, where endocrinologists Dilek Gogas Yavuz, MD, and Aysegul Atmaca, MD, give us a history of the Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Turkey (SEMT), one of the Endocrine Society’s valued international partners. In “Turkish Delight,” we are given an exclusive tour of how SEMT was created by combining a variety of regional Turkish endocrine organizations. “Like many similar professional societies throughout the world, SEMT’s primary mission has been to enhance the networking opportunities for Turkish endocrine scientists and clinicians,” they write. Today, as SEMT approaches its 60th anniversary, it can boast of 900 active members!
Next month, the tour continues, but it stops in Chicago for a look at the people and events that made ENDO 2023 so spectacular!
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