Professor Seamus Sreenan is a consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Connolly Hospital, Dublin. He is also a professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and director of the RCSI graduate entry… More
Robert Semple is Chair of Translational Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He also does outpatient clinical work in diabetes and endocrinology for NHS Lothian. Robert is currently Co-Chair of the Society for Endocrinology’s… More
Ewan Pearson is Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Dundee. His research interests have been in the phenotypic and genotypic determinants of drug response in diabetes, and in stratified approaches to the management… More
Vaishali Limbachia is an intercalating medical student at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UEA). Vaishali has completed four years of the course enter their final year in September 2021. Last year, Vaishali became Secretary of UEA Endocrinology Society and in November 2020 became an Endocrine Ambassador for the Society for Endocrinology. In this guest blog, Vaishali shares what the UEA Endocrinology Society has been up to so far, and the importance of supporting and encouraging students in endocrinology.
*pictured Vice President, Vaishali Limbachia (left), and President of UEA Endocrinology Society, Milly Green (right).
First, I would like to introduce our society. We are a society run by medical students, for medical students. The committee consists of 4th year, intercalating, and 5th year medical students. Guided by the President, we organise revision sessions for medical students currently learning diabetes and endocrinology, in addition to other events that aim to raise interest in endocrinology. We also run social media pages, keeping our members informed of our society news and events, as well as Society for Endocrinology activities. To further engage with our members, weekly diabetes and endocrinology exam-style, multiple-choice questions are created by the committee members and posted on our social media pages.
Each academic term we have organised and delivered a teaching session on diabetes and on endocrinology. The aim of these sessions is to revise content from the medical school curriculum, which at Norwich Medical School, is taught in year 3. The presentation slides used for lectures are constructed by committee members. It can be challenging to cover a module worth of content in a couple of hours. The sessions are taught by medical students who have undergone diabetes and endocrinology teaching, placements and exams, so are able to provide useful tips.
On top of the teaching sessions, we organise and run mock objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), aiming to give medical students a practice run. We design 6 stations, for example a diabetic foot examination and communication skills station, to give members a realistic experience of the summative OSCE. Each committee member runs one station to keep that station consistently delivered. At the end of each station, we feedback verbally to students. In addition, we provide a marking scheme, which we constructed for written feedback, so students can see where marks were given. This allows students to gauge their learning needs in preparation for their summative OSCE. These mock exams are highly subscribed and the feedback is very positive.
This year I organised our first Diabetes and Endocrinology Careers Event, targeted at medical students. Three consultants kindly volunteered their time to speak at the event. Each spoke about their motivating force that led them to choose this specialism, their professional journey, what their day-to-day life is like and shared top tips for medical students. This was followed by an opportunity to ask questions. Speakers shared highly interesting patient cases, showing how the specialism involves detective work and how endocrinology impacts multiple systems. Each speaker’s professional journey was very different, emphasising how there is more than one path to follow. Many useful tips were shared, for example getting involved in research, and opportunities at the Society for Endocrinology. It was a highly inspiring and informative event, that I personally enjoyed, and the feedback was positive, with the only suggestions for improvement being they wished it was longer! I found the event reinforced my passion for specialising in diabetes and endocrinology in the future.
I have had a fantastic year working with great colleagues, who share an interest in diabetes and endocrinology, in organising events and sharing our interests with other students. Next academic year, I will fortunately continue being a part of this brilliant society and assume the role of Vice President of UEA Endocrinology Society. I look forward to working with the new committee members, putting on more events and continuing to share Society for Endocrinology activities and opportunities to members.
Dr Daniel Drucker is a clinical researcher involved in the development of treatments for diabetes, obesity and intestinal disorders at the University of Toronto Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. He also holds the Canada Research Chair in Regulatory Peptides and the Banting and best Diabetes Centre-Novo Nordisk chair in Incretin biology. He will be giving his Society Transatlantic Medal Lecture during SfE BES Online 2020. In this interview he tells us a little about his research and career.
Tell us about your research and lab in Toronto
I have a medium-sized lab of 8 people, where we use molecular biology and mouse physiology to study peptide hormone action. Whenever possible, we also try and extend our findings to humans, using available tissues, or occasionally, by carrying out small clinical trials. The lab has carried out basic research leading to two new treatments for type 2 diabetes and one new therapy for short bowel syndrome.
Tell us about your career path
I was very fortunate to learn molecular biology under the tutelage of Joel Habener in Boston. I returned to Toronto and was guided to adopt transgenic and knockout mice, which proved to be wise counsel. I think I am most proud of my dozens of trainees and their success. We also take pride in being extremely careful-that sounds trite, but we are generally not as concerned about being first, rather, we are very focused on making sure the data and observations are as correct as they can be. This article includes some of my career highlights in discovery, characterization, and clinical development of glucagon-like peptides.
What inspired you to choose endocrinology as a career?
I had a great role model, Gerard Burrow, who was an enthusiastic mentor, and head of endocrinology. At the same time, endocrinology was appealing since one could understand many of the disorders, and there were multiple treatments available to correct endocrine deficiencies or hormone excess states.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I like the ability to ask questions, carry out experiments, and then scrutinise the answers. Watching trainees mature as scientists is also very enjoyable. Finally, having the good fortune to see basic science translated into new medicines is a privilege and extremely rewarding.
What are you presenting during your Medal Lecture at SfE BES Online 2020?
My presentation, ‘Incretins and Cardiometabolic Disease-An Inflammatory Perspective’ will examine how inflammation underlies many of the common endocrine disorders in metabolism, from type 2 diabetes to heart disease, to the complications of obesity and fatty liver. Gut peptides, exemplified by GLP-1, attenuate inflammation in many organ systems. I will describe how GLP-1 might work, and highlight many unanswered questions, surrounding the anti-inflammatory actions of GLP-1.
What do you think about the move to virtual meetings?
Virtual meetings allow for a broader and larger global audience, and enable us to continue to share data and concepts. I suspect that many of us still miss the social and personal interactions, and we will be keen to return to many of the in person meetings once this is feasible.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your field?
Funding!
What do you think will be the next major breakthrough in your field?
I am hopeful that stem cell therapy will solve many challenges and mature to allow for true beta cell replacement therapy for people with type 1 diabetes.
Any words of advice for aspiring endocrinologists?
Have fun, find a good environment, choose mentors that are supportive, and don’t take yourself too seriously!
Kerrie Grounds, Lead Endocrine Specialist Nurse (ESN) at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH) and her team have produced an educational video for patients with adrenal insufficiency. Here she explains what inspired them to create this invaluable and informative patient resource.
I work with a team of fabulous, dedicated ESN’s named: Amanda Hamilton, Karen Jones and Michelle Lewin. We have created a short video for all our patients with adrenal insufficiency to access via the internet. This video provides education regarding steroid replacement therapy; sick day rules and demonstrates how to prepare and administer the hydrocortisone emergency injection should this be required in the event of an adrenal crisis. We feel this information is vital for improving quality of life for all patients with adrenal insufficiency and urge you to share the video.
Why did we create the video?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we commenced group education sessions for all our patients with adrenal insufficiency to deliver education regarding their steroid replacement, sick day rules and hydrocortisone emergency injection training. We ensured that at the end of each session everybody received their emergency injection prescription/ancillaries/travel letter/ sharps bin and patient information support pack, including surgical guidelines /steroid treatment card/medic alert identification etc. These sessions have been well received and the feedback has been very positive. It was delivered in a relaxed environment and I think the tea/coffee and biscuits also helped!
Then COVID-19 arrived! A very difficult and scary time for everyone involved and our main aim was to ensure all our adrenal insufficiency patients had access to an emergency injection. We have over 300 patients at present under our ESN team that we review. As we had to suspend our group education sessions, we created a letter for our patients to take to their own GP’s to prescribe the emergency hydrocortisone injection. Primary care played a vital role in ensuring our adrenal insufficiency patients all had access to this injection. We also sent our patient information packs, which we used to provide in our education sessions, to our patients alongside ancillaries (needles and syringes) to enable them to administer their injections, which also covered guidance from the Society for Endocrinology COVID-19 guidelines. We provided our ESN contact details and advised them to access the ADSHG Professor John Wass video regarding their emergency injection training. We tried our very best to ensure our patients received as much information as possible to protect them in the event of an adrenal crisis. We had an administration clerk, Ann Marie Brookes, whom played a vital role in assisting us with this. I will be forever grateful to my team for working together at such a difficult time.
We can honestly say that although Professor John Wass’ emergency injection video was very informative and inspired us, we felt that our patients would receive the video better if they saw familiar faces….who better to deliver this than their own ESN’s. We also wanted to cover steroid replacement during illness. Due to lockdown we were unable to provide face-to-face education sessions and we felt that creating a video was not only the best way, but the safest way forward. Our departmental manager gained funding for us to record the video, we created the script and practised it on our own and then filmed the video, all in one day. Please remember we are nurses and not actors and it was rather nerve racking for us all!
Why am I so passionate about this?
My ESN role is not just an occupation for me. I am passionate about endocrinology and have learned so much in the 8 years I have worked with the Endocrinology team, here at the RLUH. I work with a fabulous team of Endocrine/Diabetes Consultants at the RLUH and as mentioned above Endocrine Specialist Nurses. It still fascinates me every day and there is always room to learn within this role.
However I also have Addison’s disease. I was diagnosed at the age of 18 and have lived with this condition for 22 years now. I have always been a positive person and my glass is always half full. When diagnosed I weighed about six stone and had been unwell at home for three months, fading away. I could not stand up or eat anything, I was nauseous, vomiting, had headaches, the fatigue was so debilitating and it was frustrating for me and family as we did not know what was wrong. However, a positive side to that was I had a fabulous tan!. When I was eventually admitted to hospital and diagnosed with Addison’s disease I remember being so thankful to all the nurses and doctors who had helped me. This was when I realised I wanted to be able to give something back, so I trained to be an adult registered nurse and have never looked back. I can honestly say that when the ESN job post was advertised I thought I knew quite a bit about my Addison’s disease but I knew nothing! This job has literally saved my life. This is why I will always be thankful to my Endocrinology Consultants and fellow ESN’s here at the RLUH for the education and training they provided me, to be able to not only ensure I have a perfectly normal quality of life but to be able to provide specialist advice and empathy for my patients.
I know only too well the symptoms of low cortisol and adrenal crisis and I would say the fatigue is the worst symptom that we have to learn to live with. However, I am a mother to two beautiful boys and a full-time ESN. I have perfectly normal quality of life and feel blessed every day that I am able to manage my Addison’s disease.
Each year at the Society’s annual conference clinicians, researchers and nurses in the field of endocrinology have the opportunity to present their work to the thousands of delegates in attendance.
This year was no different, with the cutting-edge science attracting global attention from mainstream and medical media. Over 400 original abstracts were submitted for presentation, and of those, we chose 6 abstracts to write press releases, covering subjects of great interest to journalists.
Media coverage of science presented was a great success worldwide. Listen in to a live BBC Radio Wales interview (at 55 minutes) with one of the study authors.
Our Society Media Ambassadors were also very active providing expert commentary on some of the stories written by journalists, to improve the quality of reporting in the media.
Prominent endocrinologists who were presenting at the conference also helped us out by answering questions about their careers for our blog. This gave readers a real insight into what drives expert endocrinologists to be at the top of their field.
Interviews with expert endocrinologists generated 750 views in the first month they were posted, helping to inspire the next generation into the discipline.
Find out more about the work of Society Media Ambassadors, and how to become one. You can also watch our video selection of ‘How do I’ sessions, workshops, plenaries and master classes from SfE BES 2018.
Meet the Endocrinologist: Meet Dr Matthew Simmonds a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science at the University of Lincoln. His research is focused on the genetics of pancreatic transplant function and he will be presenting at the Early Career session at SfE BES 2018, 19-21 November in Glasgow. In our latest interview, he tells us more about his work and what he is looking forward to at the SfE BES 2018 conference.
Can you tell us a little about your current position and research?
I am a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln where I have been now for just over two years. My research career has revolved around trying to identify genetic contributors to a series of autoimmune endocrine diseases including autoimmune thyroid disease and type-1 diabetes. My current research is specifically focused on looking at genetic predictors of long-term pancreas transplant function in people with severe type 1 diabetes.
What inspired you in to this field?
The immune system is amazing and without it we would never have survived and evolved on this earth. What I find so interesting about the autoimmune endocrine diseases is how the immune system, which is meant to protect us, actually starts to attack parts of the body leading to changes in how the endocrine system works. I am passionate about understanding how disease pathways are triggered/progress and how we can use these insights to inform better treatments for people with these different conditions.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your field of research?
I think the major challenge within pancreas transplantation is both the number of donor organs available for transplantation into people with severe type-1 diabetes and trying to ensure that the transplanted organ remains functional throughout the recipient’s life to ensure the benefits these transplants provide, of retuning insulin production and halting/reversing secondary diabetes related complication in that person, remain for as long as possible.
What do you think will be the next major breakthrough in your field?
I think both the advances being made in using induced pluripotent stem cells, combined with gene editing, to create new beta cells, will provide unparalleled new opportunities for transplantation purposes. Combined with the decreased costs around genome and other proteomic screening for patients and our increased understanding of how genetic variation impact upon autoimmunity and transplant success this will give us new understanding of disease progression and provide better individual tailoring of therapeutics.
What will you be doing at SfE BES 2018 in Glasgow?
Well as you have asked – nothing like a bit of shameless plugging – I will be doing a talk on the Tuesday as part of the Early Careers session ‘Navigating the Academic Pathway’. My talk is entitled ‘The lectureship route’ where I will be providing some insights into this career pathway, the challenges and benefits of this route and some tips on how to be get such a position.
What are you looking forward to at this year’s conference?
I think as an early career researcher I loved going to conferences to be able to present my work and network with others working in the field – which is the same reason I enjoy attending conferences to this day. Whilst there are lots of fantastic talks, plenaries and other sessions throughout the conference with something to suit everyone’s research interests, one thing I would suggest to early career researchers is to take time to speak to other early career researchers at the poster sessions and after their talks. You would be surprised how much you have in common with other researchers and how random conversations at conferences can lead to new collaborations and possibly job offers in the future.
Who do you most admire and why?
I have been really lucky to have worked with some of the most amazing researchers in diabetes and endocrinology throughout my career so far – both in the centres I have worked and through numerous collaborations. I have been very lucky to have some amazing mentors throughout the years, and think that whatever stage in your career you are at it is important to keep listening, learning and being inspired by researchers at every level.
What words of wisdom do you have for someone starting out in research?
These type of questions always make me feel old. Joking aside, I think the best advice I can give to any early career researcher is to think about where you want your career to go but don’t be so rigid in your approach that you may miss out on some unexpected opportunities that come your way. Also listen to your gut feeling about career decisions. Whilst is it perfectly normal to be scared to take on new challenges be it new techniques, moving into different project areas or new jobs, sometimes you instantly know if something is a good or a bad move. From my own experience I have learnt that sometimes saying no to something that is not right for you is as important as the opportunities you say yes to.
You can hear Dr Simmonds presentation, “The lectureship route” on Tuesday 20 November, as part of the Early Career: Navigating the Academic Pathway session at 16:00-17:30. Find out more about the scientific programme for SfE BES 2018.
Meet Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig, endocrinologist and Society for Endocrinology Medal winner for 2017. Prof Vidal-Puig is based at the Institute of Metabolic Sciences, Cambridge University and at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, where his outstanding research, focusing on the link between obesity and associated metabolic complications, has earned him this award, to be presented the annual conference, SfE BES 2017, in Harrogate, 6-8 November 2017. Learn more about his endocrine journey in this exclusive interview.
Q: Tell us a little about your career so far and how you ended up in Cambridge.
Originally from Spain, I studied medicine and trained in endocrinology at Valencia Medical School and Granada Medical School. I held post-doctoral positions in Boston at the Massachussetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School from 1992-1999. There I had excellent mentors including Jeff Flier, Brad Lowell, David Moller and Leo Krall. This was a very intense, exciting and uncertain period, at the epicentre of major discoveries in the field of obesity. This was a period that defined my career, scientific focus, approach to science and reinforced my values. I have been developing my career in the UK, since arriving at Cambridge University in 2000, and now have an established laboratory and have become a Professor of Molecular Nutrition and Metabolism.
Q: Tell us more about your research that led to you being awarded the Society Medal
The lab is interested in why obesity results in diabetes, insulin resistance, fatty liver and ischaemic heart disease, in order to find ways of preventing these complications.
The key concept of our programme is lipotoxicity, which links obesity-related metabolic complications with the excessive accumulation of lipids outside adipose tissue, in organs including muscle, liver and heart. From the concept of lipotoxicity we have developed three main research directions:
understanding how the adipose tissue works, with the aim of improving its function and ensuring that lipids remain in adipose. This led to the development of our “adipose tissue expandability hypothesis”, which is now widely accepted by the scientific community
developing strategies to burn the excess lipids and prevent lipotoxicity through activation of brown fat
promoting that the quality of dietary lipids should be as healthy as possible, to prevent toxic effects.
My Medal Lecture at SfE BES 2017 will summarise our contribution to these three directions.
Q:What are you particularly looking forward to at SfE BES 2017?
I will use this conference for updating clinical aspects of my work. The presentation quality is always good and helpful. One session I am really curious about is Workshop 1: Tissue Engineering for Regenerative Medicine in Endocrinology. I think technology is essential to retain a competitive position in research and the topics presented are highly transferable and of interest. I think tissue engineering approaches to increase brown fat mass could be really helpful in preventing obesity and diabetes, I am curious about the concept and possibilities of using 3D bioprinting.
Q: What have been your career highlights so far?
I feel content about my career progression. I consider highlights to be our best pieces of research; our papers tend to be quite comprehensive and we believe they make important contributions. I think for this reason these contributions are well respected by our colleagues. Our reputation as a lab is important for us. Also as a proud introvert, I have not touted our highlights and have not needed to for our professional highlights to be widely acclaimed, however I do understand that it is important to make the public aware of their implications. Also, as a laboratory leader I know that to disseminate these highlights is important for the careers my lab members. In this respect, winning the Society for Endocrinology Medal is a highlight that reflects the quality and commitment of the present and past members of the laboratory.
At a more personal level, I admit I have an aesthetic approach to science. I enjoy understanding and identifying sophisticated mechanisms, developing models that explain reality and learning how biological systems self-regulate. I don’t think this is unusual amongst endocrinologists. Also, becoming a Professor at Cambridge University was a moment of satisfaction I shared with my colleagues and family. In some ways my career has provided me with professional freedom, which is a key value for me, beyond other motivations, such as power or fame, that I have always found energy draining and restrictive of my autonomy.
Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges in your research area right now?
I think a big challenge in my research area, and others, is how to extract value from the excessive information generated by recent technological advances. Our challenge is how to analyse this information to prioritise the types of mechanistic validation that are necessary for estimating its relevance. Also, it is not only the amount of data, but the amount of unnecessary noise coming from poor quality research that makes this task more difficult.
Q: What are your future plans for your work & career?
As you become more senior in science, you often suffer the disadvantage that your professional horizon is shorter. However, this position also has the advantage that you can be more selective in your choice of projects, with more freedom to take risks. I think my laboratory in this respect is quite entrepreneurial, we are innovating by entering new fields/technologies, which I think is important for remaining competitive. For example, we have opened a new lab at Sanger, funded by the European Research Council to work on stem cells and adipose tissue. We are also developing two new programmes of research; one in Nanjing focused on murine models of fatty liver, and another in Bangalore focused on adipose tissue stem cell biology to model obesity and diabetes in India. These are exciting challenges that will provide opportunities for my younger associates in their future careers.
Q: Who do you most admire professionally?
I have learned a lot from many of my mentors, colleagues and trainees. In some way these experiences have shaped my values and my strong views about science and leadership. For example, I have always admired the intellectual rigour and scientific honesty of Brad Lowell. I admired the consistency and confident leadership of Jeff Flier and the legacy of Daniel Lane, who developed many academic scientists in his lab to share his cultural values and collegiality, which they now disseminate to the next generations. I find this very impressive.
Q: Any words of wisdom for aspiring endocrinologists out there?
Endocrinology is not a specialty that will make you rich, but it is a specialty where you can fulfill your intellectual scientific needs and enjoy the human aspect of practicing medicine. It is very satisfying because your patients get better and, given that treatments are required long term, an important factor in the success depends on establishing an empathetic relationship with them. You will get to know many of your patients well, from whom you will receive gratitude and a sense of meaning and fulfillment. In this respect it is a very rewarding profession.
Q: What do you think will be the next major breakthrough in your field?
I think real breakthrough with long term impact requires deep knowledge and new technologies, I have become quite sceptical about quick or easy breakthroughs that address complex problems. It is important to understand how regulatory systems operate, to learn what the adaptive changes of the organism or cell to maintain normality are, and to determine the intrinsic capacity of these systems to recover normality if the early factors of the disease are removed. For this reason, we focus on early disease events, aiming to prevent or reverse excessive damage to the homeostatic system and regain metabolic control. In this sense, we think it is as important to learn how the problem occurs as it is to learn the trigger and why it occurs. In our field I think understanding how lipids mediate disease could be used for prevention, early diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
You can hear Prof Vidal-Puig’s Society for Endocrinology lecture on Wednesday 8 November, 15:45-16:45, and see the full scientific programme for SfE BES 2017.
Professor Stephen Franks is Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at Imperial College London, and former Chair of the Society for Endocrinology. His primary interest is in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which he will be exploring in his lecture at SfE BES 2023. In this interview he tells us about his career, his achievements and where he sees the next breakthroughs happening in his field!
Could you give us some background on your career, please?
I trained in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, and went into research after my junior training jobs. I had an opportunity to do a research project and got bitten by the bug. I hadn’t done any research up till then! After that I did my postdoc in Montreal. When I returned to the UK, I was offered a post as lecturer in general medicine an endocrinology in Birmingham. After that I moved to an academic appointment at what was then St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School (which later became part of Imperial College). It was a rare job, an endocrinology post, but with a special interest in reproductive endocrinology.
Why did you choose to specialise in reproductive endocrinology?
I was offered a chance to do a research project when I was really quite junior which was looking at measuring prolactin hormones in blood. This was a long time ago so it wasn’t straightforward – you didn’t just send off a sample and get the result, you had set up an assay and very few people were measuring prolactin then. After learning an awful lot, I finally got the assay to work, and we started measuring prolactin in various samples and found that it was really quite important in terms of causing problems with periods and infertility. We found that if the prolactin levels were raised, they had an effect on reproductive function, which was all very exciting. That was what I wrote my dissertation on, and is what really sparked my interest in reproductive endocrinology. I then did a postdoc at McGill University, Montreal in reproductive physiology where I essentially became a rat doctor for the two years in reproductive biology. When I came back to resume my training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, I still wanted to focus on reproductive endocrinology as a specialty because it’s so interesting. I found the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis fascinating because it’s dynamic, and when things go wrong it causes problems with fertility, and I became really interested in how to put those things right.
Who has had the biggest impact in your career?
Well, my first supervisor and mentor who’s been supportive throughout my career was Howard Jacobs. It was quite funny because I wasn’t really thinking about doing research until my oldest friend, who I knew in medical school, said “my brother in law’s looking for somebody to do a research project in endocrinology”. I met him and Howard was just full of enthusiasm and I thought, “hey this sounds really good”. We managed to get a grant from the College of Physicians and that set me off. So he’s been very important in my academic life and remains a firm friend. Of course, there are the giants in reproductive science who have been important to me: David Baird, who was a member of the Society for Endocrinology, as well as Roger Short, who sadly both died quite recently. Someone who really fired my interest early on was Griff Ross, an ovarian physiologist who was a Texan GP until he was 50 and then went into research and worked at the NIH. He had a wonderful inspirational manner and he loved to give lectures. I came across him at an international meeting doing a workshop and we all sat around on the floor while he was talking about his field! So those are the people who’ve probably most influenced my career.
“It is important to increase awareness of the health problems that affect women at all stages of their life.”
What are you most proud of, academically?
I think probably what I’m most proud of is having got into the field of genetics and polycystic ovary syndrome quite early on, it was 30 years ago when we published our first paper on the subject with Bob Williamson, who was a world leader in genetics, based at Imperial/St Mary’s at the time That was a big step into genetics. I then worked with Mark McCarthy and we were awarded a programme grant from the MRC to further study the genetics of PCOS. We were able to enlist a large number of patients for a genome wide association study (GWAS). At the same time I was talking to an old friend and colleague from United States, Andrea Dunaif, and we helped get together an international PCOS genetics consortium to undertake large-scale GWAS studies.. Indeed, we’ve got a paper in publication in in preparation at the moment with a meta-analysis to identify new genes which are involved in PCOS. And I think that’s going to be a very important development. I was very proud to be in the early stages of research into the genetics of PCOS.
What would you say the biggest challenges your research faces
Funding for women’s health, that’s a real problem in the UK, even in North America. I mentioned Andrea Dunaif. The problem that she’s had with funding is because when the name “ovary” comes up, the NIH haven’t been very interested in funding PCOS even though there are important metabolic aspects and it’s a really common endocrine disorder that remains poorly understood. The funding issues are changing a bit in the US, but in the UK it’s still a problem. We have now a women’s health “Tzar”, my colleague Leslie Regan, who is leading an initiative in making the problem of underfunding Women’s Health much more visible. It is important to increase awareness of the health problems that affect women at all stages of their life.
Barriers to international collaboration is a challenge, and although resuming the Horizon initiative is a step forward, it is still more difficult now for UK researchers to get on board. And, of course, Brexit is still having a major impact on getting research students and fellows from Europe. As Paul Nurse, pointed out, a lot of the major UK institutions rely on the interchange between students and researchers from mainland Europe and the UK and that’s been a lot more difficult to continue.
“In practical terms, if you’re thinking about going into endocrinology, or you’re a young person just starting in endocrinology, networking at meetings is so important!”
Where do you see the next breakthrough happening?
I’ve already mentioned genetics, but we’re learning more about the susceptibility genes that contribute to the aetiology of PCOS. I’m also involved in an international project which is looking at the relationship between genotype and phenotype. With any polygenic disorder, there will be groups of genes which are associated with different phenotypes and that’s what we’re trying to define at the moment. That research will help us in understanding the origins of the disorder, and it will also help to identify subgroups who need specific treatments. So I think this is a very exciting area.
Could you tell us about your SFE BES lecture?
I’ll be giving a little bit of review about research projects I’ve been involved in, but I’m not going to spend the whole time doing a history of my career; the story I want to tell is the story about energy balance in polycystic ovary syndrome, and propensity to obesity, and how we might actually understand better the interaction between nutrition and reproduction, and how we might use this knowledge to devise new treatments.
Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring endocrinologists?
It’s a wonderful specialty; there are aspects of cell biology, physiology and medicine. Understanding the physiology of endocrine systems is very important. In practical terms, if you’re thinking about going into endocrinology, or you’re a young person just starting in endocrinology, networking at meetings is so important! Meeting people, talking to them, thinking about what opportunities there are. So when you’re looking for a post in endocrinology don’t be afraid to approach people and say, “can I talk to you about your research”. Choosing your collaborators carefully is important too, because more and more research in endocrinology is collaborative. In terms of funding, think about applying for small grants to get started, and then building up a research profile of your own and going for something bigger when you have some data.
You can attend Stephen Franks Jubilee Medal Lecture “Living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Concepts and Consequences“ on Tuesday 15 November at 8:30 AM.
Take a look at the full scientific programme for SfE BES 2023.
Professor Karen Chapman is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia. Her research has focussed on the actions of glucocorticoids: this has included seminal research into glucocorticoid metabolism by the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes. More recently, her lab’s focus was on the role of the glucocorticoid receptor in fetal maturation and early life programming. In this interview we find out about her career, what she’s most proud of and what she will discuss at SfE BES 2023.
Could you give us some background on your career to date? Well, I officially retired at the end of 2021, so definitely at the far end of the “career to date”. I did my PhD in the field of DNA recombination and repair at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, then a postdoc at Harvard University working on the cAMP receptor protein in E. coli (a ligand activated transcription factor). After that, I joined the Brain Metabolism Unit in Edinburgh to start working on steroid receptors, before transferring to the University of Edinburgh a few years later to continue researching on steroids. I loved the environment and opportunities at the University of Edinburgh and never left! I progressed from a postdoctoral fellowship to Professor over a period of 17 years that included 3 maternity leaves.
What was it about molecular endocrinology that attracted you to the specialty? Whilst at Harvard, I heard a talk by Keith Yamamoto, whose lab had just cloned the glucocorticoid receptor. The story he presented of how GR regulates gene networks sounded just like the E. coli system I was working on at the time and I jumped at the opportunity to work on steroid regulation of gene expression in Edinburgh.
Who has inspired you most in your career? I’ve worked with so many inspiring people, including the many students and postdocs I have worked with. Perhaps the person who most inspired me was my postdoctoral supervisor, Mark Ptashne. I credit him (and his lab) with teaching me how to think as a scientist.
“Big data/AI and other technological advances offer huge opportunities to provide big leaps in knowledge across all research fields. It’s an exciting time!”
What are you most proud of, academically? No question, the students and postdocs who have worked with me and how each and every one of them rose up to the challenges that research presents.
What are the biggest challenges your research faces? Challenges can be opportunities too. Big data/AI and other technological advances offer huge opportunities to provide big leaps in knowledge across all research fields. It’s an exciting time!
Where do you see the next breakthrough happening in your field? That’s a tough one. But I think we are getting closer to a better understanding of how glucocorticoids can exert seemingly paradoxical effects on physiology – through clearer molecular detail of how GR regulates transcription in different cell types (especially in the immune system) and how it integrates genetic networks.
“I have always encouraged my students and co-workers to be curious and open-minded. Sometimes unexpected (and even, at first glance, disappointing) results can take you down a completely new avenue of research!”
Can you tell us about your SfE BES lecture? It will be a look at some of the ways in which our early life environment, especially steroid exposure, can have long-lasting effects on health and susceptibility to disease in adult life.
Do you have any words of wisdom for future endocrinologists? That feels like it would be presumptuous of me! I have always encouraged my students and co-workers to be curious and open-minded. Sometimes unexpected (and even, at first glance, disappointing) results can take you down a completely new avenue of research!
Karen will be discussing “Steroids and the Cardiovascular System” during the “Legends of Endocrinology” session on Tuesday 14 November at 17:00.
Take a look at the full scientific programme for SfE BES 2023.
Phillip Yeoh is a Consultant Nurse in Endocrinology working full time and currently studying for his PhD at Kings College London. His clinical interests are in adrenal diseases, endocrine cancer, pituitary diseases, endocrine cancer. In this interview he tells us about his career, the people who have shaped his experience in endocrinology and what we can expect from his SfE BES lecture.
Could you tell us about your career?
I have worked as Consultant Nurse in Endocrinology at The London Clinic for nearly 10 years now. I started an endocrine investigation unit about 22 years ago. The service is completely nurse-led. I also manage the diabetes service with several diabetes specialist nurses. I am currently doing my PhD at Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care at King’s College London, where I am at my final stage doing my data analysis. I am in a group called Federation of International Nurses in Endocrinology (F.I.N.E), of which I am the President and we are collaborating with International Society for Endocrinology for a nursing program at ICE2024 in Dubai.
“I like the complexity of it. It is such a niche area and I find looking after people with endocrine conditionsso interesting”
What was it about endocrine nursing that attracted you?
I like the complexity of it. It is such a niche area and I find looking after people with endocrine conditionsso interesting.
What is your career highlight, to date?
I was awarded the Betsy McClung research prize at Endocrine Nurse Society last year in Atlanta. It was such an honour. This year award for Nikki Kieffer Medal was such a surprise. I knew Nikki back in 2000 when I joined endocrinology and we sat on the Nurse Committee together. This award felt like an icing on top of the cake.
Who has had the biggest impact on your career?
I was lucky enough to have so many giants in endocrinology opening up the doors for me in the last 22 years. People like Prof Mike Besser, Prof John Monson, Prof Ashley Grossman, Prof Pierre Bouloux and Prof Marta Korbonits. I am so pleased to be working with nursing colleagues in my career, like Dr Sofia Llahana, Dr Chris Yedinak, Dr Cecilia Follin, Dr Andrew Dwyer and the endocrine nurses in UK.
“Be brave, be bold and be adventurous”
What do you consider to be the most exciting developments in endocrinology?
The Society for Endocrinology’s Competency Framework for Adult Endocrine Nursing, followed by Advanced Practice in Endocrinology Nursing Textbook. They both made such impact on the development of endocrine nursing.
What are the biggest challenges your field faces?
The lack of investment and research in endocrine nursing. Hence, I went to King’s College Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care to get ideas from them. There is a wealth of nursing knowledge out there that we can learn from!
Could you tell us about your lecture for SfE BES 2023:
My lecture this year is based on my experience of looking after people with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) for the last 23 years and my research work at King’s for the last 6 years.
Do you have any insight to guide aspiring endocrine nurses?
Be brave, be bold and be adventurous.
You can attend Phillip Yeoh’s Nikki Kieffer Medal Lecture “Lived Experience of ACC” on Tuesday 15 November at 10:55 AM.
Take a look at the full scientific programme for SfE BES 2023.
Katherine White, early career Endocrine Specialist Nurse from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust discusses her experience presenting at ENU 2023 for the first time as an Endocrine Nurse
This year’s ENU was my second time attending the event. It was important for me to attend again this year for a number of reasons: first off I really enjoyed my first conference, actually being able to take the time out of work ….and still get paid for it!! In my other working environments, it had never been possible. In addition, being supported from the Society for Endocrinology with the affordability to attend was a massive help, I would not have been able to attend otherwise. More importantly, the ability to meet other nurses, and it’s not just about the networking with my endocrine colleagues, I found it really interesting chatting with people and finding out their stories, and sharing mine with likeminded people I would never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. Additionally, it opens up the avenues of communication and information sharing, improving knowledge and working practices, so very much a win-win.
There were a variety of speakers on a variety of subjects, which enabled me to consider where I needed to prioritise and focus my own learning, being new to Endocrinology and I found this immensely beneficial.
I was encouraged by my colleague to apply to join the Nurse Committee, which I did and my application was accepted, this has opened up further opportunities, including being asked to help at the ENU this year…..which in truth was received with a nervous yes from me! However, the support received was fantastic. It was a pleasure to work with new and different people from outside of nursing but who have a shared passion. Moreover, it gave me an insight in to how the society is working behind the scenes to improve the knowledge and understanding of endocrinology throughout the UK and internationally.
The second ENU that I attended this year, I shared presenting with a non-nurse colleague, primarily as I haven’t presented in front of a group of people for a good number of years so understandably was extremely nervous. I was unsure of what the requirements would be, along with; is my knowledge good enough, will my ‘presenting voice’ be clear enough, amongst many other internal thoughts. However, I think no matter how experienced you may be at presenting there will always be that little internal voice saying something. After I presented it felt good !! yes there was relief but also a sense of achievement, it was good to step out of my comfort zone and push my personal boundaries. It was good to not only attend, but also to attend and participate and I would recommend it to all. No matter where you are in your career journey it’s always good to try something in a familiar environment with supportive colleagues. I was able to meet many new people from different environments outside of nursing as well as in, which is always quite refreshing and it opens up different viewpoints, perspectives and approaches to situations and problem solving. I will recommend this as a really good learning tool alongside building good working relationships and improving knowledge. I am looking forwards to the next ENU and meeting everyone.
Mark Turner is a Research Fellow in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Coventry University. He is an experienced integrative physiologist with an interest and track record in human physiology and metabolism.
He has obtained competitive funding to work with leading international research groups to advance his research interests and capabilities to investigate obesity and metabolic disease.
Find out about his career highlights and how the Society for Endocrinology has supported him in his journey.
Could you tell us about your career journey and how the Society has supported it?
I started off doing a Sports and Exercise degreeand then continued into my Masters doing Exercise Physiology, with my PhD specialising in skeletal muscle tissue engineering. This is where my interest sparked in endocrinology, and I started becoming more involved in the Society.
“Since joining the Society so many opportunites have opened up to me “
I joined the Early Career Steering group, which looks after the interests of early career endocrinologists, where I became Co–chair, and Chair.
I have also received funding for my research project and I hope to present my research at SfE BES 2023!
More recently, I have joined the Leadership and Development Awardee programme. This three-year programme is dedicated to developing early career endocrinologists into future leaders of our discipline.
I would say the Society has been a huge support financially and in my training and development as a scientist.
What is your career highlight to date?
My career highlight to date is spending time in another laboratory in Oxford. It was great to experience a new PI, who not only gave me great advice for my career, but also gave me the opportunity to collaborate and work on a number of different projects. It’s one of the reasons I am where I am today.
Who has inspired you in your career?
I went to Professor Leon’s lab when I was a postdoc. Looking at how she ran her lab and her approaches to putting papers together was really inspiring. I’ve taken all of these things on board and have used them to develop my lab in Coventry.
Why do you think someone should join the Society?
I think there are multiple reasons why people should join. There are many training events you can attend, such as SfE BES, where you get great exposure to people from different backgrounds.
Being part of the Society enables me to talk to clinicians and other scientists, and understand how I can translate my research. This ensures that the work that I do is as beneficial to me as it is to them.
“Showing you can attract funding is great for your CV”
As a member, there are various pots of money you can apply for to support your research. Showing you can attract funding is also great for your CV, if you’re looking to go down the academic route.
Lastly, by joining the Society for Endocrinology you have exposure to Committees, Working groups, and industry which is great for your personal and professional development.
If you would like to find out how the Society can support your career visit our website .
Steve Millership is a Research Fellow in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction at Imperial College London. Last year he volunteered to help run an activity at our Schools Outreach Event at SfE BES 2022. Read on to find out how he got involved, what he did on the day and what he got out of getting involved!
Could you tell us a little bit about your career path to date? I did my PhD at Cardiff University surrounding synuclein biology the implications in Parkinson’s disease and adipose tissue function. My postdoctoral work at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS) focused on the role of a group of genes known as ‘imprinted genes’ that modulate early growth and development and are altered in metabolic disease. I have since taken up a position at Imperial College London as a Research Fellow following my award of a Wellcome Trust ISSF Fellowship and am continuing to establish my research independence alongside a module lead role for MSc Applied Genomics within our Department. What is your specialty? Imprinted genes and the epigenome; beta cell function and type 2 diabetes
“It [w]as a perfect opportunity to give something back to the Society that has been so supportive in recent years”
How did you first get involved with the Society for Endocrinology? When transitioning to independence I was looking for early career grants, workshops, support and SfE really stood out. I immediately initiated my early career membership!
In what capacity were you involved in the SfE BES schools outreach? I was already planning to attend BES 2022 and saw it as a perfect opportunity to give something back to the Society that has been so supportive in recent years. What did you enjoy most about volunteering at the SfE BES schools outreach? I have always found teaching and mentoring extremely rewarding – it was great to meet other scientists during our session and it was a lot of fun – we were on the ‘Cell Signalling’ table passing an electric torch from person to person to show how a signal propagates through the cell – the pupils (and teachers) really seemed to enjoy it!
How did being involved with the SfE BES schools outreach benefit you? To help support the next generation of minds through Public Engagement was fantastic – I really enjoyed the experience!
“To get involved in Public Engagement events can often put you out of your comfort zone however it is always extremely rewarding, fun – and really helps you develop as a leader and teacher”
Would you recommend other endocrinologists to get involved with the SfE BES schools outreach day? Certainly!
Why should members volunteer for the SfE BES schools outreach event? To get involved in Public Engagement events can often put you out of your comfort zone however it is always extremely rewarding, fun – and really helps you develop as a leader and teacher.
Jeremy Turner is a consultant endocrinologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust specialising in calcium and metabolic bone disorders. Last year Jeremy was part of an interactive session, and acted as quiz facilitator, at our Schools Outreach Event. Read on to discover how he got involved, what he did on the day and what he got out of the day!
Could you tell us a little bit about your career path to date? My first job as a junior at the Royal Free in 1993 was with Pierre Bouloux, endocrinology, and the rest is history! I undertook a PhD in Oxford with Raj Thakker from 1999 – 2003, I was a BHF intermediate fellow and senior lecturer at Imperial College London 2005 – 2009, I’ve been a consultant endocrinologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS since 2009, and Honorary Professor of Endocrinology Norwich medical school since 2014.
What is your specialty? Endocrinology, sub specialist area bone and calcium endocrinology
How did you first get involved with the Society for Endocrinology? As a junior Dr in 1993, Richard Quinton was the SHO and he encouraged me to join the Society for Endocrinology and go to my first SfE BES conference. I’ve been almost every year since.
“[I enjoyed] giving something back and trying to share a love of our subject with people who may potentially be tomorrow’s endocrinologists”
In what capacity were you involved in the SfE BES schools outreach? I participated in an interactive session which was partly about careers in endocrinology and also facilitated a quiz called “Endocrine Street View” in which the audience is asked to recognise endocrine glands from clinical photographs, diagrams or scans and there are then follow up questions about the history, function or some other aspect of that endocrine axis all with a feeble attempt at a humorous spin on the subject matter (but usually not very funny!).
What did you enjoy most about volunteering at the SfE BES schools outreach? The sense of giving something back and trying to share a love of our subject with people who may potentially be tomorrow’s endocrinologists!
“Give something back, share your passion and…feel like you’ve done something for the great good”
Would you recommend other endocrinologists to get involved with the SfE BES schools outreach day? Yes! Give something back, share your passion and feel better about yourself / feel like you’ve done something for the great good!
Why should members volunteer for the SfE Bes schools outreach event? Ditto (pls see above answer)
Edouard Mills is a Clinical Lecturer in Endocrinology at Imperial College London, last year he volunteered to run an activity alongside his lab colleagues at our Schools Outreach Event at SfE BES 2022. Read on to find out how he got involved, what he did on the day and what he got out of getting involved!
Could you tell us a little bit about your career path to date?
I graduated from medical school in 2010 and having completed my post-graduate medical training in London, I decided to pursue my passion of Endocrinology. Since 2014, I’ve been undertaking my Specialty Training in Diabetes in and Endocrinology on the Imperial College London rotation. I completed an MRC-funded Clinical Research Training Fellowship and PhD in 2022 and I am now a Clinical Lecturer in Endocrinology at Imperial College London.
What is your specialty?
My training has been in Endocrinology, Diabetes and General Medicine. My research interests are related to neuroendocrinology and in particular how reproductive hormones (including kisspeptin) interplay with human behaviour.
“Volunteering at the SfE BES schools outreach event was a fun and rewarding way to hopefully inspire the next generation of scientists and medics”
How did you first get involved with the Society for Endocrinology?
In 2014 I attended my first ever SfE BES as a medical SHO in Liverpool where I presented a poster on the surgical outcomes from my hospital for patients undergoing benign thyroid surgery. At that time I didn’t know the SfE BES would be such a regular event in my calendar!
In what capacity were you involved in the SfE BES schools outreach?
Alongside my colleagues from Professor Dhillo’s lab at Imperial College London, we organised an activity called ‘Now YOU are the Endocrinologist’ where groups of young people from a local school had the opportunity to be guided through a real-life training exercise where they took an endocrine history, did some investigations and practiced taking blood (on a fake arm of course), processed/centrifuged the blood samples and came up with a diagnosis and management plan. What did you enjoy most about volunteering at the SfE BES schools outreach?
Volunteering at the SfE BES schools outreach event was a fun and rewarding way to hopefully inspire the next generation of scientists and medics. Many of the young people were also interested in talking about what life away from home at university was like. It was, therefore, a good way to build relationships with people from different generations and backgrounds.
How did being involved with the SfE BES schools outreach benefit you?
Following my involvement in the SfE BES outreach event I came to realise how much I relish the opportunities that public engagement offers. I’m now a Content Editor for the SfE You and Your Hormones platform.
“Following my involvement in the SfE BES outreach event I came to realise how much I relish the opportunities that public engagement offers. I’m now a Content Editor for the SfE You and Your Hormones platform”
Would you recommend other endocrinologists to get involved with the SfE BES schools outreach day?
Absolutely – it was incredibly rewarding, and the young people were all very engaged and eager to learn. Heather and the SfE team were extremely supportive when it came to helping us develop our outreach event, given they had a similar desire to promote outreach.
Why should members volunteer for the SfE Bes schools outreach event?
Volunteering for the SfE BES Schools Outreach Event is a great way to develop science communication, have the opportunity to share our passion for Endocrinology and what we do, meet lots of nice people and have fun with it.
When I was (eventually) diagnosed with MEN2A in 2000, there was absolutely nothing out there for patients except the isolation of being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. “It’s likely you’ll never meet another family like yours”, we were told.
How some things have changed! Now, through AMEND, which is 20 years old this year, newly diagnosed patients and families can meet others via Zoom, or at in-person Peer Support Meetings facilitated by trained patient volunteers. They can join in with our popular Annual Patient Information Day, or they can simply chat via one of our private social media groups.
Back in 2000, there were no patient information resources about MEN syndromes. All I had was a photocopy of a medical textbook article to help my husband and I decide when my son should have his prophylactic thyroidectomy. Now, not only can parents easily speak to other families who have made this decision, but our disease information resources include information on genetic testing in children, and appropriate preventative surgery. There are even resources for the children themselves, including our popular Marvel-style comic books and beautiful cartoons. As they grow older, our adolescents and young adults have access to their own resource section on our website that also includes films about living life with an MEN syndrome, and most recently, can join one of two age-appropriate WhatsApp chat groups, moderated by our trained Youth Volunteer, Sarah.
AMEND’s disease-scope has also expanded over the years and now includes familial paraganglioma syndromes, medullary thyroid cancer and adrenocortical cancer. Both PGL syndrome and ACC Groups now have their own identities (Phaeo Para Support UK and ACC Support UK respectively), along with dedicated websites and social medial channels and group. Specific information resources about the diseases and support services, including our Counselling Service are all available in the usual way for these patient communities too.
AMEND is also always happy to help our health professional colleagues, from participating in medical student training, lectures on patient perspectives to trainees or at conferences, or simply by being there in clinic to talk with patients. We took on the Phaeo Para Crisis Card resource developed by St Bart’s and made it available to order for all clinics with phaeochromocytoma patients. As many of you will know, if there’s a conference, we’re usually there! These are great ways of getting to meet health professional colleagues in person to discuss upcoming projects, as well as to spread the word about our resources and services for patients.
The Society for Endocrinology (SfE) has been a great source of help over the years, offering free exhibition space at British Endocrine Society (BES) and ENU conferences, patient group travel grants to help us get there, and most recently, patient group grants to help fund projects related to the provision of information resources to patients. Currently, we are part of a SfE patient committee looking at ways to raise the profile of endocrine conditions with primary care physicians. Affiliation with the SfE and medical advisors drawn from the SfE membership helps cement AMEND’s standing as a patient group of excellence for those with rare endocrine syndromes.
It’s safe to say that, in this, our 20th anniversary of registration as a charity in England and Wales, we can look back with huge pride at all we have achieved. And yet there is still so much more to do!
There are still delays in diagnosis that need to be addressed and so AMEND is working with the International Neuroendocrine Cancer Alliance (INCA), and medical societies including the Society for Endocrinology to address this over the coming years.
Behind the scenes are teams of volunteers, including our Trustee Board, who are currently setting AMEND’s strategy up to 2026. Our new Strategic Plan will highlight two themes for attention over the next few years: Sustainability and Awareness. AMEND will be looking at sustainability of both income and personnel. Awareness covers the need to raise awareness of AMEND and the diseases we cover to help aid earlier diagnosis. We are particularly keen to involve more Endocrine Nurses in helping us spread the word and are always happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions, as well as to have you involved in any of our projects.
This year, we are starting work on two new projects; our Rare Endocrine Tumours & Syndromes smartphone App (RETS App) which will replace our MEN Passports as a repository for patients’ personal information regarding their disease and its management, and the development of a resource for GPs about each of the diseases we cover (MEN and PGL syndromes, ACC and MTC). We hope that this resource, that will be distributed by existing patients to their GPs, will highlight what areas of management can be achieved locally, as well as raise awareness of signs and symptoms of recurrence, or of the disease in general. Taken together with other projects with the SfE and by organisations bigger than ours, we hope that the average time to diagnosis of patients with rare endocrine tumours and syndromes will improve.
While we celebrate our successes of the past 20 years throughout 2023, we look to the next 20 years with both positivity and realism. A new CEO will be needed from 2026 to bring the skills and energy necessary to take AMEND into the future. Perhaps my successor will come from the Endocrine Nursing field! Whoever it may be, they will love working for this small but big-hearted charity.
Visit AMEND’s website to learn more about the incredible support work the charity has managed over the past two decades.
Claire Stirling is an endocrine nurse specialist, who helped to found the Gender Identity Nurse Led Clinic in Grampian Aberdeen. In November 2022 Claire attended SfE BES in Harrogate and presented her poster alongside her colleagues, and was recognised with an award. Find out about her endocrine nurse specialist journey, her new-found passion for presenting research and her joy at the endocrine nurse community.
My career in nursing began with a solid training program in all areas of nursing at Robert Gordons University Aberdeen. I reflect fondly on my nursing training. I was chosen to represent Aberdeen with a fellow nursing student to visit our sister city of Houston as part of the Houston Texas Exchange Program and visit their many wonderful medical and surgical facilities. It showed me in the early stages of my career the wider world of nursing and medicine as a whole and how fruitful the exchange of knowledge between fellow nursing colleagues within our working daily lives and across the world can be. In present day I gain so much from attending endocrine conference meetings, sharing in the exchange of knowledge as I did in my early nursing training
When I graduated from nursing I began my career path in cardio thoracic, moving to the specialty of general medicine and then diabetes and endocrinology, working for many years building solid foundations in my nursing practice. I continue to preserve my overall ward nursing skills working as a general bank nurse, as well as being an endocrine specialist nurse permanently, which I became seven years ago. I feel my experience from general medical wards compliments my daily work with my patients within the endocrinology nurse speciality.
Patients I meet from the various clinics we run as endocrine specialist nurses can be complex and have other medical issues alongside an endocrine diagnosis. I am passionate about nursing as a whole and put my patients at the very centre of my daily professional nursing role as an endocrine specialist nurse.
My entry to endocrine nursing was a natural progression in my career. Over a year ago I was given the opportunity to start a Gender Identity Nurse Led Clinic with my two consultant mentors, Dr Dymott and Dr McGeoch who have been exceptionally supportive. These consultants devised the nursing role I have, having established the GIC within Aberdeen Grampian initially themselves a few years ago.
I was motivated to showcase the nurse-led GIC at SfE BES 2022 to inspire other specialist nurses to establish and develop such a role within their own areas of endocrinology, and was overwhelmed how well received my poster presentation was at the conference and was exceptionally honoured to receive an award. I was delighted to share my experience of my nurse-led gender identity clinic and hope it inspires other nurses to do such a poster to showcase their own hard work and share a nursing clinical framework such as I did, in order for other nurses to potentially be encouraged and inspired to mirror and utilise within their own areas.
The success of my poster presentation has certainly aided my confidence and belief in myself as a practioner, my advice to other specialist nurses is don’t be scared to shine your bright light of knowledge with others. I have received nothing but positive feedback on my work from fellow nurses.
I have found the experience truly warming. The endocrine specialist nursing community is a wonderful community of professionals who support one another. I feel so inspired to present again, I encourage other endocrine specialist nurses to share their current work, research and knowledge and shine bright at the next SfE BES!
I thank my mentors Dr Dymott and Dr McGeoch within GIC, who support me in my GIC specialist role, who encouraged me to present a poster. I must also thank Dr Abraham and Dr Graveling who have given unwavering support, encouragement and inspiration in my endocrine specialty journey for these past years alongside my wonderful fellow specialist nursing team, led by lead endocrine specialist nurse Morag Middleton who I thank for their ongoing support and encouragement also.
Here is to the next endocrine conference meeting, look forward to seeing other fellow specialist nurses sharing their knowledge there. I am delighted to say I have been kindly invited to speak at the next nurse led conference in Birmingham this April, again another opportunity to shine a light of the GIC work we are doing in Aberdeen Grampian.
Claire Stirling and her colleagues, Jane Dymott and Susan McGeoch presented their award-winning poster ‘Our Grampian experience of establishing an endocrine nurse specialist service within the Gender identity clinic’.
The Endocrine Post 