Our History
The American Thyroid Association (ATA), celebrating its Centennial in 2023, has been dedicated to advancing thyroid health since its inception. The ATA’s membership is comprised of dedicated researchers, clinicians and surgeons from around the world.
ATA was founded on December 9, 1923 when the Illinois Clinical Club met in Bloomington and established a new organization called “The American Association for the Study of Goiter.” The first official meeting of The American Association for the Study of Goiter was held January 23-25, 1924 at St. Joseph’s Hospital. In 1959, the association was incorporated in the New York State as the American Goiter Association, and in 1961 the name was officially changed to the American Thyroid Association.
Supporting scholarly research and the exchange of information is core to the ATA’s mission. In 1990, the American Thyroid Association worked with Mary Ann Liebert Publishers to create the peer-reviewed journal Thyroid®. In 1988, Clinical Thyroidology was established to highlight interesting papers about thyroid disorders that have been recently published in the medical literature and in 2008, Clinical Thyroidology for the Public was established to summarize these articles for the general public in laymen’s terms. Finally, in an effort to offer peer-reviewed videos, VideoEndocrinology was created in 2014.
If you’re interested in learning more about the ATA’s history, be sure to visit the Clark T Sawin History Resource Center which offers in-depth details on the ATA’s history.
Centennial
In celebration of the ATA’s Centennial, the following exciting initiatives are planned:
- ATA History: “The American Thyroid Association 1923–2023: Honoring Our Past, Embracing Our Future”
- Articles in Thyroid & Videos in VideoEndocrinology Highlighting Key Advances in Thyroid Research and Care
- ATA’s 2023 Annual Meeting on September 27-October 1, 2023 in Washington, DC
- Special Sawin Vignette celebrating the ATA’s history
- Centennial Party the evening of Saturday, September 30, 2023
- Fundraising campaign to raise $125,000 in support of the ATA’s Annual Fund. Click here to donate online or click here to make a multi-year pledge.
For more on the ATA’s history, view these resources:
- ATA Past Presidents
- Clark T Sawin History Resource Center
- American Thyroid Association History Timeline
- International Thyroid Congress History
- Thyroid History Timeline
Centennial Task Force
Thank you to the ATA Centennial Task Force for leading the efforts to celebrate this milestone.
Peter Kopp, Co-Chair
Elizabeth Pearce, Co-Chair
Sara Ahmadi
Victor Bernet
Frances Carr
David Cooper
Valerie Galton
Avital Harari
Jerome Hershman (deceased July 2022)
Michael McDermott
Caroline Nguyen
Michael Singer
Jennifer Sipos
Connie Trump
Ralph Tufano
Michael Yeh
Staff Liaisons: Sharleene Cano, Amanda Perl
AMERICAN THYROID ASSOCIATION® , ATA® , THYROID® , CLINICAL THYROIDOLOGY® , and the distinctive circular logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as trademarks of the American Thyroid Association® , Inc.