The American Thyroid Association (ATA) has proudly organized and will host the 3rd Annual E. Chester Ridgway Trainee Conference (Ridgway), to be held September 21-24th, during the ATA’s 86th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. Trainees from around the world will participate in a comprehensive educational program that incorporates symposia on the latest advances in clinical and basic science research, a surgical track, and discussion sessions focused on a variety of topics including thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer, case presentations, career options, and publishing. s program also included new components with the overall objective of advancing the trainee understanding of thyroid physiology, disease and treatment.
The E. Chester Ridgway Trainee Conference (Ridgway) and Trainee Grant Program was founded and championed for two decades by Dr. E. Chester “Chip” Ridgway, former ATA President, and mentor and friend to so many endocrinologists. The trainee conference and grant program is supported through ongoing contributions from colleagues, past fellow participants, and friends to this very important campaign honoring Chip’s memory. The Ridgway and Trainee Grant Program create opportunities for trainees that have a lasting impact on their work and careers.
The first day of the 2016 Ridgway Trainee Program opens with a morning Pre-Meeting Symposium for Clinical Trainees, followed by lunch Roundtable Discussions with faculty members. The afternoon offers dual tracks, one for Clinical Trainees and one for Basic Trainees. The Clinical Trainee Track includes presentations on “Evaluation of Thyroid Nodules: What do the ATA Guidelines Say?”; “Molecular Testing in Thyroid Nodules and Thyroid Cancer Bench to Bedside”; “The Surgical Management of Thyroid Cancer: A Surgeon’s Perspective of the ATA Guidelines”; “The Medical Management of Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer”; and “Targeted Therapy for 131I Refractory Thyroid Cancer.” The Basic Trainee Track will focus on Energy and Metabolism, and includes sessions on “Transcriptional Control of Adipocyte Differentiation”; “Deiodination and Metabolism”; “Neural Control of Feedings: Insights from Optogenetics”; and “The Role of Thyroid Hormone Receptor Suoylation in Metabolic Regulation.”
The second day of the program begins with a Thyroid Ultrasound Course, open to Clinical and Surgical Trainees. A morning Surgical Track entitled “Modern Thyroid Surgery — New Technology & Advanced Techniques” includes presentations on advanced/interventional ultrasound, intraoperative endoscopy, intraoperative vagal nerve monitoring, and radio-guided endocrine surgery.
Throughout the conference, the Ridgway sessions provide trainees with practical lessons and resources for career development. In addition to the educational aspect of the Ridgway, a key aim is involving the trainees in social events, which are just as important in fostering collaboration and collegiality amongst the trainees and with the leadership.
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The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement, understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer. ATA is an international individual membership organization for over 1,700 clinicians and researchers from 43 countries around the world, representing a broad diversity of medical disciplines. It also serves the public, patients and their family through education and awareness efforts.
Celebrating its 93rd anniversary, ATA delivers its mission through several key endeavors: the publication of highly regarded monthly journals, THYROID, Clinical Thyroidology, VideoEndocrinology and Clinical Thyroidology for the Public; annual scientific meetings; biennial clinical and research symposia; research grant programs for young investigators, support of online professional, public and patient educational programs; and the development of guidelines for clinical management of thyroid disease.
More information about ATA is found at www.thyroid.org.
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.