October 7, 2025 – The ATA announces with pleasure that M. Regina Castro, MD, a Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, began a one-year term as President at the close of the 94th Annual Meeting on September 14th in Scottsdale, Arizona. Secretary Christopher McCabe, PhD, continues as the leader of the ATA’s Board of Directors. Moving to new officer roles on the Board this year are Past President, Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD; President-Elect, Anthony Hollenberg, MD; and Treasurer, Mark Zafereo, MD.
“It is my privilege and great honor to be able to serve as the president of this exceptional society that has been for so long my professional home,” said Dr. Regina Castro.
The 16-member Board will also have three new directors, Kristien Boelaert, MD, PhD, Kepal Patel, MD, and Maria Papaleontiou, MD, and two trainee observers, Kenzie Lee, MD, and Eddy Lincango, MD. Congratulations to all!
ATA thanks the Nominating Committee, chaired by Megan Haymart, MD, and the members with a desire to serve in leadership, including those nominated and those who ran for election. And ATA recognizes the service of the members who are rotating off the Board of Directors this year: Peter Angelos, MD, PhD, Michael McDermott, MD, Jennifer Sipos, MD, Kharisa Rachmasari, MD, and Freddy Toloza Bonilla, MD.
Officers
President
M. Regina Castro, MD, is Professor of Medicine, and Consultant in Endocrinology & Metabolism at Mayo Clinic, Rochester where she currently serves as the Director for the Endocrinology fellowship program. She is a clinician, educator, and clinical investigator. Her main areas of interest include the evaluation of patients with thyroid disorders, especially thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer.
Dr. Castro has been an active member of the ATA since 2000, serving on multiple committees: Board of Directors (2014-1028), Patient Affairs and Education Committee (Chair, Co-chair), Website Advisory Committee, Editorial Board of Clinical Thyroidology® for the Public, Trainees & Career Advancement Committee, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force (Co-chair) and the Publications Committee. As Chair of the Patient Affairs and Education committee she led the effort to develop bilingual patient education materials and to organize the Annual ATA Patient Forum. She has participated in multiple ATA meetings as a speaker, 2018 Program Co-chair, and recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Service Award. She also served as Women in Thyroidology (WIT) President and Past President (2019-2021) and received the WIT Woman of the Year Award (2022).
President-Elect
Anthony Hollenberg, MD, is President of Boston Medical Center. BMC, a premier academic medical center, models a new kind of excellence in healthcare where clinical and operational innovation meets health equity and access. Before being appointed to this role in 2024, Dr. Hollenberg served as physician-in-chief at Boston Medical Center and the John Wade Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. He has also spent 30-plus years assuming progressive leadership positions in academic medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, before spending four years as the chair and chief of the Department of Medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. Dr. Hollenberg is a nationally recognized physician-scientist who specializes in endocrinology. His work has focused on thyroid disorders and investigating the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, including body weight, as well as thyroid gland development. Dr. Hollenberg received a medical degree from University of Calgary, and he completed his residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, followed by a clinical and research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Hollenberg received a Bachelor of Arts in biochemical sciences from Harvard College. He most recently served as treasurer of the American Thyroid Association and the Association for Professors of Medicine.
Treasurer
Mark Zafereo, MD, is Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he is Section Chief of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery and Associate Medical Director of the Head & Neck Center. His clinical practice and research focuses on patients afflicted with thyroid cancer and parathyroid neoplasms, particularly multidisciplinary care of patients with advanced thyroid cancer, wherein he leads several national multicenter clinical trials on neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery.
Dr. Zafereo has served on multiple ATA committees and task forces, including the Internet Communications Committee; the Leadership Strategic Planning Retreat; the Surgical Affairs Committee (currently Chair); the Education and Outreach Task Force, the Spring Meeting Program Committee, and the Medullary Thyroid Cancer Guidelines Task Force. He also serves on the Editorial Board and as an Associate Editor for Thyroid®.
Directors
Kristien Boelaert, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham in the UK. She is an active researcher with an extensive portfolio spanning molecular, clinical and translational research into thyroid dysfunction, nodules and cancer. During her career she has attracted more than $12 million in research funding and she has published more than 200 research papers. In addition, Kristien is a prominent clinician who is actively involved in the setting of UK, European and ATA guidelines on the management of thyroid diseases. Recognizing her contributions to patient care, she was the recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award from the Society for Endocrinology in 2019. She is a strong advocate for collaboration and for many years has engaged closely with patient support organizations, policy makers and researchers in various disciplines across the world. She is a strong believer in nurturing the next generation of thyroidologists and holds several leadership roles in educating clinical and non-clinical trainees. Kristien has been an active member of the ATA since 2003, volunteering on several committees and most recently served as the co-chair of the ATA 2025 Annual Meeting. She has held leadership roles in many international thyroid and endocrine societies including President of the British Thyroid Association, Member of the European Thyroid Association Executive Committee and President Elect of the Society for Endocrinology. As an international member of the ATA, Kristien brings unique perspectives to the organization, in addition to an abundance of enthusiasm and determination to help the ATA go from strength to strength.
Kepal N. Patel, MD, is Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry/Molecular Pharmacology, and Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at NYU Langone Health, where he is also Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs; Chief, Division of Endocrine Surgery; and Director, Thyroid Cancer Interdisciplinary Program. His clinical practice and research focus on the multidisciplinary care of patients with benign and malignant thyroid disease and more recently the application of thermal ablative techniques. His work has been recognized by awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Thyroid Association (ATA), American Head and Neck Society and American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES). Dr. Patel completed his Oncologic Head and Neck Surgery training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He currently serves in multiple leadership roles both locally and nationally and is on the editorial board of several prominent journals. Dr. Patel has been actively involved in the ATA since 2009 and has had the honor of moderating and serving as course faculty for numerous ATA meetings and Ridgway conferences. He has served on multiple committees and task forces, including the Surgical Affairs Committee (2013-2016), Co-Chair and Chair, Surgical Affairs Committee (2016-2018), Co-Chair, Annual Spring Symposium (2020), Program Committee (2021-2024), International Thyroid Congress 2025 Planning Committee – ATA representative (2022-2025), ATA–Video Library (2022), Awards Committee (2023-present), Editorial board- VideoEndocrinology™ (2022-present), and had the privilege of giving the Opening Session – The Year in Surgery Lecture (2022).
Maria Papaleontiou, MD, is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, and a Research Associate Professor at the Institute of Gerontology, at the University of Michigan. She completed her endocrinology fellowship at the University of Michigan and joined the faculty in 2013. Her clinical practice focuses on thyroid diseases and thyroid cancer, as well as geriatric endocrinology. Dr. Papaleontiou is also a health services researcher in the field of thyroidology and aging. Her research focuses on evaluating the risks of thyroid hormone overtreatment and misuse in older adults, understanding the role of providers and patients in thyroid hormone use and misuse and how it relates to patient outcomes in the aging population, as well as the role of age and comorbidity in thyroid cancer decision-making. Her ultimate goal is to develop tools to tailor thyroid disease treatment to older adults by translating research findings into effective strategies and interventions to improve the care of older adults and reduce patient harm. She has received funding from the National Institute on Aging, the Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Centers, the University of Michigan Biology of Cardiovascular Aging Core and the Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Research Award. She has also received several awards including the Young Physician Scientist Award from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Rising Star in Endocrinology Award from AACE and the Women Advancing Thyroid Research Award from the ATA. She served on multiple national committees, including as Co-Chair for the ATA’s Annual Program Committee (2021-2022) and Chair of the ATA’s Women in Thyroidology (2022-2023). She currently serves as Vice-Chair for AACE’s Disease State Network Oversight Committee, as an Associate Editor for Endocrine Practice, and on the Editorial Board for Thyroid®.
Kenzie Lee, MD, is a first-year Clinical Endocrinology Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She completed medical school at USD Sanford School of Medicine in South Dakota, and internal medicine residency training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She is passionate in thyroid autoimmunity and thyroid cancer and recently published about advanced thyroid cancer. She is committed to enhancing trainee engagement in the ATA.
Eddy P. Lincango, MD, MSc, is a General Surgery resident at the University of Central Florida/HCA Florida Osceola, with a strong background in clinical research and thyroid surgery. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from the Universidad Central del Ecuador and a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the Dresden International University. Dr. Lincango has contributed to multiple high-impact studies with a focus on thyroid disorders and his work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Ridgway Trainee Grant from the ATA and the Endocrine Society Images Award. Eddy is actively involved in professional organizations, including the ATA and serves on research and education committees for the Latino Surgical Society. Dr. Lincango is committed to advancing surgical innovation, mentorship, and diversity in surgery.
The American Thyroid Association® (ATA®) is dedicated to transforming thyroid care through clinical excellence, education, scientific discovery, and advocacy in a collaborative community. ATA is an international professional medical society with more than 1,700 members from 70 countries around the world.
The ATA promotes thyroid awareness and information through its online Clinical Thyroidology® for the Public (distributed free of charge to over 12,000 patients and public subscribers) and extensive, authoritative explanations of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA® website www.thyroid.org serves as a trusted clinical resource for patients and the public looking for reliable thyroid-related information.
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