PRESIDENT-ELECT CANDIDATES

Anthony Hollenberg, MD – Boston University School of Medicine

Candidate Statement

The American Thyroid Association has benefited from superb professional management which has enabled it to grow and remain secure financially. Additionally, because of its strong leadership, member engagement and allegiance are incredibly high. However, the recent pressures on the clinical and research landscape will create challenges for the ATA . These changes are also coupled with the further stratifying of the professional interests of the American Thyroid Association. It is imperative that the ATA continues to make strategic decisions to maintain its preeminent position as the leading organization for anyone engaged in the thyroid from those at the bench to those doing public health and all else in between. Clearly, the strength of the organization continues to be in its clinical membership and further work on expanding the links to basic and translational scientists remains imperative. This can be accomplished by enhancing our membership pipeline and investing further in research and clinical guideline development. Finally, the ATA has been a frontrunner in promoting diversity amongst its leadership and membership which needs to be continued.

Candidate Biosketch

Dr. Anthony Hollenberg is the President of Boston Medical Center (BMC) and a Professor of Medicine at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian Schol of Medicine (BUCASM). Dr. Hollenberg received his M.D. from the University of Calgary in Canada in 1986. He completed his Internal Medicine residency in 1989 and was Chief Resident in Medicine from 1990 to 1991 at the Beth Israel Hospital. Dr. Hollenberg then completed a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1993 and was recruited back to Beth Israel to start his laboratory. From 2011 -2018 Dr. Hollenberg was Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He then served from 2018-2022 as Chair of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. In 2022, he returned to Boston as Chair of Medicine at BMC/BUCASM until moving into his current role. Dr. Hollenberg’s research focuses on the hormonal regulation of metabolism, with a particular emphasis on the role of thyroid hormone. His work has important ramifications for the regulation of body weight and metabolism. Additionally, his laboratory focuses on understanding thyroid gland development and the possibilities for regenerative medicine.

Director – Endocrine Surgery

Kepal Patel, MD, NYU Langone Health

Dr. Kepal N. Patel is Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry/Molecular Pharmacology, and Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery at NYU Langone Health. He serves as Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs, Chief of the Division of Endocrine Surgery, and Director of the Thyroid Cancer Interdisciplinary Program. His clinical and research efforts focus on multidisciplinary care for patients with benign and malignant thyroid disease, and more recently, the use of thermal ablative techniques. His work has earned recognition from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Thyroid Association (ATA), the American Head and Neck Society, and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES).

Dr. Patel completed fellowship training in Oncologic Head and Neck Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has held numerous local and national leadership roles and serves on editorial boards including that of Thyroid. His past appointments include President of the New York Head and Neck Society, Recorder of the AAES, Founding Member and Inaugural Treasurer of the North American Society for Interventional Thyroidology, and First Author of the AAES Comprehensive Guidelines for Thyroid Surgery.

Kepal has been actively involved in the ATA since 2009. He has had the honor of moderating and serving as course faculty for numerous ATA meetings and Ridgway conferences. He has served on multiple ATA 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- had to convert entire program to virtual format in 2 months due to pandemic (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- Video Endocrinology (2022-present), Editorial board- Thyroid (2024-present), and had the privilege of giving the Opening Session – The Year in Surgery Lecture (2022).

Michael Yeh, MD – UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Dr. Michael W. Yeh is a Professor of Surgery and Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

Dr. Yeh attended Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. He completed general surgery training at the University of California San Francisco and a fellowship in endocrine surgery at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He has spent the past 19 years developing UCLA Endocrine Surgery into a world-class program for patient care, research, and education. An NIH-funded investigator, Dr. Yeh has published more than 160 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited more than 10,000 times (2025 h-index 53).

Dr. Yeh has held leadership positions within both the medical school and health enterprise at UCLA, including Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Medical Director of Optimal Care, and Surgical Representative on the Operative Services Leadership Triad. He serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network thyroid cancer guidelines panel and served on the Fifth International Workshop on the Evaluation and Management of Primary Hyperparathyroidism. Dr. Yeh has held national leadership roles within the American Thyroid Association as well as executive roles within the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. He is most proud of his many successful mentees and his two college-age sons.

Director – Adult Endocrinologist

International

Kristien Boelaert, MD, PhD – University of Birmingham, UK

Kristien Boelaert is a Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham in the UK. She obtained her medical degree from KU Leuven, Belgium before emigrating to the UK where she trained in Endocrinology and obtained her PhD.

Kristien 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 has published more than 200 research papers. In addition, Kristien is a prominent clinician who is actively involved in the development 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.

Kristien is a strong proponent of collaborative working and for many years has engaged closely with patient support organisations, policy makers and researchers in various disciplines across the world. She has wide experience in educating clinical and non-clinical trainees nurturing the next generation of thyroidologists.

Kristien has been an active member of the ATA since 2003, volunteering on several committees and currently serving as the co-chair of the ATA 2025 Annual Meeting. She holds leadership positions 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 organisation, in addition to an abundance of enthusiasm and determination to help the ATA go from strength to strength.

Mingzhao Xing, MD, PhD – School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology

Mingzhao Xing, M.D., Ph.D., is Chair Professor and Founding Dean of the School of Medicine at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, China. He is also Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he was previously tenured Professor of Medicine, Oncology, and Pathology. American Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, he was a clinical endocrinologist and Director of the Thyroid Tumor Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At SUSTech in Shenzhen, China, Dr. Xing continues his clinical practice in endocrinology, particularly in thyroidology, while continuing his vigorous scientific pursuits in the research on thyroid neoplasms and other thyroid diseases. His seminal scientific work over the years, including the identification and characterization of BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations as robust oncogenes, diagnostic and prognostic genetic biomarkers, and therapeutic targets as well as their molecular mechanistic backgrounds, has contributed considerably to today’s understanding of the molecular pathogenesis and the development of genetic-based precision management of thyroid cancer. He has been constantly ranked among the top thyroid scholars globally, being #1 among 43,546 thyroid cancer scholars on the 2024 ScholarGPS ranking for lifetime scientific impact. The leadership roles he has served in the past at the American Thyroid Association (ATA) include the Annual Meeting Organizing Committee Co-chair, the Research Committee Chair, and an Associate Editor of the journal Thyroid. He has received multiple prestigious awards, among which are Paul Starr and Sidney H Ingbar Awards from the ATA. He is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP).

US Based

Laura Boucai, MD – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – Weill Cornell Medical College

Laura Boucai is an Associate Member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. She graduated from Universidad de Buenos Aires, completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Cornell and an Endocrinology Fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she joined the faculty soon after. Her research interests have focused on thyroid cancer biology. She studies the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of thyroid cancer, the role of redifferentiation agents and the impact of clonal hematopoiesis in thyroid cancer to attempt to find new therapeutic strategies for the most advanced forms of the disease. Dr. Boucai has been a member of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) since 2012 and has served as member of the surgical affairs committee, member of the clinical affairs committee, member and chair of the nominating committee, co-chair of the ATA Spring symposium, co-chair of the ATA Leadership course and she is the current ATA chair of Women in Thyroid (WIT). Dr Boucai is a strong advocate for women, national and international trainees interested in thyroidology. Her bicultural background and strong commitment to education allows her to bridge knowledge gaps locally and in developing countries with the goal of advancing the care of patients with thyroid disease.

Maria Papaleontiou, MD – University of Michigan

Maria Papaleontiou, MD, is a tenured 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, where she completed her endocrinology fellowship in 2013. She is a recipient of Fulbright and Howard Hughes Medical Institute scholarships. Her clinical practice focuses on thyroidology and geriatric endocrinology. Dr. Papaleontiou is a health services researcher in the field of thyroidology and aging, with the goal of reducing low-value thyroid care. Her studies involve evaluating risks of thyroid hormone overtreatment and misuse in older adults, understanding the role of clinicians and patients in thyroid hormone use and misuse, and evaluating the role of age and comorbidity in thyroid cancer decision-making. She received funding from the National Institute on Aging, Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Centers, University of Michigan Biology of Cardiovascular Aging Core and Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Research Fund. She was honored with 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 ATA committees, including as Co-Chair for the ATA’s Annual Program Committee (2021-2022), Chair of the ATA’s Women in Thyroidology (2022-2023), and currently as Co-Chair for the ATA’s revised Hypothyroidism Guidelines. She is an Associate Editor for Endocrine Practice and serves on the Editorial Board for Thyroid

TRAINEE OBSERVERS (BY APPOINTMENT)

Kenzie Lee, MD – Mayo Clinic Rochester

Kenzie Lee is a first-year endocrinology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She earned her medical degree from the USD Sanford School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic. Her clinical interests span the full spectrum of thyroid disease, including autoimmune thyroid disorders and thyroid malignancies. Dr. Lee’s research focuses on clinical thyroidology and has published work in the area of advanced thyroid cancers. She is passionate about medical education and quality improvement and served as research chair for her residency’s quality improvement committee. She became involved with the American Thyroid Association (ATA) after attending the E. Chester Ridgway Trainee Conference, and as a trainee observer, she would be focused on fostering greater engagement among medical trainees within the ATA community.

Eddie Lincango, MD, MSc – University of Central Florida / HCA Osceola

Eddy P. Lincango, MD, MSc is a general surgery resident at the University of Central Florida/HCA Florida Osceola Hospital with a strong interest in endocrine surgery. Originally from Quito, Ecuador, Dr. Lincango earned his medical degree from the Universidad Central del Ecuador and completed a Master of Science in Clinical Research at Dresden International University. He has conducted research at leading institutions and co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, with a focus on thyroid cancer and surgical outcomes. His work has been recognized with multiple honors, including the American Thyroid Association’s Ridgway Trainee Grant. In addition, he is actively engaged in professional societies such as the AAES, ATA, and Latino Surgical Society, where he serves on several committees. He also serves as a director on the board of the Catalina Research Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing academic mentorship among Latin American trainees. His ultimate goal is to become an academic endocrine surgeon committed to mentorship, equity, and global surgical advancement.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Annually, the Board of Directors discusses its composition and the balance of specialty, practice area, and other demographic and geographic attributes for the next governance cycle. After evaluating its needs with an emphasis and focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, the Board of Directors then recommends that the Nominating Committee select individuals in designated practice and specialty areas. In addition to electing a President-elect, the recommendation for the 2025 Ballot was to elect new members of the Board of Directors in the areas of: Endocrine Surgery and Adult Endocrinology. Eligibility for the Board of Directors requires five years of membership, five years of recent meeting attendance, previous committee service and disclosure of conflicts of interest. The Nominating Committee will consider nominees who were not selected this year during future nomination cycles. Additionally, the Board of Directors asked that the Nominating Committee identify and appoint two Trainee Observers to a one-year term on the Board of Directors.

Nominating Committee Process

We encouraged our members to nominate their colleagues for the Board by sending out a Call for Nominations through our various communication platforms including: Members Only, emails and newsletters, social media, colleague to colleague, and personalized emails to specific groups (i.e. WIT). The Nominating Committee is charged with presenting two candidates for each designated slot. To select the candidates, the committee reviews all the nominations and meets several times to consider, discuss and rank the final candidates. We appreciate the Nominating Committee’s service and dedication to the process.

Nominating Committee Members