The joint meeting in September was a tremendous success in bringing together paediatric endocrinologists, scientists and many other professionals from all over the world to discuss the latest developments in patient care and science, to stimulate future ideas in research and clinical practice, and to honour a number of outstanding achievements. The warm late-summer climate of Southern France, and the delicious regional gastronomy contributed to foster many amicable collaborations and international friendships. Indeed international, or “Endocrinology Around the World" had been the theme for the 7th ESPE/LWPES Joint Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting, in collaboration with APEG, APPES, JSPE and SLEP. In keeping with this aim, 3164 participants attended the meeting from a record-breaking 87 different countries and from six continent International Science The presenting authors came from 69 different countries, and this is a testament to the truly international nature of our discipline. It is of course impossible to acknowledge all the important presentations, however personal highlights of the Newsletter editors include: • Sergio Ojeda's summary of the remarkable recent advances in the neuronal regulation of mammalian puberty (LWPES Presidential Lecture) • Walter Miller's wonderfully clear narration on steroid physiology and its relevance to human disease • Yuji Matsuzawa's personal tour of the world of adipocytokines (JSPE Lecture) • Ze'ev Hochberg's description of infant rickets in the sun-sufficient Middle East and Egypt Hopefully much of the exciting novel research presented at this year's meeting will be steadily making their way onto PubMed over the coming year. In next year's ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology, you will be able to enjoy again a brief review of these studies, plus expert commentaries of how they have progressed their respective research fields and clinical practice areas. Global Inequalities in Paediatric Endocrine Care Martin Savage and Fernando Cassorla composed and chaired a revealing series of talks on the striking global inequalities in the care of our young patients, including low birth weight, diabetes care, thyroid deficiency, iodine deficiency, nutrition and growth surveillance in India. Martin and Fernando are planning to publish their proposed “Statement of minimal acceptable care” in Hormone Research shortly. Meanwhile Martin Silink would be happy to hear from any supporters of international diabetes care (Email:
[email protected]).During the 7th Joint ESPE/LWPES Meeting in Lyon, an ESPE Session was held on Saturday 24 September dedicated to ESPE Prizes and Awards: Andrea Prader Prize: Wolfgang G Sippell, Kiel, Germany Wolfgang Sippell is a popular and worthy recipient of this year's Andrea Prader prize. Many ESPE members across Europe, and clinicians from around the world, have sought his advice on the molecular defects of adrenal disorders for several years. Research Award and Lecture: Serge Amselem, Creteil, France Serge Amselem received the ESPE Research Award for his long-standing achievements in studying pituitary hormone deficiencies and the molecular basis of childhood growth. Outstanding Clinician Award: Jean-Claude Job, Paris, France Jean-Claude Job received the outstanding clinician award for his many years of dedication to promoting the advancement and teaching of paediatric endocrinology throughout Europe. Young Investigator Award: Christa Flück, Berne, Switzerland Christa Flück received the ESPE Young Investigator Award. She has recently published a number of outstanding studies on the molecular basis of disordered steroidogenesis with Walter Miller in San Francisco, USA. In addition to these outstanding personal achievements, the Henning Andersen prizes were awarded for the best abstracts submitted to this year's meeting. The prize for best basic research abstract went to Christina HoeiHansen and her team in Niels Skakkebaek's department in Copenhagen, Denmark for a study of the germ cell tumour factor NANOG. The prize for best clinical research abstract was awarded to Daniele Di Marzio and her colleagues working with Francesco Chiarelli in Chieti, Italy for their study of rosiglitazone as a potential future therapy for early diabetic angiopathy. Andrea Prader Prize As the most prestigious ESPE Award, the prize recognises and rewards outstanding 2 ESPE Awards at the 7th ESPE/LWPES Joint Meeting leadership and scientific contributions through the course of a career. The prize also draws attention to contributions in the training of paediatric endocrinology. This year the Andrea Prader Prize was awarded to Professor Wolfgang G Sippell. Wolfgang Sippell was first a member of ESPE Council in the early 1980s and then again from 1991, before being ESPE Secretary from 1993 to 1997. He has also sat on many ESPE Committees. Professor Sippell has received numerous awards and research grants throughout his career. He has supervised the research and clinical training of many young clinicians, and has acted as mentor of over 20 paediatric endocrinologists who now have relevant positions in academia and the National Health System of Germany. His CV is outstanding with around 170 papers published in well-respected journals. Research Award and Lecture Professor Serge Amselem's ESPE Research Award Lecture was entitled “Deciphering the Molecular Basis of Short Stature of Endocrine Origin”. After attending medical school with distinction, Serge Amselem spent his paediatric residency in Paris. He then had a two-year Fellowship at the Children's Hospital in Boston, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School. Once back in France, Serge was appointed Professor of Human Genetics at Paris XII University in 1996. Professor Amselem is now Director of INSERM Research Unit 654. The scientific contributions of Professor Amselem have been of outstanding quality. The research field of his group focuses on the study of the molecular and cellular bases of human hereditary growth disorders characterised by developmental abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary region or defects of peripheral receptive tissues. In each field, Professor Amselem's group has identified novel disease genes, and developed a functional profile to assess the consequences, at the cellular level, of the molecular defects identified in the patient. Outstanding Clinician Award Professor Jean-Claude Job was one of the founding members of ESPE and is an honorary member of the Lawson Wilkins Society for Paediatric Endocrinology. He has published more than 200 articles in respected international journals and has edited the Textbook Endocrinologie Pédiatrique et Croissance (Paediatric Endocrinology and Growth) which has been translated into English, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. Professor Jean-Claude Job has long contributed to the development of paediatric endocrinology in Europe and to the discipline as a whole. ESPE recognises Professor Jean-Claude Job's exceptional contribution to clinical paediatric endocrinology. We therefore congratulate him again on this most deserved 2005 ESPE Outstanding Clinician Award. Young Investigator Award Dr Christa Flück gave a presentation entitled “Following the Steroidogenic Pathway”. Her three outstanding publications presented were published in Nature Genetics, Molecular Endocrinology and Epilepsia. Dr Christa Flück trained in paediatric endocrinology in Berne under the mentorship of Professor Primus Mullis. In 2001 she moved to San Francisco to continue her research training under the supervision of Professor Walter Miller. Having recently moved back to Switzerland, Dr Flück continues to be involved in both clinical and basic research.