Incoming Endocrine Society president navigates virtual meeting transition, changes in wake of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in professional societies around the world canceling or rescheduling annual medical meetings and conferences, and the Endocrine Society was no exception. The Endocrine Society Board of Directors announced March 9 that its annual in-person meeting would be canceled, citing “an unprecedented health emergency” due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
For Endocrine Today Editorial Board Member Carol H. Wysham, MD, recently elected to serve as the Endocrine Society’s president for the 2021-2022 term, the change brings new challenges as well as opportunities. Wysham and the organization’s board of directors are now working to arrange an all-virtual Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, tentatively scheduled to take place in June.
“We will have virtual offerings, but it will not be the entire meeting,” Wysham told Healio. “One of the things we are looking into — and this is in early discussions — is how to bring forward some of the symposia and plenary-type sessions into the 2021 meeting? Due to the fact the the initial ENDO 2021 planning session will be virtual, we will have to determine how the committee members can maintain the interactions necessary to maintain the effectiveness of our meeting steering committee process.”
Wysham, an endocrinologist at Rockwood/MultiCare Health Systems in Spokane, Washington, and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington, will serve as president-elect for 1 year before becoming president in April 2021. Her research and clinical work focus on preventing and managing cardiovascular complications for people with diabetes. She also served as a member of the Endocrine Society’s leadership Council — the forerunner to the board of directors — and was a past chair of the Annual Meeting Steering Committee that organized ENDO 2016.
Healio spoke with Wysham about her goals for the Endocrine Society as incoming president, as well as what sparked her interest in diabetes research, the importance of finding a mentor, and her family’s love for cooking and travel.
What was the defining moment that led you to your field?
Wysham: Although I entered medical school with the expectation of becoming a family physician, my interest in the science of endocrinology from undergraduate physiology was rekindled in medical school. My internal medicine attending, Lawrence Hunsicker, MD, was very instrumental in cementing my decision to pursue adult endocrinology. At the time I started my fellowship in 1983, diabetes therapy was fairly primitive. That was the year that human insulin was approved, home glucose monitoring was just coming into reality, and the DCCT was beginning enrollment. The importance of control of blood pressure and lipids had yet to be established. My interest in diabetes developed along with the advances in the field.
What area of research in endocrinology most interests you right now and why?
Wysham: I have dedicated most of my career to the goal of improving clinical outcomes in people with diabetes. I have been involved in research developing new therapeutics in type 2 diabetes and am very excited about the ability to provide patient-centered care due to the discovery of the nonglycemic effects of these medications, including weight, cardiovascular risk reduction and effects on chronic kidney disease. I am also very interested in the intersection between diabetes, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.
What advice would you offer a student in medical school today?
Wysham: Learn the science and stay curious. If they are interested in research, find a mentor early. If they are interested in clinical practice, don’t forget the patient. Technology has improved our ability to understand disease, but the humanistic side of medicine cannot be lost.
As you prepare to take on the role of president of the Endocrine Society for 2021-2022, what will change now in light of the disruptions this year, and what are your goals?
Wysham: My year as president begins at the 2021 annual meeting, and “my” meeting will be the 2022 ENDO meeting. I jokingly tell people that I have training wheels on, and I am told they’re coming off really soon.
Typically, we use the latter part of ENDO as our annual business meeting, which is when we turn the gavel over from one president to the president-elect. This year, with the in-person meeting canceled, that process will happen over Zoom, virtually, early next month.
What has happened this year is going to change a lot. We have been talking for a while about the need for different educational offerings to meet the digital age, so having had this happen actually forced our hand, in a good way, to proceed with some of our plans. A little lemonade came out of these lemons, because now we will be pushing, in just a couple of months, what likely would have taken maybe a year or more.
All of this will impact what we are going to be doing with future meetings. This means we will most likely have digital offerings for ENDO going forward — not for free in future years, but for those who want to register but are unable to or don’t want to travel. I’m very excited about the fact that something we have been talking about for at least 3 or 4 years is coming to fruition so quickly.
Beyond these changes, I would like to increase the value of membership to basic and clinical scientists and to clinicians, through providing enhanced education and mentorship and advocacy for funding research and patient care. I hope to increase membership to include basic and clinical scientists in areas outside of traditional endocrinology, such as lipidology and the hormonal regulation of cancer and vascular disease, among others. I want to open membership to all providing endocrine care, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses, and increase outreach and support for those in training to foster their interest in careers in endocrinology.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of practicing medicine?
Wysham: I particularly enjoy foreign travel. My husband was raised in a missionary family in India and still speaks fluent Hindi. We have enjoyed over a dozen trips full of adventure in India. My daughter-in-law was born in China. She has arranged a tour in China for the whole family in September 2020. Depending on the travel situation at that time, we are hoping to see the country for the first time.
My love of cooking began with my father, who loved to prepare lavish feasts for our family. When our son showed interest in his teens, I taught him how to prepare a wide variety of meals for our family, using Bon Appetit as his main source of recipes. He has subsequently taught me several kitchen skills, including the appropriate use of a chef’s knife. Now I love to experiment with new recipes, using new techniques and a variety of cuisines. My husband is an enthusiastic beneficiary of my efforts.
Our family has had a cabin on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for almost 30 years. It has and continues to be a gathering spot for the four generations of the Wysham family. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: Wysham reports no relevant financial disclosures.