ECE 2006

ECE 2006 is fast approaching - make sure you register now at www.ece2006.com. Enjoy a wide range of scientific symposia, clinical management workshops, expert sessions as well as some fantastic social activities including golf, football, tennis and an evening of Scottish dancing! Remember that you can become a member of the newly formed European Society of Endocrinology free for 2006 when you register

European Society of Endocrinology launches its new website

The European Society of Endocrinology has launched its new website at www.euro-endo.org. Sign up for membership, obtain details of upcoming meetings and congresses and view grants available here.

European Society of Endocrinology Ordinary General Council Meeting

The first meeting of the European Society for Endocrinology will be held at 12.20 on April 4 2006 in the Clyde Auditorium at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre at ECE 2006. All affiliate members of ESE and individual members who have signed up for membership are invited to attend.

EJE seeks new Chief Editor - Extended Deadline 15 March 2006

EJE is looking for a new Chief Editor as Professor Paolo Beck-Peccoz ends his 8 year term in 2006. The new Chief Editor will formally assume responsibility at the end of the year 2006. Applications and nominations should be made no later than March 15 2006. Details on how to do this can be found here:http://www.eje-online.org/preview_misc/chiefeditoradvert.dtl

Hormone cheats risk it all for gold (New Scientist, 11 February 2006)

ATHLETES are gambling with their health as they seek performance-enhancing drugs that will not be picked up by dope tests. This was the message from scientists and physicians at the Hormones, Nutrition and Physical Performance conference in Turin, Italy, last week. http://press.newscientist.com/data/pdf/press/2538/253810.pdf

Large European study finds gene variant is no strong risk factor for osteoporosis (PLoS Medicine Press Release 21 February 2006)

Variations in a number of different genes and environmental factors affect an individual’s risk for osteoporosis. Several gene variants have been linked to osteoporosis, but few have stood the test of time. The GENOMOS study now shows that a top candidate gene plays a role in osteoporosis, but with effects that are less marked than those described in previous studies. No weblink: released on http://www.alphagalileo.com. Registration needed to view.

New "Science & Medicine" section to WADA website

WADA have launched a new section to their website, which includes: Research, Anti-doping Laboratories, List of Prohibited Substances and Methods, Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE), Science Topics. Why not visit the site for more information: http://www.wada-ama.org/en/dynamic.ch2?pageCategory.id=249

Commission adopts safety rules for donation and procurement of human cells and tissues (Europa 8 February 2006)

The European Commission has today adopted technical rules for the donation, procurement and testing of human cells and tissues throughout the EU. The new rules will help with the implementation of EU legislation on quality and safety standards for tissues and cells, which must be fully transposed by Member States by April 2006. http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_threats/human_substance/tissues_en.htm

EU distributes access to 2006 paper: “Dietary patterns and their socio-demographic determinants in 10 European countries: data from the DAFNE databan”

You can view the paper here: http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_projects/2003/action1/docs/2003_1_09_a1_en.pdf

New online service: Faculty of 1000 Medicine

Thousands of leading researchers and clinicians are contributing to a new on-line service, called ‘Faculty of 1000 Medicine’, to help medics keep abreast of valuable new research. The site will review important medical articles and related trends. Subscription required. http://www.facultyof1000.com

Adrenal incidentaloma – follow-up results from a Swedish prospective study

Birgitta Bülow, Svante Jansson, Claes Juhlin, Lars Steen, Marja Thorén, Hans Wahrenberg, Stig Valdemarsson, Bo Wängberg and Bo Ahrén on behalf of the Swedish Research Council Study Group of Endocrine Abdominal Tumours

Discoveries of adrenal incidentalomas (AIs), lesions identified during screening for non-adrenal disease, are becoming more common as diagnostic abdominal screening is used increasingly frequently. Once identified, it is important to establish which are benign and which require intervention. There is currently little longitudinal research on the risk of developing malignancy or hormonal hypersecretion in patients with AIs.

Ten years ago the Swedish Research Council Study Group of Endocrine Tumours set up a multicentre diagnostic programme to identify those AI patients eligible for surgery. Of 381 patients, the 229 that did not receive surgery were monitored in a 30-month follow-up study to assess their long-term risk of developing malignancy/hypersecretion, the results of which are now presented by Bulow and colleagues. Their findings confirm existing evidence of a very low risk of developing malignancy in an AI, despite a slight increase in tumour size, and that development of hormonal hypersecretion is also very rare.

These authors conclude that, while their results indicate a minimal risk of patients initially diagnosed as low risk developing a carcinoma, further follow-up studies are essential. In the ten years since this study began, other diagnostic approaches taking into account density as well as size of the tumour, homogeneity, boundary smoothness and computed tomography attenuation, have become more common. The use of these more sophisticated diagnostic methods in future AI follow-up studies could improve accuracy in detection of malignancies early on.

154-3 pp 419-423

Royan International Research Award: Reproductive Biomedicine & Stem Cells

In 2006 the awards will be granted to five researchers who have been able to carry out the best researches on Reproductive Biomedicine or any other related subjects. In addition to international section, three domestic outstanding research will be awarded. The research topics may fall within the following scope: 1) Reproductive biomedicine; Male & Female Infertility, Embryology, Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility Physiology and Immunology, Reproductive Biology and Reproductive Health 2) Stem Cell Biology and Technology.
Closing date: 10th April 2006
Contact: Secretariat
Phone: 00 98 21 2413790
Address: P.O.Box 19395-4644, Tehran, Iran
Email: Info@RoyanInstitute.org
http://rdfunding.org.uk/queries/ListGrantDetails.asp?GrantID=4151

Exploratory Grant Program in Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism

The intent of this initiative is to encourage researchers to apply novel technologies, develop new tools, biomarkers and model systems, and test innovative concepts of potential diagnostic and therapeutic relevance to diseases within their mission including diabetes and its complications, obesity, endocrine disorders including osteoporosis, cystic fibrosis and inborn errors of metabolism. http://www.rdfunding.org.uk/queries/ListGrantDetails.asp?GrantID=7214

Funding opportunities on the RDInfo website

www.rdinfo.org.uk

Funding opportunities on the EUROPA website

Keep a look out for new opportunies on the EUROPA website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/endocrine/projects_opportunities_en.html

NORD/Roscoe Brady Lysosomal Storage Diseases Fellowships

The NORD (National Organisation for Rare Disorders)/ Roscoe Brady Lysosomal Storage Diseases Fellowships are designed to develop and support clinicians beginning their medical career that will specialise and focus on research, treatment and coordination of multidisciplinary care for people suffering with lysosomal storage diseases.

Closing Date: 01 May 2006
Contact: Stefanie Putkowski
Email: research@rarediseases.org

Cooley’s Anaemia Research Fellowship

The areas of interest for funding emphasise, but are not limited to, studies of globin gene regulation, fetal haemoglobin production, haematopoietic stem cell research, bone marrow transplantation, globin gene transfer and expression, approaches to iron chelation and iron overload, endocrine and cardiac disorders in thalassemia, clinical trails of novel therapies, and transfusion therapy and its complications. Closing Date: 17 March 2006 Contact: National Executive Director - Phone: 001 800 522 7222 http://rdfunding.org.uk/queries/ListGrantDetails.asp?GrantID=2600

Bookmarkers of Autoimmunity in Type 1 Diabetes (R21)

Two areas of great need in type 1 diabetes (T1D) are 1) the prediction and early detection of autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells, and 2) biomarkers for ongoing autoimmune disease which could be used to monitor responses in clinical trials. This RFA is intended to facilitate progress in this area by soliciting new applications focused on the detection of the human autoimmune response in T1D. To be considered responsive, proposed approaches must have the potential to lead to the development of a test useful in a clinical setting;

Release date: 28 December 2005
Expiration Date: April 13, 2006

Specialised Cooperative Centres Program In Reproduction And Infertility Research (U54)

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) provides funding for a limited number of research centres in the reproductive sciences. These centres provide an arena for multidisciplinary interactions among basic and clinical scientists interested in establishing high quality programs in reproduction and infertility research. The centres will also serve as national resources for the training and career development of new scientists electing to pursue research in high priority areas of reproduction and infertility research. The purpose of this RFA is to announce the annual recompetition of the Specialized Cooperative Centres Program in Reproduction Research now called the Specialized Cooperative Centres Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research. The benefit of this activity will be to the infertile couples, their health-care providers, and the public.

Release Date: January 19, 2006
Expiration Date: August 12, 2006

Call for proposals for Marie Curie Conferences and Training Courses

The Marie Curie Conferences & Training Courses aim to provide short-term training opportunities to allow researchers to network and keep abreast of the latest scientific developments in their field.
Closing Date: 17 May 2006 at 17.00 (Brussels local time)

NIH Grants

See all grants & finding opportunities at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm

March 17 2006
Final COMPRENDO Project Workshop (Consortium for Comparative Research on Endocrine Disrupters)
Frankfurt, Germany
Contact: Stefanie Skaliks-Adler
Tel: +49-(0)69-798-24872
Email: s.adler@zoology.uni-frankfurt.de
Website: http://www.comprendo-project.org/index2.html

18 – 22 March 2006
Frontiers of Skeletal Biology: 11th Workshop on Cell Biology of Bone and Cartilage in Health and Disease
Davos, Switzerland
Tel: +41 31 389 92 76
Fax: +41 31 389 92 84
Email: secretariat@hfleisch.ch

20-21 March 2006
International Conference on Diabetes Cell Therapy
Tel Aviv, Israel
Contact: Shulamit Nuss, JDRF Israel
Tel: 972 52 363 2373 Fax: 972 3 510 0724
E-mail: snuss@jdrf.org.il Web: http://www.comtecmed.com/dcellt

27-29 March 2006
The Athens PCOS International Congress
Athens, Greece
Contact: Yiota Mitroyianni, 1, Kolofontos & Evridikis str., 161 21 Athens
Tel: +30 210 7257693 Fax: +30 210 7257532
E-mail: info@pcos2006.com Web: http://www.pcos2006.com

28-30 March
IBC`s Targeting Metabolic Syndrome
Boston, USA
Contact: James Prudhomme, IBC Life Sciences, One Research Drive, Suite 400A, Westborough, MA, 01581-5195
Tel: +1 508-616-5550 Fax: +1 508-616-5522
E-mail: reg@ibcusa.com Web: http://www.IBCLifeSciences.com/metabolic?source=3184-2

01 May 2006
Intersex
Istanbul, Turkey
Contact: Hüseyin Özbey, Iz Organizasyon Kurumu, Okçumusa Cad. No.2 Tezgül İş Hanı, Kat.4 Daire.60 Şişhane - İstanbul
Tel: +90 212 235 17 89 - 90 Fax: +90 212 239 71 69
E-mail: dgundog@superonline.com Web: http://www.intersex-tr.org

24 – 27 June 2006
ENDO 2006
Boston, USA
The Endocrine Society, 8401 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 900, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815-5817
Tel: +1 301 9410200
Fax: +1 301 9410259
Email: endostaff@endo-society.org
Web: http://www.endo-society.org/scimeetings

If you have any feedback on the content of the alert, email: jo.thurston@endocrinology.org