ESE Election Results

The European Society of Endocrinology would like to announce that the new President is Professor Eberhard Nieschlag (Germany). The new Executive Committee members are: Professor Maria Alevizaki (Greece), Professor Vera Popovic (Serbia) and Professor Peter Trainer (UK). The ESE would like to welcome the new President and Executive Committee members and express their thanks to the retiring members - Steven Lamberts (The Netherlands), Michael Sheppard (UK) and Paolo Beck-Peccoz (Italy) for their support. Professor Christian Strasburger (Germany) took over as Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Endocrinology on 1 July 2007 and he now joins the Executive Committee as an ex-officio member.

ECE 2008

The 10th European Congress of Endocrinology will be hosted by the German Endocrine Society and will be held at the ICC in Berlin, 3 - 7 May 2008. Further details will be available at the link below.

ECE 2008

EMBO - Stem Cell Research: Status, Prospects, Prerequisites

The European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) has published a summary document providing an introduction to the field of stem cell biology and its terminology for non-specialists, and presenting current stem cell research and development in a variety of areas. The document outlines action needed at policy level to enable stem cell research to fulfil its potential in Europe, and contains contributions from a group of leading scientists in stem cell research, application and patient advocacy, who met under the auspices of EMBO in April 2006.

EMBO website

New database to boost EU-Eastern Europe research cooperation

A new database has been launched by the EU-funded NIS-NEST (New and Emerging Science and Technology in NIS [Newly Independent States] countries) project to increase cooperation between researchers from the EU and Eastern Europe. The online database includes information on research institutions, universities, companies and public organisations, as well as individual researchers, from Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and the Newly Independent States. Visitors to the website can search for partners by research field, country or language.

NIS-NET website

Guidelines for the Management of Thyroid Cancer

The Royal College of Physicians in the UK has published the second edition of "Guidelines for the Management of Thyroid Cancer". These guidelines aim to improve the management of thyroid cancer and thus reduce disease-specific mortality, enhance quality of life of thyroid cancer survivors, and limit iatrogenic complications. For more information, please click on the link below.

RCP website

Man-made chemicals blamed as many more girls than boys are born in Arctic (Guardian, 12 September 2007)

The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme has found that double the number of girls compared to boys are being born in some Arctic villages. This is thought to be due to the high levels of man-made chemicals found in the blood of pregnant women.

News article

Pill use 'may cut risk of cancer' (BBC News Online, 12 September 2007)

A study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that using the contraceptive pill can reduce the overall risk of a woman developing cancer.

News article

Radical surgery may help combat diabetes (Daily Telegraph, 31 August 2007)

Gastric bypass surgery may be the latest tool to fight Type 2 diabetes. Doctors have found that removing part of the lower intestine - a procedure carried out to help weight loss in extreme cases - also has an effect on diabetes.

News article

Breast cancer 'linked to use of deodorants' (Daily Telegraph, 4 September 2007)

New research shows that women's use of deodorants may be linked to increased risk of breast cancer. Scientists have discovered high levels of aluminium (present in most deodorants) in breast tissue taken from breast cancer patients who had undergone mastectomies.

News article

Effect of exercise on plasma visfatin and eotaxin levels

The world is now witnessing an increase in the incidence and prevalence of both obesity and asthma. Recent studies have found that obesity is associated with infiltration of macrophages into adipose tissue, and that genes related to immunity including chemokines are up-regulated in adipose tissue of obese mice. Visfatin is a recently discovered adipokine that is highly expressed in visceral fat. It has been shown that adipocyte visfatin expression and plasma concentrations increase with obesity in animals and humans. Interestingly, visfatin also possesses insulin-mimetic effects. Eotaxin is an important chemokine in asthma and has recently been reported to be associated with obesity in mice and humans. In this study, Choi et al evaluate the effect of exercise on plasma visfatin and eotaxin levels in association with cardiovascular risk factors. The study was carried out in 48 non-diabetic Korean women. The women were evaluated before and after a 12-week exercise programme which included aerobic exercise (45 min/session, 300 Kcal/day) and muscle strength training (20 min/session, 100 Kcal/day) five times per week. The results showed that plasma visfatin levels were elevated in obese subjects when compared with non-obese subjects and that eotaxin levels were elevated in subjects with central obesity as compared with those without central obesity. Multiple regression analyses showed that visfatin levels were associated with body mass index and eotaxin levels were associated with waist circumference and body weight. The researchers also found that after the exercise programme, body weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose and insulin resistance of the participants were decreased. Further there was a significant reduction in plasma visfatin and eotaxin levels. The authors thus conclude that exercise training leads to a reduction in plasma visfatin and eotaxin levels and weight loss.The study thus suggests an association between the beneficial effect of exercise and changes in visfatin and eotaxin levels. K M Choi, J H Kim, G J Cho, S H Baik, H S Park and S M Kim Effect of exercise training on plasma visfatin and eotaxin levels. European Journal of Endocrinology 2007 157 433-438.

ESF Research Networking Programmes - Call for Proposals 2007

The European Science Foundation (ESF) is inviting applications for its Research Networking Programme. This is a networking activity that seeks to bring together nationally funded research activities for four to five years, to address a major scientific issue or a science-driven topic of research infrastructure, at the European level with the aim of advancing the frontiers of science. For more information, please follow the link below. The deadline for applications is 4 pm CET, 30 October 2007.

ESF Research Networking Programme

ESPE Visiting Scholarship

The ESPE Visiting Scholarship offers financial support to members of the Society or to their collaborators in the view of gathering information and experience on a specific research issue OR on a laboratory technique in the field of paediatric endocrinology. Proposed projects should endeavour to increase general know-how in paediatric endocrinology at the recipient's home institution. The stated aim of the scholarship, as agreed upon by ESPE and the sponsoring company, is to help recipients to overcome unforeseen obstacles which may arise in the course of a research project in a simple, quick and streamlined manner. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2007. More information is available at the link below.

ESPE website

Funding opportunities for international collaborations - BBSRC International Workshops

International Workshops match numbers of UK scientists with equivalents from other countries to identify areas of commonality and explore the potential for international collaboration. In the past the International Workshop scheme has provided around 8 awards each year, of about £10k each, for International Workshops aimed at developing relations in topics important to BBSRC's scientific strategy. Applicants should ensure that the proposed workshops can be related to the main objectives contained in the BBSRC Strategic Plan, 10-Year Vision and International Strategy documents (available on the BBSRC website). In previous years, International Workshops have created international synergy and many have led to successful international research projects. The closing date for applications is 14 November 2007.

BBSRC website

4 year Ph.D program with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Via www.findaphd.com. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] is an international research organisation with its main laboratory in Heidelberg [Germany], and four outstations in Hinxton, [UK] [the European Bioinformatics Institute, EBI], Grenoble [France], Hamburg [Germany], and Monterotondo [Italy]. Our research projects are interdisciplinary and offer exciting opportunities for biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, informaticians and medical graduates who want to pursue a PhD in the molecular life sciences. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory will award predoctoral fellowships in 2008 to university graduates wishing to study for a PhD. Areas of study include: cell biology & biophysics, structural & computational biology, developmental biology, bioinformatics, gene expression and mouse biology. Funding is available for up to 50 students with a competitive tax-free stipend. The deadline for applications is 17 December 2007. More information is available at the links below:

EMBL International Ph.D Programme

Post-doctoral research fellowship

Via www.rdfunding.co.uk. The Health Research Board in Ireland is inviting applications for post-doctoral fellowships. These fellowships are aimed at post-doctoral researchers with 24 -72 months experience, who would like to develop their research career in a health related discipline in Ireland. The deadline for applications is 5 pm, 5 October 2007.

Post-doctoral research fellowships

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

Please feel free to pass this email alert on to anyone you think may be interested.