Membership payment reminder

A last call for those members who have not yet paid their membership fee for 2010. Members who have not paid their 2010 membership fee by 30 June 2010 will be lapsed and will no longer receive membership benefits. For a quick and secure method of payment, members can pay on-line at the ESE membership renewal page.

1st ESE Clinical Update - case submission deadline 17 September

The ESE Clinical Update Course is the first in an annual programme of international residential events providing essential training for all trainees and an update for established endocrinologists. The event is designed not only to give a vigorous update on current clinical practice but also to encourage networking between trainees and established endocrinologists.

The 1st ESE Clinical Update will be held at the Porto Palacio Congress Hotel in Porto, Portugal from 22-24 October 2010.

The Clinical Update course website is now live and registration is open. Register before the early bird deadline - 3 October 2010 - to get a reduced registration fee.

Call for cases: prospective delegates are expected to submit clinical case studies for presentation and discussion at the ESE Clinical Update interactive workshop sessions. Further details and a utility for submitting cases online can be found at the Clinical Update course website. The deadline for submission of cases is 17 September 2010.

ESE - Summer School on Endocrinology - NEW!

We are pleased to announce this joint project between the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), the German Society of Endocrinology (DGE) and the DGE Young Active Research (YAR).

The Summer School will be held between 18-22 July 2010 at the Monastery Mehrerau in Bregenz, Austria. Further information, including a preliminary programme and registration details can be found on the Education pages on the ESE website.

ECE Prize lectures now on-line!

During ECE 2010 the prestigious Geoffrey Harris prize was awarded to Professor Iain Robinson (UK) and the European Journal of Endocrinology prize was awarded to Professor Lorenz Hofbauer (Germany). Both the prize lectures are now available to view as on-line virtual presentations on the ESE website.

Please go to www.endo-lectures.org to view the lectures.

Announcement: New impact factors of the ESE’s official journals

The new impact factors for ESE's official journals have now been announced.

The impact factor for European Journal of Endocrinology remains extremely strong at 3.539. This is not far short of its record-breaking figure for the previous year, withstanding a significant increase in the number of papers it published which would normally depress the impact factor. This is an extraordinary achievement for the journal. The recent invigoration in the programme of commissioned review articles, together with the strict policy on acceptance rates should stand the journal in good stead in future years. The five-year impact factor also remains impressive at 3.796.

Journal of Endocrinology’s impact factor has risen slightly to 2.860 and the underlying five-year figure is 3.045. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology has held firm at 3.221. JME’s energetic commissioning of review articles has proved very successful over the last year and a half, so this should position it well for future impact factors. JOE has also recently begun to increase its review content, similarly bolstering its prospects.

Endocrine-Related Cancer continues to give the strongest showing of ESE’s four journals at 4.282. Its five-year figure remains robust at 5.683.

ESE journals are on-line at http://www.euro-endo.org/journals.

ESE On-line Reviews Collection - New for ESE Members

All reviews, commentaries and hypothesis articles published in ESE’s official journals since the beginning of 2008 have been collated to form the ESE On-line Reviews Collection. These full text files are freely available to all.

ESE On-line Reviews Collection

How do I access my free EJE on-line? A reminder for ESE members...

ESE members receive free on-line access to European Journal of Endocrinology with their 2010 membership. To access your EJE on-line please go to www.bioscialliance.org and enter your ESE membership number and password. This is the same password members use to enter the members section of the ESE website.

Once logged onto www.bioscialliance.org please scroll down the page. On the right hand side click the link to EJE on-line. The next page will show two green ticks, if your page does not show two green ticks please contact the ESE Secretariat (address below). If you are showing two green ticks please click on “Free member access to EJE on-line”. This will take you to EJE on-line.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact the ESE Secretariat at info@euro-endo.org.

ECE 2011 - Abstract submission now open!

The 13th European Congress of Endocrinology will be held on 30 April - 4 May 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

On-line abstract submission for the congress is now open and will close on 7 January 2011. This year's congress received more abstract submissions than ever before, and we hope that ECE 2011 will continue in this trend to provide another high quality scientific programme of lectures and poster presentations.

ECE 2011

ICE/ECE 2012 - save the date

The 15th International Congress of Endocrinology will be held jointly with the 14th European Congress of Endocrinology on 5-9 May 2012 in Fortezza Da Basso, Florence, Italy.

To register your interest in ICE/ECE 2012 please contact ece2012@endocrinology.org stating your name and country of residence.

European Young Active Research meeting

The 12th Annual Meeting of Young Active Research (YAR) will be held on 1-3 October 2010 in Dusseldorf, Germany. The YAR initiative was founded during the annual meeting of the German Endocrine Society (DGE) in 1999 and aims to increase the mutual exchange between young scientists working in the field of endocrinology. Further information can be found at the link below.

YAR website

BioSciAlliance - create your profile today and be part of the endocrine community!

BioSciAlliance is an exciting service from BioScientifica that allows members to access a host of services using a single gateway. BioSciAlliance - www.bioscialliance.org - allows you to renew your membership; access abstract management and registration for ESE meetings; update your membership profile and interact with fellow members, all using a single website.

Furthermore, ESE members get free access to the European Journal of Endocrinology via this route.

ESE members can logon to BioSciAlliance using their current membership number and password. Once you are logged on, you can build up your own profile and search for fellow members by geographical location or areas of interest. In addition, BioSciAlliance provides a wealth of educational resources, BioScientifica's world calendar of events and news articles on a range of biomedical specialities.

Communicate; Collaborate; Innovate - logon to BioSciAlliance today.

Logon to BioSciAlliance

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome have higher BPA blood levels (EurekAlert, 21 June 2010)

A study from the University of Athens Medical School, Greece, has found that women with PCOS have on average higher circulating levels of the purported endocrine-disrupting chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) than healthy controls. The study was presented at the Endocrine Society's 92nd annual meeting in San Diego.

Full article

Lemurs lose weight with 'life-extending' supplement (AlphaGalileo, 21 June 2010)

The effects of the proposed anti-obesity compound reservatrol have been studied for the first time in primates by a team from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France.

Full article

Link between low calcium intake and increased risk of osteoporosis and hypertension in postmenopausal women (Medical News Today, 18 June 2010)

Research presented at the 2010 Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy has shown that low intake of calcium from dairy sources is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis and hypertension in post-menopausal women.

Full article

Testosterone deficiency in childhood cancer survivors (AlphaGalileo, 3 June 2010)

A thesis by Dr Patrick Romerius of Lund University, Sweden, addresses reproductive function in male childhood cancer survivors, and has gone some way towards developing a biomarker for identifying male candidates most at risk of becoming infertile following cancer therapy. The findings could help direct the provision of fertility preservation procedures prior to cancer treatment.

Full article

New research supports 'biological passport' for growth hormone doping in sport (AlphaGalileo, 1 June 2010)

A study published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology has shown that an athlete's blood levels of certain growth hormone biomarkers alter very little over the athletic season. The findings suggest that these biomarkers could be used in an 'athlete biological passport' to catch athletes that inject growth hormone to improve performance.

Full article

From Brain Drain to Brain Gain - The Morebrain Project

Mobility of researchers is a driving force for innovation through collaboration, yet this can sometimes lead to a shortage in research expertise through excessive export - a phenomenon termed brain drain.

An EU-funded project is looking to understand the factors that influence researchers to move between countries, called the 'Morebrain project'. As a researcher you are invited to take 15 minutes to complete an online survey that will give some insights into the push and pull incentives behind researchers' mobility decisions.

You can take part in the Morebrain project by following the link below.

The Morebrain project

Road map for diabetes research in Europe - public consultation

The road map for diabetes research in Europe (DIAMAP) project is funded by the European Commission FP7 HEALTH 200701 and coordinated by EURADIA.

DIAMAP is intended to chart the future of diabetes research in Europe and to guide funding agencies in drawing up future calls for research funding. Documents from the project are available to view at the website below, and were recently open to public consultation. The final report will be made available during the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in September.

You can view the reports and submit feedback at http://www.diamap.eu, although please be advised that the official public consultation period has now passed.

Novel KISSIR mutation in familial hypogonadism

Patients with mutations in KISSIR (kisspeptin receptor) gene present with delayed puberty and no apparent associated conditions. Previous studies show that the kisspeptin – KISSIR system may play an important role in GNRH secretion during fetal development in utero.

Teles et al. report the results of their investigation of KISSIR gene defects in a cohort of 99 Brazilian patients with normosmic isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (nIHH) or constitutional delay of puberty (CDP).

They found one novel homozygous KISSIR mutation in two siblings with nIHH. The brothers who carried this mutation had no clinical evidence of pubertal development at the ages of 14 and 20 years. Computational analysis of this indel mutation predicted the generation of an abnormal protein. Furthermore they identified only known polymorphisms in patients with CDP. They concluded that loss-of-function mutations of KISSIR represents a rare couse of nIHH and was absent in patients with CDP. They also describe a novel KISSSIR homozygous splice acceptor site mutation in the familial form of nIHH. Teles, GM et al (2010), European Journal of Endocrinology.

DOI: 10.1530/EJE-10-0012

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International grants

A number of grants are available from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) which fund projects that aim to solve the clinical and scientific problems associated with type 1 diabetes.

Grants available include fellowships, funding for young investigators and projects that address priority areas designated by the JDRF. Further information on the grant types and priority areas can be found by following the link below - priority areas include beta cell and immune therapies, complications of diabetes and glucose control.

The deadlines for all the grants currently open are in July. Please follow the link below to find a variety of funding opportunities for research into type 1 diabetes.

JDRF grants

RCP Samuel Leonard Simpson fellowships in endocrinology

Applications are now open for the 2010 round of the Royal College of Physicians' (RCP) prestigious Samuel Leonard Simpson fellowships in endocrinology. The fellowships encourage the exchange of ideas and techniques through travel.

Up to £8000 is available which may be awarded to one or more fellow(s). Applications will be considered from suitably qualified UK cadidates wishing to travel abroad or from those abroad wishing to visit the UK. To apply for the fellowship please go to the RCP website by following the link below. The deadline for applications is 1 September 2010.

Further details

Canon Foundation in Europe research fellowships

Each year the Canon Foundation in Europe awards up to 15 fellowships to highly qualified researchers in Europe or Japan. The fellowship involves an exchange programme where European researchers travel to a host institution (of the fellow's choosing) in Japan to pursue their research and learn new skills and techniques, and vice versa.

Proposals from all disciplines are welcome, and the fellowships offer financial support of up to Euro 27,500. The deadline for applications is 15 September 2010. For further information please follow the link below.

Further details

European Society for Clinical Investigation Awards 2011

Applications are open for the 2011 European Sociaty for Clinical Investigation Awards. Two grant awards, basic/translational and clinical, are available to those researchers that have made an exceptional contribution to clinically-oriented biomedical research in Europe.

Receipt of an award, which stand at Euro 10,000 each, signifies a long track record of truly innovative research that has significantly improved modern medicine. Self-applications and nominations by others are both accepted, and must be received by 15 September 2010. For more information please follow the link below.

Further details

Health Innovation Challenge Fund - Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust's Health Innovation Challenge Fund has been developed in partnership with the Department of Health and seeks to fund solutions to key challenges for the benefit of patients in the NHS and beyond.

The current round of funding welcomes proposals to overcome challenges in the management of chronic diseases - those for which a 'cure' does not exist at present and that can only currently be controlled.

The scope of the current round is therefore huge and those with research interests in endocrine conditions (which fall under the 'chronic' category in the majority of cases) are encouraged to apply. The dealine for preliminary applications is 1 October 2010. For more information please follow the link below.

Further details

European Science Federation Research Networking Programmes

On 1 July 2010, the European Science Federation will open a call for proposals to its 2010 round of Research Networking Programme funding. The grant programme funds networking activities - namely those that bring together scientists and professionals from different places to meet and exchange ideas.

The activity should address a major scientific issue at the European level, and can take the form of a meeting, exchange programme, training event, or other networking activity.

For full details of the grant programme and the eligibility criteria, please follow the link below. Applications open on 1 July and close on 14 October 2010.

Further details

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