American Thyroid Association® Announces New Board of Directors

Newswise — Michael McDermott, MD, Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and Director of the Endocrinology and Diabetes Practice at the University of Colorado Hospital, began a one-year term as American Thyroid Association President and Christopher McCabe, PhD, Prof. Professor of Molecular Endocrinology, Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham, began a four-year term as American Thyroid Association Secretary. McDermott and McCabe join officers Anthony N. Hollenberg, MD, Treasurer and Julie Ann Sosa, MD, Past President.  

“The American Thyroid Association has a 100-year history of being the world leader in thyroid science and clinical practice.  It is an honor for me to serve this year as the ATA President.  The ATA leadership and staff are dedicated to promoting outstanding scientific achievement and clinical excellence in our members and providing the best possible educational resources for people who suffer from thyroid diseases.  We stand firm in our commitment to integrity, to diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplaces and society, and to the elimination of healthcare disparities,” said Michael McDermott, MD.

Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD, a Professor of Endocrinology at Georgetown University Medical Center, began a term as President-elect. Three new members also joined the Board of Directors: Zubair Baloch, MD, PhD, Maria Cabanillas, MD, David Steward, MD. Additionally, the Board of Directors welcomed two trainee observers, Brandon Moretti, MD and David Toro-Tobin, MD. Congratulations to all!

“In equal measure I am thrilled, excited, daunted and honored to be the Secretary of this great one-hundred-year-old association. I look forward to continuing to work constructively with the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee to further the American Thyroid Association’s laudable visions and objectives,” said Christopher McCabe, PhD. 

ATA recognizes all the dedicated members who ran for election and thanks the Nominating Committee, chaired by Martha Zeiger, MD. Special thanks to Past President Peter Kopp, MD, for his years of service on the ATA Executive Committee and to the other members retiring members of the board this year: Naifa Busaidy, MD, Antonio Di Cristofano, PhD, Ari Wassner, MD, Carol Chiung-Hui Peng, MD, and Rhea Udyavar, MD.

Officers

President
Michael McDermott, MD is Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and Director of the Endocrinology and Diabetes Practice at the University of Colorado Hospital. He graduated from Tulane Medical School in 1977. His Internal Medicine Internship and Residency (1977-1980), and Endocrinology and Metabolism Fellowship (1980-1982) were completed at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. He spent 20 years in the US Army during which time he was the Chief of Endocrinology at Fitzsimons (1993-1997) and served as the Endocrinology Consultant to the Surgeon General (1994-1997). He has been a member of the ATA since 1992 and has been the ATA CME Director since 2009. He served on the ATA Board of Directors 2007-2010. He was the Program Chair for the ATA annual meeting in New York in 2007 and has served on multiple ATA committees: Program Committee, Finance and Audit Committee, Publications Committee, Website Committee, Lab Services Committee, Webinar Program Committee, Development Committee, Corporate Leadership Council and ATA Centennial Task Force.

President-elect
Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD is a professor of endocrinology at Georgetown University. Her area of particular interest is hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer. Dr Jonklaas enjoys dividing her time between research, clinical activities, and teaching. Dr. Jonklaas has been a member of the ATA since 1999, serves on the editorial board of the journal Thyroid^®, and recently completed a term as ATA Secretary. She was co-chair of the ATA Task Force on Thyroid Hormone Replacement and co-chair of the inaugural Guidelines and Statements Committee. Being a member of the ATA has been an integral and invaluable part of Dr Jonklaas’ professional development.

Dr. Jonklaas has published research regarding treatment and outcomes in patients with thyroid cancer. She has also studied therapy for hypothyroidism and was the co-lead of the ATA’s 2014 guidelines for the treatment of hypothyroidism. She is involved in translational research and is the director of the Georgetown Clinical Research Unit.

Secretary
Christopher McCabe, PhD is Professor of Molecular Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham, as well as Director of Research for the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, Director of Sustainability for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences, and Director of the Human Biomaterials Resource Centre. A basic scientist, his research group has a longstanding interest in the mechanisms underpinning the aetiology and treatment of thyroid cancer. He has had over 30 clinical and non-clinical PhD students and has received multiple publication awards. He was awarded the Pitt-Rivers Award from the Society for Endocrinology in 2023.

He has chaired and served on multiple UK and international panels, including the Society for Endocrinology Science Committee, the SfE Programme Committee, the ICE POC, and is a previous Chair of the Wellcome Trust Basic Science Interview Committee. He currently sits on the Science Committee of the European Society of Endocrinology. Chris co-Chaired the ATA Program Committee (2021-2022), having previously been a panel member (2020-2021). 

Directors

Maria Cabanillas, MD is an Oncologic Endocrinologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She is a tenured Professor and the Faculty Director of Clinical Research in the department of Endocrine Neoplasia at MD Anderson.

As a clinician and clinical researcher, she treats both early and advanced thyroid cancers. Her research focus is in advanced and aggressive thyroid cancer, with an emphasis that includes molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapy. Dr. Cabanillas led the effort to create FAST, Facilitating Anaplastic thyroid cancer Specialized Treatment at MD Anderson–a multidisciplinary group who sees the highest volume of anaplastic thyroid cancer patients in the nation. In 2022 she was the recipient of the Beverly and Jack Randall Prize for Cancer Treatment for this comprehensive and innovative treatment program for anaplastic thyroid cancer, which led to a nearly 3-fold improvement in overall survival for these patients. She has received many other awards, including the Hossein Gharib Educational Lectureship Award from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE).

Dr. Cabanillas serves as the principal investigator on several clinical trials for the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer and has published over 140 manuscripts and book chapters, including publications in The New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA Oncology. She has been an active member of the American Thyroid Association since 2009 and completed her service on the 2021 anaplastic thyroid cancer guidelines committee for the American Thyroid Association. She has also been a member of the International Thyroid Oncology Group (ITOG) since 2012 and has volunteered her time on the Board of Directors and thyroid cancer task forces and various committees.

Zubair Baloch, MD, PhD is Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored more than 200 peer reviewed publications, book chapters and monographs and served as co-editor of the most recent “Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology”. Dr. Baloch has also served as the chair of the terminology and morphologic criteria committee of the 2007 NCI sponsored “Bethesda Thyroid FNA Classification Scheme”.

Dr. Baloch has taught at both national and international meetings. He has also served on the international panel which recommended the renaming of encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma to non-invasive follicular tumor with papillary like nuclear features (NIFTP) and the current WHO editorial board of classification of thyroid neoplasms. Dr. Baloch is chief editor of Diagnostic Cytopathology and member of the editorial board of many pathology journals. Dr. Baloch has served as the chair of ASCP annual meeting scientific program committee (2014-2018), member of Papanicolaou Society scientific program committee, USCAP education committee, ASC executive board and chair of the annual meeting scientific program committee, AACE thyroid nodule guideline task force, USCAP executive board, ATA lab-test committee and well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma management guidelines committee. Dr. Baloch’s has received many teaching and service awards.

David Steward, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Steward is internationally recognized for his expertise in thyroid disease and cancer. He was the first Otolaryngology HNS member and co-author of the ATA Thyroid Nodule and Cancer Guidelines and subsequent revisions. He is also co-author of the AAES Thyroidectomy Guidelines, and a co-author of the AAO-HNS Cranial Nerve Monitoring Guidelines. He is also a Steering Committee member for Advanced Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Focused Practice Designation for the American Board of Surgery and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Steward is an active clinical researcher with numerous publications, including practice-changing studies in thyroid disease.

Dr. Steward has been actively involved in the ATA for over 2 decades, serving as Chair of ATA Surgical Affairs Committee and 2-time Chair of the Nominating Committee. He also served repeatedly on the ATA Research and Program Committees and more recently on the Finance Committee. He also has a long record of service and leadership on Committees within the AAO-HNS, AHNS, and Triological Society. He has repeatedly served the ATA as Ultrasound Faculty and Faculty for the ATA Fellow course.

Brandon Moretti, MD is a first-year Endocrinology Fellow at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, MI. He completed medical school at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, Michigan. He is a native of the Detroit Metropolitan Area. As a resident, he published in Clinical Thyroidology^® with his research mentor, Dr. Maria Papaleontiou. Dr. Moretti is also a trainee member of Michigan Medicine’s ThyCARE research team working as a co-investigator specifically on health services research. His academic interests include general internal medicine, general endocrinology, thyroid cancer and thyroid disease, health services research, and quality improvement.

David Toro-Tobon, MD is a third year Clinical and Research Endocrinology Fellow, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He completed medical school at CES University in Medellin, Colombia, and internal medicine residency training at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. As a budding research thyroidologist, Dr. Toro-Tobon is committed to developing expertise in clinical thyroidology and utilizing artificial intelligence techniques for the evaluation and management of thyroid diseases.  He has conducted prospective, cross-sectional, and quality improvement projects in areas such as advanced medical therapies for thyroid eye disease, glucocorticoid metabolite profiles for patients with functional thyroid disease, and redifferentiation therapy for patients with progressive metastatic radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. His work has been presented at national and international meetings, and he has been the first author of several original articles. In addition, Dr. Toro-Tobon has completed formal training in medical education and has assumed several local and national leadership positions during his medical school, residency, and fellowship training.

The American Thyroid Association^® (ATA^®) is dedicated to transforming thyroid care through clinical excellence, education, scientific discovery and advocacy in a collaborative community. ATA is an international professional medical society with more than 1,700 members from 70 countries around the world.

The ATA promotes thyroid awareness and information through its online Clinical Thyroidology® for the Public (distributed free of charge to over 12,000 patients and public subscribers) and extensive, authoritative explanations of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA® website www.thyroid.org serves as a bonafide clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the Internet. 

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