Endocrine Abstracts

A career trajectory is rarely a straight line, or even a neatly curved line, but in my case it definitely meandered in different directions at different times. An early interest in psychology morphed into a devotion to language and psycholinguistics, but then this changed, after rather a trivial upset, into medicine, and possible psychiatry; in turn I have gradually moved via neurology through neuroendocrinology to endocrine oncology. I have always been lucky in moving to positions where I could follow my enthusiasms rather than any planned scheme, a path much less possible with our more structured approach to training in medicine. By way of in vitro pituitary studies, I worked with many colleagues to develop hypothalamic incubation systems, followed the close interplay between body and brain with studies into cytokine and gaseous neurotransmitters, and at the same time fortunately being gifted neuropeptides to explore neuroendocrine regulation. Over time, I moved into the molecular biological era and - with many collaborators - we were able to now investigate the molecular basis of many endocrine tumours, and the clinical development of diagnostic and therapeutic, especially theranostic, techniques. This path has also allowed me to work and, to some extent, help develop many nations progressing through their own problems in providing the best clinical care, both surgical and physician-led, to their populations. In my talk I hope to highlight the importance of motivation and enthusiasm in the fascinating world of clinical endocrinology, a branch of medicine more closely allied to rigorous basic science than probably any other branch of medicine, and to emphasise the role of serendipity, and allowing flexibility in one’s research interests. But especially, we need to continue to support the ‘clinician scientist’ as one able to mediate between the outstanding scientific discoveries, and their clinical application, as a two-way process.