Growing Library of Statements Highlights Importance of Endocrine Science, Identifies Research Gaps, Raises Awareness, & More
By Timothy Beardsley, PhD, Executive Editor of Publications
Each year, scientists around the world publish thousands of research papers on every conceivable aspect of endocrinology and related fields. The endocrine system — it goes without saying — is central to the study of life sciences, and its multiple facets have attracted generations of great scientific minds.
At the Society, promoting endocrinology research is a pillar of our mission to ensure the future of our field. And nowhere is this commitment more evident than in our growing list of Scientific Statements.
We are proud to announce the publication of our 14th statement in the series that began in 2009. Our latest, “Extracellular Vesicles and Their Emerging Roles as Cellular Messengers in Endocrinology,” examines the biological role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their hormone-like role in cell-to-cell communication.
The statement’s goal is to highlight relevant aspects of EV research and demonstrate their potential role in the field of endocrinology.
Similar goals of highlighting relevant research and applications can be found in the other statements.
Statements Capture Knowledge, Point to Additional Areas of Needed Research
The impetus for developing the statements grew out of a need for definitive source materials that could capture the vast scientific knowledge represented by Society members, explains Robert M. Carey, M.D., former Society President who spearheaded the Scientific Statements in 2009.
They also served to fill gaps in scientific and professional education, he adds.
“The Clinical Practice Guideline program was already in place, but no authoritative educational vehicle covering scientific topics falling outside the scope of guidelines was then available,” says Dr. Carey (read his full comments below).
With the need identified, the Scientific Statements were thus born. The inaugural 2009 statement centered on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals. Statements now cover a wide range of topics, and are housed on our redesigned webpage in the following categories:
Since launching, the statements have been used widely by the scientific community, with several of them being cited in more than 400 papers.
Oversight of the statements have evolved as their scope and prominence has expanded. Today they fall under the purview of the Society’s Scientific Statement Subcommittee, comprising five members, which operates as part of the Research Affairs Core Committee. In March 2022, the subcommittee received a revised charge for the statements. Currently, they are designed to:
The subcommittee also stated it will work to create a more diverse and inclusive culture in endocrinology and ensure that under-represented groups are included in writing teams.
Statements Will Be Featured at ENDO 2022
We invite Society members and others to join two sessions devoted to Scientific Statements at ENDO 2022 in Atlanta, Ga. Both sessions will be held in the Communications & Career Center. They are:
‘Living Library’: Moving Forward
As the field of endocrinology evolves, so too does the work of the Scientific Statements Subcommittee.
The subcommittee continually evaluates proposed Statement topics and is in the process now of drafting three new Statements: (1) Pathophysiology of Type 1 Diabetes; (2) Hormones and Aging; and (3) Endocrine Health and Health Care Disparities in the Pediatric and Sexual and Gender Minority Populations. Another two Statements have been recently approved for development, and work on them is starting: (1) Endocrine Effects of Opioid Use, and (2) Interpretation and Rigor in Metabolomics.
In their first dozen-plus years, the statements have been used worldwide to assimilate knowledge for other articles, presentations, grant applications, and to improve clinical care, among many other purposes, Dr. Carey says. In certain instances, they have been employed to make the case for health and/or research policy change.
They are a “living library,” he adds, to serve as a reservoir of current information that is always available for those who need it.
What was the impetus to start the Scientific Statements?
When I was President-Elect of the Endocrine Society in 2008, I was looking for a project that the Society could initiate during my presidency that would capture the vast scientific knowledge represented by Society members, fill gaps in scientific and professional education and provide long term benefits for the Society. The Clinical Practice Guideline program was already in place, but no authoritative educational vehicle covering scientific topics falling outside the scope of guidelines was then available.
What value do they bring to the Society and the field of endocrinology?
The Scientific Statements program was envisioned to fill knowledge gaps in many disciplines of endocrinology by creating a library of authoritative scientific information, identifying important deficits and discontinuities in scientific knowledge, and suggesting new approaches to solve scientific problems. The Scientific Statements program is intended to elevate the visibility and usefulness of the Endocrine Society for its members and the scientific community at large.
Where would you like to see them go in the future?
The Scientific Statements program has already received acclaim within the scientific and medical communities, as judged by the high level of citation of its individual articles. Scientific Statements are used worldwide to assimilate knowledge for other articles, presentations, grant applications, and to improve clinical care, among many other purposes. In certain instances, the Scientific Statements have been employed to make the case for health and/or research policy change. I would like the Scientific Statements program to continue to grow with an accretion of new scientific topics in line with the investigative and medical needs of the Society. I envision the program as a “living library” wherein articles are automatically and reliably updated so that a reservoir of current information is always available for those who need it.
Anything else you’d like to mention?
The program has exceeded expectations from the time of its inception, and my hope is that it will continue to grow so that it has substantial impact in most fields of endocrinology and beyond.