WELCOME MESSAGES

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

On behalf of the Local Organising Committee, it is a privilege and pleasure to invite you to the 14th International Thyroid Congress to be held from 11th to 16th September 2010 in Paris, at the Palais des Congrès.

Thanks to all committee members and with the cooperation of the 4 sister societies, we are confident that Paris will gain a success at least equivalent to that of the Buenos Aires Congress five years ago. We believe that the final result will be absolutely unforgettable!

The extremely high percentage of acceptance to lecture invitations in the scientific sessions represents a strong evidence of approval of the general programme from our scientific community.

In addition to prestigious Plenary Prize Lectures scheduled each morning, a large number of sessions covering all aspects of the thyroid research and treatment (Implementing Guidelines sessions, Debates, Symposia, Meet the Experts sessions) will be proposed.

Selected abstracts will be presented either as oral or poster presentations and talented young investigators will be awarded during the congress.

Our field of research exists in close cooperation with the pharmaceutical companies and I am very grateful for the generous support that we have already received from these companies. The industrial exhibits and sponsored symposia will be a major attraction.

Paris is a city of majestic beauty and charm and all the famous places and attractions of the « City of Lights » are easily reachable from the Palais des Congrès. The accompanying persons’ programme will include a wide variety of tours and even post-tours. Besides the Opening Ceremony and Welcome Reception at the Palais des Congrès, please join us for the Congress dinner, a unique and festive Royal Evening at the Château de Versailles. This was permitted by the President of the Sénat to whom I would like to express our gratitude.

We look forward to seeing you in Paris,

Martin Schlumberger
President of the Local Organising Committee

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

Every five years the American, European, Asia-Oceania and Latin-American thyroid associations combine their annual scientific meetings into one: the International Thyroid Congress. The congress is widely regarded as a major event in international thyroidology due to its truly global character. Here you have the chance to meet in person the authors of your favourite thyroid papers. And the congress provides a golden opportunity to get updated with the most recent developments in the field. Endocrinology is booming worldwide, and thyroidology is likewise doing very well. Real progress is being made in basic thyroidology, and it is amazing to see how much of this basic knowledge is already translated into clinical applications. The Programme Organising Committee has been keen to stress translational research in the scientific programme where possible. Of particular interest to clinicians will be the outcome of a number of randomized clinical trials, to be presented for the first time at the congress. We have also designed new ventures in the programme (see page 7), and it is hard to imagine you will not like it.

But the scientific programme outlined in this announcement constitutes just a part of the full programme. The missing part will be composed from submitted abstracts to be presented in 32 oral communications sessions, 4 poster viewing sessions and 24 poster discussion sessions. We therefore invite you to submit your best research to the congress! The surroundings of the meeting venue are well suited to discuss your research findings in a typical french manner over wine and food in one of the many bars and restaurants. After all, you can’t beat Paris! So I do hope to see you in Paris.

Wilmar M. Wiersinga
Chairman of the Programme Organising Committee