November 2, 2019—The American Thyroid Association (ATA) announces with pleasure that the 2019 Lewis E. Braverman Distinguished Award recipient will be Dr. Martha A. Zeiger, Director of Surgical Oncology Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

The Braverman Distinguished Award is presented annually to an individual who: demonstrates excellence and passion for mentoring fellows, students, and junior faculty; has a long history of productive thyroid research; and is devoted to the ATA. Dr. Zeiger will give the Braverman Lecture, entitled “From Mentee to Mentor …What I Have Learned in 25 Years” on November 2 at 11:00 am, during the ATA Annual Meeting, which is held this year from October 30 to November 3 in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Zeiger is deeply committed to mentorship in thyroid research, endocrine surgery, and, more broadly, to fellowship training. Her list of mentees from her research program is extensive, at 54, and spans endocrine surgery, endocrinology, cytopathology, and nuclear medicine. While at John Hopkins, Dr. Zeiger took the lead as: Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs; Professor of Surgery, Oncology, Cellular and Molecular Medicine; Associate Vice Chair of Surgery Faculty Development; and Medical Director of Business Development Strategic Alliance and Venture Technology. While Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs, she oversaw 1200 research fellows in the School of Medicine. She also established a formal program for international postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Zeiger is also responsible for founding the Endocrine Surgery University, an annual course for all endocrine surgery fellows in North America conducted at the Mayo Clinic since 2010.

In July she joined the Center for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute where she is leading a team studying and designing future pathways for the professional development of surgeon-scientists.

Her surgical training includes a Surgical Oncology Fellowship, focused on endocrine surgery, at NCI, NIH prior to joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1993.

Dr. Zeiger has been a member of the ATA since 1995 and is the incoming President. She is very involved and has held numerous leadership positions in national medical societies: the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, and the American Thyroid Association.

Beyond her many roles and responsibilities, Dr. Zeiger continues to provide daily mentorship to medical students, residents, and fellows in the operating room and Endocrine Surgery clinic. Dr.  Zeiger’s “ long history of productive thyroid research,  excellence and passion for mentoring, and devotion to the ATA” makes her a very worthy recipient for the highly sought after and prestigious, 2019 Lewis E. Braverman Distinguished Award.

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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 over 1,700 members from 70 countries around the world. Celebrating its 96th anniversary, the ATA® delivers its mission — transforming thyroid care through clinical excellence, education, scientific discovery and advocacy in a collaborative community — through several key endeavors:
·      The publication of the highly regarded professional journals Thyroid®, Clinical Thyroidology®, and VideoEndocrinology
·      Annual scientific meetings
·      Biennial clinical and research symposia
·      Research grant programs for young investigators
·      Support of online professional, public, and patient educational programs
·      Development of guidelines for clinical management of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer

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 serves as a bonafide clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the Internet.