Board Member of the European Society of Endocrinology Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (ESE EYES)
EYES (https://www.ese-hormones.org/what-we-do/our-communities/for-early-career-ese-young-endocrinologists-and-scientists-eyes/) (ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists) is the early career community of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) and represents around 1/3 of the whole ESE membership. Its committee represents the entire Early Career community and participates in all key ESE Committees, projects and activities. Its purpose is to bring a different perspective, focusing on the endocrinology knowledge of the future as well as highlighting the critical aspects of clinical and research involvement for young fellows today, all while creating a strong network and facilitating Early Career growth.
Welcome, Dr Julia Beck! Please introduce yourself
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to share my work with the EASO community. Next to my role as Early Career Representative (EYES) within the European Society of Endocrinology, I am Clinician-Scientist in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. Alongside my clinical training in Endocrinology, I am engaged in several Clinical Research projects as part of my MD-PhD. My research group (https://x.com/ClinNeuroEndo, https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/neuroendo-basel.bsky.social), led by Prof. Mirjam Christ-Crain, has a strong interest in neuroendocrinology, particularly focusing on AVP deficiency and hyponatremia, with overlapping research interests within other fields of Endocrinology.
Can you tell us about your clinical interests and research background in obesity?
Clinical Obesity Work
Obesity has become one of the fastest growing and most impactful areas in our clinical practice in Endocrinology, with significant socioeconomic consequences. As a results, obesity management is an integral part also of my clinical work. We in Switzerland are fortunate to be one of the few European countries where GLP-1 analogues are covered by medical insurances for obesity treatment, allowing us to offer a broad range of patients an effective therapeutic option within a structured obesity program and multidisciplinary approach. Our university obesity center in Basel, led by Prof. Katharina Timper, includes not only endocrine specialists but consists of a multidisciplinary team of nutritionists, psychologists, and visceral surgeons. In my opinion this multidisciplinary work is a crucial factor for high level patient care in obesity, which I value and appreciate a lot.
Research on obesity
Thanks to our strong collaboration of clinical and research work in Basel, we benefit from an excellent research environment at our center which creates a valuable synergy between patient care and scientific research questions. One example is the collaboration with our Hypertension Department with a dedicated smoking cessation clinic. As GLP-1 analogues continue to gain widespread use- not only for obesity treatment but also as a potential option for addictive disorders- we have conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the role of 12-week dulaglutide treatment in smoking cessation. In a predefined secondary analysis, we lately examined the effects of dulaglutide on blood pressure changes during smoking cessation. The results have recently been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (Beck et al., Eur. J. Prev. Cardiol. (2025) https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf055). Importantly, while dulaglutide initially contributed to weight loss and blood pressure reduction, we observed a rebound effect, with both weight and blood pressure increases after one year. Our data underlines rebound effects as a crucial factor to consider when implementing GLP-1 analogues in addictive disorders to ensure long-term treatment success.
Activities in Obesity as Part of the ESE EYES Committee
Obesity is an increasingly important focus within the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE). As part of my role in the EYES Committee, I am involved in several important initiatives aimed at advancing obesity research and policy development.
Obesity in ESE EndoCompass Roadmap –
Obesity plays a key role in the ESE EndoCompass Roadmap (https://www.ese-hormones.org/what-we-do/research/the-endocompass-project/), a strategic initiative designed to outline research priorities in endocrine health and disease, assessing the current state of knowledge and identifying future research priorities. The roadmap aims to guide future research calls and funding programs. I am honored to have contributed to the section on brain-periphery communication and environmental factors in obesity. The EndoCompass Roadmap will soon be published in the European Journal of Endocrinology.
Obesity Working Group
With rapid advances in understanding obesity pathophysiology and treatment, obesity management has been revolutionized. As part of the ESE Obesity Working Group, we are committed to deepening the focus on this crucial field of Endocrinology, aiming to enhance not only improved treatment options but also advancing preventive strategies and policy development in obesity.
Launch of our new Obesity and Endocrinology Journal
We are thrilled to announce the launch of Obesity and Endocrinology (https://academic.oup.com/obendo), our new journal dedicated to advancing obesity research, with its first issue set to be published in May 2025. The journal will provide a comprehensive platform covering basic, translational, and clinical research, along with advances in diagnostics, treatment, and metabolic disorders. We encourage you to share the news of the journal’s launch with your colleagues and invite you as experts in obesity research to submit your work, contributing to the advancement and future of obesity.
How do you envision ESE EYES and the EASO Early Career Network working together?
I am convinced that EASO and ESE have various overlapping interests and passion. As early-career professionals, we have a unique opportunity to inspire one another, exchange knowledge, and grow together, whether through research, professional development, or community support. You can keep up to date with our EYES activities on Twitter/X, Bluesky (https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/ese-eyes.bsky.social),LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, or if you have any comments or questions feel free to contact me directly (https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-beck-md/, https://bsky.app/profile/juliabeck01.bsky.social ).