Board Member of the European Society of Endocrinology Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (ESE EYES)
EYES (ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists) is the early career (EC) community of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), and represents around one third of the whole ESE membership. Its committee comprises eight members including clinicians and both clinical and basic scientists, who represent the entire EC community and participate 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 EC growth.
Welcome, Dr Walter Vena! Please introduce yourself – can you please tell us about your research background and clinical interests, and your activities as part of the ESE EYES committee?
First of all, thanks for this beautiful sharing opportunity that you are giving our community through this interview. My name is Walter Vena, I’m a Medical Doctor, Specialist in Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Clinical Research Assistant at Hunimed University, based in Milan, Italy. Describing my research is challenging because I work across multiple areas, but my main interest is male reproduction and gonadal dysfunction. My research in this area focuses on understanding the various impacts of testosterone replacement on men’s life within different clinical contexts (e.g. primary genetic hypogonadism vs acquired “late-onset” forms). However, I’m also really interested in the research field of hormonal deprivation and the severe complications these therapies bring to patients treated for breast and prostate cancer. While certainly offering improved survival and disease-free survival, hormonal deprivation can often rapidly and drastically reduce patients’ quality of life. Our efforts in this context will be necessary to fill the existing gap and guarantee a constant improvement to the quality of the time we can offer these patients.
As someone involved in both endocrinology and obesity research, how do you see these two fields intersecting?
Recent advancements in the knowledge of “new” endocrine organs such as adipose tissue, the gut and the liver, are naturally driving a need to change the paradigm of two separate perspectives on hormonal homeostasis, and how it has been defined in the past. This opens interesting new landscapes for both clinicians and researchers, in which collaboration will be fundamental to optimise our advancements. The sharing of knowledge and resources could be, more than ever before, fundamental in facing the new challenges arising from the radical changes in lifestyle and risk factors for poorer health we see in today’s society.
What role does ESE EYES play in supporting early career endocrinologists, and how does the community promote professional development within the field?
Ever since it was founded in 2013, the EYES Committee has been developing projects designed to offer every member of the community a chance to get close to top-notch scientists connected to ESE. This is invaluable to young doctors and researchers, as unequal research opportunities exist across Europe, and even brief mentorship can have a lasting impact. With this in mind, our Observership Project offers both early career clinicians and basic researchers the opportunity to meet their “scientific crush” and learn from them first-hand by attending their clinics and labs. This approach is also evident in our official Magazine, EYES News, which features world-renowned experts in different fields in contact with endocrine disease and asks their inspiring personal stories and tips for junior colleagues. Importantly, not all that we do is “visible”, since our involvement in ESE Committee activities is often “behind the scenes”, but the EYES “machinery” is continuously working to represent the EC point of view in ESE projects, event organisation and guidelines development. We are extremely proud of this opportunity and the way we are trying to make the most of it.
You’re chairing the LOC for the EYES Annual Meeting in 2025 in Milan. Can you share any insights on what early career researchers can expect from this event, especially regarding the Obesity paper development workshop?
Yes! And I must admit this is exciting!! I take great pride in having the opportunity to coordinate the work of colleagues I highly respect both personally and professionally. Above all, I am excited to work with equally enthusiastic and proactive colleagues who strive to achieve the best possible results, while also enjoying ourselves. We hope our efforts will provide a pleasant event, rich with insights from the work of the various groups participating with their original contributions. As always during the EYES Annual Meeting, young researchers will have the chance to present the results of their work in an international context with a high scientific profile, without fearing judgment from senior professors. Instead, they will be in a friendly atmosphere aimed at mutual improvement. For this reason, we anticipate that some of the early career participants will be selected to take an active role in the pre-congress workshop dedicated to various “hot topics,” including obesity. This will provide them with the opportunity, under the guidance of one or more seniors, to contribute to the drafting of a scientific paper and to engage in discussions with colleagues from different backgrounds and experiences, seeking to learn as much as possible and gaining concrete practical experience.
How do you envision ESE EYES and the EASO Early Career Network working together? Are there specific joint activities or initiatives you’re excited about?
First of all, I believe it has been essential to start this conversation between the two early career communities, as communication is the foundation for connection and resource sharing, the definition of joint projects, and ultimately the achievement of common goals. At this moment, I think it’s important to invest our energy in sitting down together to identify the most critical points of convergence, where EASO and ESE can collaborate, listening to the advice of the senior representatives of our scientific societies and following their guidance. I would focus first on a thorough mutual understanding of our realities, sharing the respective opportunities offered by each organisation for early career members, and try to stimulate reciprocal involvement and the creation of an extended community. The rest will follow naturally. I am confident that we are heading in the right direction and that soon the results of this process will be clearly visible, making us proud of our commitment. You can keep up to date with EYES activities on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, or if you have any comments or questions please email me at youngendocrinescientists@gmail.com.
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Pic 1: Participants at the EYES Annual Meeting 2024 in Helsinki, Finland
Pic 2: Dr Walter Veca