Participation in the ESE Summer School 2024
Yeon Soo Park
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Seoul National University Hospital, Republic of Korea
A little over three months after starting my work as a full-time resident in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, I had the great opportunity to participate in the ESE Summer School 2024 with the support of the Korean Endocrine Society (KES). This event was a cross between an academic conference and a summer school, and was held for young researchers for a total of four days from June 23 to June 26, 2024 in Innsbruck, Austria.
On the first day of Summer School, all participants introduced themselves and got to know each other. Since the event was held in the heart of Europe, only I and one resident from India were from Asia, but all the participants actively approached me and communicated in English, so I felt warmly welcomed. The event was held in a mountain lodge located in the middle of a beautiful nature, and thanks to the surrounding environment, I was able to focus solely on academic exchange. At mealtimes, I had a meaningful time sharing my experiences as an endocrinologist with participants from various countries and having interesting conversations about the latest issues in each country.
On the first day, Professor Allan Herbison from the UK gave a plenary lecture on the topic of 'Kisspeptin neuron development and synchronisation for pulsatile hormone secretion and puberty onset'. Since it was a topic that was not usually accessible, I was able to listen more attentively. In summary, GnRH pulse is essential for regulating gonadotropin release, and KNDy neurons communicate with kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dysnorphin A to induce pulsatile release of GnRH. Neurokinin B acts as a stimulatory signal, and dynorphin A acts as an inhibitory signal to regulate the synchronized activity of KNDy neurons, which plays an important role in regulating the reproductive axis. The lecture was even more interesting because it was combined with the lab research that had been conducted.
On the second day, lectures continued from the morning. In particular, the first lecture, 'Genomic classification of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors' by Professor Guillaume Assie from France, was a topic I had wanted to organize for a long time, so I was able to listen with even more interest. The lecture that followed, 'Vasopressin and oxytocin deficiency: advanced in name, diagnosis, and management' by Professor Cihan Atila from Switzerland, was also very impressive because it appropriately incorporated his own research. Arginine vasopressin deficiency is a disease that I often encounter in the emergency room and ward as a full-time resident, and I had difficulty controlling uremin during management, but many of my questions were resolved through this lecture. The Thyroid session followed in the afternoon, and among them, the lecture on 'Biomarkers for metabolic thyroid hormone action' by Professor Richard Sinko from Hungary was particularly interesting. The content measuring thyroid hormone not only in blood but also in various body fluids, tissues, and even hair was impressive.
After the lecture, we all gathered together and went for a 20-30 minute trek to the swimming lake, where we enjoyed swimming. It was a unique and unforgettable experience because the conference was held in beautiful nature.
On the third day, there was a prepared Poster oral presentation. The topic was 'The effect of rapid improvement of blood glucose level on the development of treatment-induced neuropathy of diabetes in people with diabetes mellitus'. This study investigated the effect of rapid glycemic control on treatment-induced neuropathy (TIND) in patients with diabetes. The average HbA1c was significantly reduced, but TIND or serious autonomic dysfunction did not occur, indicating that rapid glycemic control did not significantly increase the risk of TIND.
This ESE Summer School 2024 was a meaningful experience, and it was a great honor to be selected as the first applicant through the Korean Endocrine Society. I learned a lot not only through academic exchanges but also by communicating with researchers from various countries, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Korean Endocrine Society for providing me with this opportunity. I think this is a program that I would highly recommend to young researchers.