Speaker 1:

Welcome to AACE Podcasts. Thanks for tuning in as we elevate clinical endocrinology by taking deep dives into trends and topics that can help us improve our patient care and global health. Find the latest episodes on aace.com/podcasts. And now let's meet the endocrine experts who will be talking with us today.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

Hello, and welcome to today's episode of the AACE Podcast. My name is Dr. Cecilia Low Wang, and I am an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine. I also have the honor of serving as the chair for the AACE 2025 Annual Meeting in Orlando this May. I am thrilled to be here today to discuss an important part of AACE's growing professional community, our topic interest groups, or TIGs.

The TIGs were introduced last year as part of the AACE Communities program. They've been instrumental in fostering collaboration and deeper discussions among members. This year we are excited to introduce two new chairs for our TIGs. Joining me today are Dr. Rachna Relwani, chair of the Environmental Endocrinology TIG, and Dr. David Lieb, chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Clinical Endocrinology TIG.

Dr. Relwani is an endocrinologist with Laureate Medical Group in Atlanta, Georgia. She completed medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, her residency at Yale University, and her endocrinology fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Lieb is the program director for the endocrinology fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He completed his medical school education at the University of Virginia, his residency training at Oregon Health Sciences University, and his endocrinology fellowship at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Relwani and Dr. Lieb, welcome. Let's start by having each of you share a little bit about why you're excited to share your respective TIG and how you see it benefiting AACE members.

Dr. Rachna Relwani:

Thank you. I'm very excited to share the endocrinology and the environment topic interest group for AACE. We purposely kept the name broad to encompass all the different interactions with the environment. First, we have climate change, and rising temperature has been shown to impact many of the diseases we treat, such as obesity, diabetes, thyroid disease, and osteoporosis, to name a few.

Of course, as endocrinologists, we've been leading the way on endocrine disrupting chemicals for years, and a newer area is healthcare sustainability. Healthcare contributes to 8.5% of greenhouse gas emissions annually in the US, and we endocrinologists prescribe a lot of products that have a lot of packaging. So this newer field aims to brainstorm and implement waste to be better stewards of the planet. With this interest group, we're hoping to address any and all of these fronts.

Dr. Lieb:

I'm really excited to share the artificial intelligence and clinical endocrinology topic interest group for AACE, Dr. Low Wang. AI has the potential to transform the way we diagnose, manage, and treat all endocrine disorders. And we're already seeing AI being used in areas like diabetes technology, which I'm sure you're familiar with, thyroid nodule assessment and predictive analytics for endocrine diseases; who's likely to have diabetes based on information in the medical record, who's likely to have a fracture. But as endocrinologists, we have to take an active role in shaping how these tools are developed and, importantly, how they're implemented.

So the goal of the topic interest group is to create a space where AACE members can explore AI's role in endocrinology, its opportunities, but also its challenges. And I want the group to be a resource for clinicians who are curious about AI, whether they're already using it in practice or just starting to learn about its applications. And through discussions and webinars, we can help endocrinologists to stay informed, to know how to critically evaluate new AI tools, and ensure that these technologies are improving patient care in meaningful ways, but also in ethical ways.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

That's terrific. Thank you both for sharing your perspectives. Now let's talk about how AACE members can get involved in these conversations at the 2025 Annual Meeting. We're excited to host TIG meetups during the conference where members can connect in person and discuss key issues within each interest group. The Environmental Endocrinology TIG meetup will take place on Thursday, May 15th from 10:30 to 11:00 AM, and the Artificial Intelligence and Clinical Endocrinology TIG meetup will be held on Friday, May 16th, 2025 from 10:15 to 10:45, both in the Learning Zone. We invite all AACE members to join and be a part of these engaging discussions.

Now, Dr. Lieb, what are your thoughts on the upcoming meetup for the AI and Clinical Endocrinology TIG? What do you hope to accomplish?

Dr. Lieb:

Thank you, Dr. Low Wang. I'm really looking forward to the meetup. One of my key goals for this session is to foster collaboration among AACE members, whether they're already working with AI or they're just starting to explore its applications in their practice. And I want the group to think about key trends in artificial intelligence that are particularly relevant to endocrinologists, as well as areas where we as a specialty can take the lead in guiding AI adoption.

So I want to hear from members about what they need to feel more comfortable integrating AI into their workflows, whether that's education, guidance on best practices, or potential opportunities for research collaboration. And the more we engage in these conversations now, the better position we'll be to shape how AI is implemented in a way that truly benefits both clinicians and patients. So I'm excited for people to meet each other so that we can then continue conversations offline after the meeting.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

No, that is so important, and I'm really glad that you're doing this. Dr. Relwani, what do you hope to discuss and accomplish in the Environmental Endocrinology meetup?

Dr. Rachna Relwani:

Well, I love sharing ideas with other passionate individuals, so I'm looking forward to meeting others who are interested in these topics, seeing what their specific areas of interests are, and brainstorming on potential projects. This meetup is just the beginning and the way we find our tribe, so to speak. We can also see what the needs of our communities are pertaining to these topics.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

Thank you. This is a terrific way to connect and then also to make a difference in this area. So another exciting update for our AACE communities is that we're transitioning from our online discussion spaces from the AACE website to Facebook groups. This move will help us have more interactive and dynamic discussions, which will make it easier for members to engage in real-time conversations and share resources. So Dr. Relwani, how do you see your TIG taking advantage of the Facebook groups for ongoing engagement?

Dr. Rachna Relwani:

The community is vital to the success of any initiative and such a part of the ACE tradition. So I see the Facebook group as an extension of that and as a great way to interact with people all over the country and all over the world. I envision using it to share medical updates, collaborate on speaker opportunities, research opportunities, and generally to share and exchange ideas.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

That's terrific. Thank you. Dr. Lieb, what are your thoughts on how the AI and Clinical Endocrinology TIG can use the Facebook groups to enhance engagement?

Dr. Lieb:

I am very excited about moving to Facebook. I think it gives us a more dynamic and accessible platform for ongoing discussions, certainly about AI and endocrinology. It'll be a space where members can share updates and ask questions and collaborate in real time, which I think is going to be incredibly valuable. I see this group, the Facebook group as a hub for sharing relevant articles, podcasts, blog posts, and emerging research on AI more generally, but also any AI that involves endocrinology specifically.

So the group is going to allow us to engage with important topics in a way that's more interactive than some of the traditional forums that people have used. And it's also a great space for collaboration. Members can connect with others who have similar interests, discuss potential research ideas, crowdsource solutions to challenges that they're facing, maybe with integrating AI into their practice. So my hope is that the Facebook group becomes an active engaged community where members not only stay informed, but also contribute to shaping how AI is applied in endocrinology.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

Wow. Thank you both. Before we wrap up, I'd love to hear your final thoughts on what's ahead for your TIGs. Dr. Lieb, what are some of the future initiatives you hope to lead within the AI and Clinical Endocrinology TIG?

Dr. Lieb:

Oh, sure. So a key initiative I'd like to lead is developing educational webinars that focus on the practical use of AI and endocrinology. For AI to be widely adopted, I think clinicians need to feel comfortable using it, and that starts with hands-on learning, with mentoring, with learning from other people how they use it. And we can have educational webinars that would walk members through real-world applications such as how AI is being used in clinical settings, either in direct patient care or in reducing administrative burdens, which is one of the reasons I love using AI. And we want to create a space where endocrinologists can see AI in action and ask questions and share ideas about how to integrate the tools into their daily practice.

In addition, I'd love to conduct a member survey to understand how endocrinologists and how AACE members are currently using AI, how advanced practitioners are using AI, and what barriers people are facing and what resources would help them most. And based on that, we can develop white papers on best practices, case studies, and other forms of guidance on AI implementation that's tailored to endocrinologists' needs. That's very exciting.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

That's terrific. Dr. Relwani, what are your hopes for the Environmental Endocrinology TIG moving forward?

Dr. Rachna Relwani:

Well, I hope a key start to our group will be expanding on education, and that includes educating each other as clinicians, potentially through webinars, educating our patients, potentially through patient handouts, educating hospital administration and the general public. Another avenue would be for us to collaborate on research initiatives, especially those people in academia, as well as initiatives with the government industry. And there's also the potential for advocacy work. There's even the potential to collaborate with other medical societies to help advance progress on some of these topics. There are many ways in which we can make a big impact.

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang:

Well, thank you both. This has been a fantastic discussion. Thanks for your leadership and for sharing your insights and ideas today. Before we conclude, I'd like to extend a warm invitation to all of our listeners to join us at the AACE 2025 Annual Meeting in Orlando from May 15th to May 17th. This year's meeting will feature an incredible lineup of plenary sessions, practical meet the professor sessions, and innovative session formats designed to bring the latest in endocrinology to our members.

We're particularly excited about this year's focus on endocrine innovations and obesity breakthroughs. 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the first GLP-1 receptor agonist being made available for our patients, and we're absolutely thrilled that Dr. Dan Drucker will be presenting the keynote address to kick off our meeting. We'll also have outstanding endocrinologists giving plenary lectures in the fields of diabetes, bone and thyroid.

There are too many great sessions to list here, but just to name a few, we'll have a great program on metabolic dysfunction associated liver disease, a global forum highlighting endocrine issues from a global perspective, sessions on diabetes and diabetes technology, thyroid dysfunction nodules and cancer, issues in obesity management, osteoporosis, PCOS, menopause, mild autonomous cortisol secretion, and generative AI for educators. We hope to see you all there. Thank you for tuning in to today's podcast.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to another great AACE podcast. Join us for another episode at aace.com/podcasts and help us in our mission to elevate clinical endocrinology. Together we are AACE.