May 30, 2025, Alexandria, VA, Each year, the American Thyroid Association® (ATA®) honors clinicians, academicians and early career researchers who have made outstanding contributions in thyroidology. These awards recognize both professional achievements and contributions to ATA.
The 2025 award winners are named below and will be honored during the ATA’s 2025 Annual Meeting to be held September 10 – 14, 2025 in Scottsdale, AZ.
“We are thrilled to recognize the exceptional achievements and leadership of these outstanding ATA members, whose accomplishments, innovation, and dedication reflect those of our incredible and diverse ATA community,” said Ari Wassner, MD, Chair of the Awards Committee.
The 2025 honorees are:
Susan J. Mandel, MD, MPH – Lewis E. Braverman Distinguished Lectureship Award
The Lewis E. Braverman Distinguished Lectureship Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated 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. Mandel is Sylvan H Eisman Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Her clinical practice focuses on thyroid neoplasia. Her research interests include sonography in the evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules and cancer. Dr. Mandel was on the writing groups for the 3 previous versions of the ATA Management Guidelines for Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer and is co-chairing the 2025 ATA Guidelines for Patients with Thyroid nodules. She also was on the writing group for the ATA and Endocrine Society guidelines on the Management of Thyroid Disorders during Pregnancy. Dr. Mandel initiated and directed the Ultrasound workshops for the ATA and Endocrine Society. Dr. Mandel has received the Endocrine Society’s Distinguished Educator Award, the 2019 ATA WIT Woman of the Year award, and the AACE H. Jack Baskin Endocrine Teaching Award. She also received the Louis Duhring Outstanding Clinical Specialist Award from Penn Medicine. Dr. Mandel is past President of the Endocrine Society (2018-19) and of the Association of Program Directors in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism (2009-2011). She currently serves as Secretary of the International Society of Endocrinology. During her 21-year tenure as Program Director of the Fellowship program at Penn, she trained over 70 fellows, eight of whom now serve as Endocrine Fellowship Program Directors. She has over 100 peer reviewed publications in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and the Annals of Internal Medicine. She has also authored chapters on thyroid disorders in Harrison’s Textbook of Medicine and thyroid nodules in Werner and Ingbar’s The Thyroid.
Kristien Boelaert, MD, PhD – Valerie Anne Galton Distinguished Lectureship Award
The Valerie Anne Galton Distinguished Lectureship Award recognizes an individual who has been instrumental in collaborative research that has significantly contributed to the advancement of our clinical knowledge of thyroid conditions. Dr. Boelaert is a Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham in the UK. She is an active researcher with an extensive portfolio spanning molecular, clinical and translational research into thyroid dysfunction, nodules and cancer. During her career she has attracted more than $12 million in research funding and published more than 200 research papers. In addition, Kristien is a prominent clinician who is actively involved in the setting of UK, European and ATA guidelines on the management of thyroid diseases. Recognizing her contributions to patient care, she was the recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award from the Society for Endocrinology in 2019. She is a strong believer in collaborative working and for many years has engaged closely with patient support organizations, policy makers and researchers in various disciplines across the world. Kristien has been an active member of the ATA since 2003, volunteering on several committees and currently serving as the co-chair of the ATA 2025 Annual Meeting. She has leadership roles in many international endocrine societies including President of the British Thyroid Association, Member of the European Thyroid Association Executive Committee and President Elect of the Society for Endocrinology.
Victor Joseph Bernet, MD, FACE, FACP – Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award honors a member who has made important and continuing contributions to the American Thyroid Association (ATA). Dr. Bernet is the Director of the Mayo Clinic Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship in Jacksonville, Florida. He is a Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and served as Chair of the Division of Endocrinology, Mayo Clinic Florida from 2012 to 2022. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine. Dr. Bernet served 21+ years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps retiring at the rank of Colonel. He was the Endocrinology Consultant to the Army Surgeon General and Director of the National Capitol Consortium Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship Program. Dr. Bernet is both a Distinguished Graduate and Distinguished Military Graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (1985). He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1989. He completed his internal medicine residency at Tripler Army Medical Center (1989-1992) and endocrinology fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (1992-1994). Dr. Bernet’s main academic interests are focused in the field of thyroid disorders with particular interest in thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, challenging thyroid function tests as well as hormones found in OTC supplements. He has been the author/co-author of 70+ peer-reviewed articles and 19 book chapters. Dr Bernet served as President of the American Thyroid Association 2020-2021 and also as the ATA Secretary/ Chief Operating Officer from October 2015 to November 2019. Dr. Bernet serves as the Mayo Clinic representative on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network thyroid cancer guidelines and is a member of the ATA Thyroid Nodules Guidelines Task Force.
Paul M. Yen, MD – John B. Stanbury Thyroid Pathophysiology Medal
The John B. Stanbury Thyroid Pathophysiology Medal recognizes outstanding research contributions, either conceptual or technical, to the understanding of thyroid physiology or the pathophysiology of thyroid disease, as evidenced by having a major impact on research or clinical practice related to thyroid diseases. Dr. Yen is Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore and Head of the Laboratory of Hormonal Regulation in the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Program. He also is Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC and a member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. He was formerly Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Neuro-endocrinology and Molecular Regulation Section of the Clinical Endocrinology Branch at NIDDK (at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD), and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has served on the editorial boards of Endocrinology, Molecular Endocrinology, and Thyroid. He also is a U.S. board-certified physician in internal medicine and endocrinology. He is listed as a top 2% scientist worldwide by Stanford University and a leading World Expert on thyroid hormone by Expertscape. He has served as an Asia-Oceanic Thyroid Association (AOTA) Council Member and the AOTA delegate to the World Thyroid Foundation and Singapore Representative to the International Iodine Global Network. He was awarded the 2020 Nagataki-Fujifilm Prize for his contributions to basic and clinical thyroid hormone research in Asia by AOTA. At Duke-NUS, he has served as Master of Sheares Medical College since 2010. He also has served as the clinical faculty advisor for the Duke Overseas Volunteer Expedition (DOVE) program in which medical students deliver primary care in neighbouring underdeveloped countries since its inception in 2010. His laboratory uses molecular biological and genomic approaches to study hormonal regulation of transcription, autophagy, and metabolism as well as searching for ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Thomas S. Scanlan, PhD – Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award
Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award recognizes outstanding academic achievements in thyroidology, in keeping with the innovation and vision that epitomized Dr. Ingbar’s brilliant investigative career. The Ingbar award is conferred upon an established investigator who has made major contributions to thyroid-related research over many years. Dr. Scanlan is Professor of Physiology & Pharmacology in the Department of Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. Before that he was Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Scanlan’s formal training is in organic chemistry, and in 1991 he began his independent career using chemical approaches to study thyroid hormone action. Dr. Scanlan’s research accomplishments include the discovery and development of selective thyromimetics, most notably Sobetirome (GC-1) which has been studied clinically for different metabolic disease indications. Dr. Scanlan also discovered and characterized a novel class of biogenic amine thyroid hormone metabolites called thyronamines that have biological activities distinct from those of thyroxine and T3. Most recently Dr. Scanlan’s research has focused on the development of central nervous system penetrating thyromimetics, one of which is currently in clinical development for depression. Dr. Scanlan has over 14,000 career citations and an h-index of 63. His honors include the National Science Foundation Career Award, the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow Award, the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society, the Resko Faculty Research and Mentoring Award, and the Technology Transfer Achievement Award (OHSU).
.
Angela M. Leung, MD – Women in Thyroidology Woman of the Year
The Women in Thyroidology Woman of the Year Award recognizes an ATA member who is dedicated to the field and the advancement of women in thyroidology. Dr. Leung is a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Department of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Dr. Leung received her undergraduate degree from Occidental College, her MD from the Boston University School of Medicine, and MSc in Epidemiology from the Boston University School of Public Health. She completed her internal medicine internship and residency and endocrinology fellowship at Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center. Her clinical and research interests are focused on thyroid disease and include iodine nutrition, environmental thyroid disruptors, and maternal-child thyroid health. She has served on the ATA writing committees of the thyroid eye disease consensus statement, the updated differentiated thyroid cancer guidelines, and is co-chair of the updated thyroid and pregnancy guidelines. Dr. Leung has served on the ATA Board of Directors, Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Thyroidology® and as Chair of the Women in Thyroidology.
About the American Thyroid Association®
The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is dedicated to transforming thyroid care through clinical excellence, education, scientific discovery and advocacy in a collaborative and diverse community. ATA® is an international professional medical society with over 1,700 members from 70 countries around the world. The ATA® promotes thyroid awareness and information through Clinical Thyroidology® for the Public, a resource that summarizes research for patients and families, and extensive, authoritative resources on thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA® website www.thyroid.org serves as a bonafide clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable thyroid-related information.
AMERICAN THYROID ASSOCIATION® , ATA® , THYROID® , CLINICAL THYROIDOLOGY® , and the distinctive circular logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as trademarks of the American Thyroid Association® , Inc.