As touchENDOCRINOLOGY approaches 22 years of providing education for busy endocrinologists, we are looking to the future—and it certainly looks bright!
This year, we are celebrating our inaugural touchENDOCRINOLOGY Future Leaders to recognize the outstanding talent that has entered our field in recent years. These individuals are set to innovate and transform endocrinology in the years to come.
Selected by our expert Editorial Board and contributing faculty, we are proud to highlight their achievements so far and explore what the future holds for them. We had the pleasure of learning about their unique journeys, career motivations and the inspirations that have shaped their paths. They also shared their perspectives on the most exciting advancements in endocrinology today and their hopes for the future of the field.
Congratulations to all our touchENDOCRINOLOGY Future Leaders, and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and ambitions with us!
Elif Akşahin
Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
“One of the most unforgettable and rewarding moments in my career was witnessing a cancer survivor become a mother… Being by her side at the birth, after all we had been through together, was one of the most meaningful and emotional moments of my life.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Akşahin here
Gordon Sloan
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
“Seeing the profound impact diabetic peripheral neuropathy has on people’s lives drives me to improve our understanding and treatment of this condition.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Sloan here
Ignacio Portales-Castillo
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
“I learned that every patient holds the potential to inspire new questions, new research, and even a thesis.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Portales-Castillo here
Ipek Betul Ozcivit Erkan
Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
“Through mentorship, I learned how to take a research idea from conception to publication, while also gaining guidance that shaped my clinical decision-making.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Ozcivit Erkan here
Iulia Pirga
University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Medicover, Craiova, Romania
“Endocrinology challenges me daily and motivates me to keep learning and growing, while offering the chance to combine clinical insight with innovation for a better life.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Pirga here
Jennifer Snaith
Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
“It’s a great privilege being a clinician. No two people are the same, and I love working with patients to work out their unique needs.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Snaith here
Kristina Saravinovska
University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
“Patients are more than cases—they’re partners in their care, and their experiences continuously drive my research priorities.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Saravinovska here
Lindsey Gaston
Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
“I love the moment in science when you discover something that nobody else knows. This is most satisfying when the new knowledge goes against established paradigms but holds up to rigorous testing.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Gaston here
Lung Yi Mak
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
“Everything we do stems from identifying gaps in knowledge, with the ultimate goal of helping people living with liver diseases. That has become the motto of my career.”
Read our Q&A with Prof Mak here
Mary Ellen Vajravelu
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
“I’ve been fortunate to have incredible mentors, colleagues, and patients who have shaped my journey in paediatric endocrinology—and I’ve found that the people drawn to this field are just genuinely great to work with.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Vajravelu here
Pedro Marques
Hospital CUF Descobertas, Lisbon, Portugal
“As a pituitary-focused clinician-scientist, I find it incredibly rewarding to bridge the gap between patient care and scientific discovery, taking insights from the clinic to the bench and back again to improve lives.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Marques here
Sourabh Sharma
Vardhaman Mahaveer Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, India
“Mentorship is a two-way street—learning from mentors has guided me through challenges, while mentoring others has reinforced my own growth and commitment to the specialty.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Sharma here
Subhankar Chatterjee
Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India
“Most disabling movement disorders in diabetic striatopathy subside with glycaemic control alone—a simple capillary blood glucose measurement can unfurl the diagnosis.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Chatterjee here
Svenja Nölting
University Hospital of Zurich and University of Zurich, UZH, Switzerland
“What fascinates me most is how hormones rule our daily lives in so many ways—connecting emotions, sleep, appetite, reproduction and more—and how their disruption affects the whole body.”
Read our Q&A with Prof. Nölting here
Opening soon!
Nominations for touchENDOCRINOLOGY Future Leaders 2026
We are excited to announce that nominations for the touchENDOCRINOLOGY Future Leaders 2026 will open soon, and we invite the endocrinology community to share their suggestions for exceptional individuals who are shaping the future of endocrinology through innovation and excellence in patient care.
Register below to hear about nominations as soon as they open!
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