Prof Dr Svenja Nölting, Assistant Professor for Endocrine Tumor Diseases, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Clinical Nutrition, and Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich, University Hospital of Zurich and University of Zurich, UZH, Switzerland, is a rising star in the field of neuroendocrine oncology. After earning her medical degree and completing her doctoral thesis at the University of Munich, she specialized in internal medicine, endocrinology and diabetology. She further honed her expertise through research fellowships at Barts and The London School of Medicine, UK, and at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA, before assuming leadership roles in Munich, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland, where she is now the research group leader for neuroendocrine tumors, and leads the Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumor Center and the Neuroendocrine Tumor Board at the ENETS Center of Excellence.
Dr Nölting’s research focuses on precision oncology for neuroendocrine tumors, pheochromocytomas, and paragangliomas. As a principal investigator on multiple prestigious projects, she has significantly contributed to advancing targeted and, particularly, personalized therapies in this field. Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including the European Journal of Endocrinology Rising Star Award and the ENSAT Award for Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma Research.
In this Q&A, she shares insights into her career, her passion for endocrinology, and her vision for the future of advanced medical technologies and precision medicine in endocrine oncology.
Who has inspired your journey in endocrinology so far?
My journey was particularly inspired by my wonderful mentors, who guided me through the jungle of the international research world of endocrine tumors, especially during my exciting stays in London, UK and at the NIH, Bethesda, USA. They have strongly shaped my career from the very beginning by always supporting me in a very authentic and empathic way. I would recommend to my young colleagues to find supportive mentors and to aim for a similar international experience. At the beginning of my career, one of my mentors told me that a longer stay abroad is an invaluable door and mind opener; he was completely right!
Is there a particular moment or experience in your career that reinforced your passion for your specialty?
There have been many such special moments, and there still are. What fascinates me most is how hormones rule our daily lives in so many ways, connecting all the functions of our body. They regulate a wide range of organs, beginning with the brain, where they influence emotions, sleep, and appetite. This extends to the pituitary gland, thyroid, pancreas, liver, adrenals and gut, which are all under neuroendocrine control, all the way to the gonads and their role in reproduction. Their central impact becomes especially clear when we look at endocrine disorders such as obesity, diabetes, hypopituitarism, hypogonadism, and hormone-secreting endocrine tumors, which disrupt this finely tuned system in a holistic way, affecting every part of the body.
Another significant personal experience reinforcing my passion for my specialty was when I was recently able to give a young patient with a malignant endocrine tumor, who has children the same age as my daughters, a renewed sense of hope and the will to keep fighting for her life. Our treatments are improving all the time, and now even metastatic tumors can respond to effective therapies.
Looking ahead, what do you anticipate will be the biggest advances or changes in your field over the next decade?
As Goethe`s Faust mused, “That I may perceive what holds the world together at its core”, so I believe the future will involve a deeper and more precise understanding of this fundamental interconnectedness between the different endocrine disorders throughout the whole body, using a holistic approach that links all endocrine diseases. The aim will be to identify a shared molecular background behind all these conditions and, in turn, tailor treatments to modify them on an individual basis for each patient.
How do you balance the technical aspects of your work with the empathic side of patient care?
I am passionate about applying advanced medical technologies to ensure the best possible treatment for my patients. At the same time, it is important to me to tailor these technologies to the unique needs, life situations, and personal wishes of each patient. The example of patients with endocrine tumors highlights how important it is to make treatment decisions in a way that takes not only scientific evidence into account, but also the personal circumstances of the affected person. In such sensitive cases, the individual patient´s needs and desires are an essential part of the decision-making process to ensure the best possible quality of life. Medicine is both art and science, and I believe that such an integrated approach allows me to combine both the scientific and human dimensions of patient care.
Disclosures: This short article was prepared by touchENDOCRINOLOGY in collaboration with Dr Nölting. No fees or funding were associated with its publication.
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