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Editorial: The Relevance of Endocrinology to a National Research Program^*

Abstract

AT THE June 1989 meeting of the Endocrine Society, I had an opportunity to speak about the relationship of endocrine research to public concerns about health and disease. The tremendous importance of this relationship became clear to me about 3 yr ago when I was first invited to the U.S. Congress to testify in defense of the budget request for the NIDDK, NIH.

Initially, I prepared for this budget hearing in much the same way I prepared for presentations to The Endocrine Society: I concentrated on science. I thought I would talk about the clatharin-coated compartment that is the site of proinsulin conversion, the structure and function of the estrogen receptor, the x-ray crystal structure of the renin molecule, and the properties of thyroglobulin and the TSH receptor.

The night before the hearing, I rehearsed in my mind how these topics might be received and what questions might be asked. It was then I realized that these scientific advances, while of great interest to endocrinologists, would probably not seem quite so meaningful to the Congress, unless they were related to the health needs of the American public. I concluded that the science that drives endocrine research is not tightly coupled to the public health concerns that drive budgetary decisions, and that my task was to make and emphasize this connection. Ultimately, this is a relatively simple task, because, as shown in Fig. 1, a fundamental science such as endocrinology has made many seminal contributions to major public health concerns such as diabetes, breast cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension, Graves' disease, and thyroid cancer.

Footnotes

^* This editorial is based on a presentation made at the 71st Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society in Seattle, Washington, June 21- 24,1989. Phillip Gorden, M.D., is the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Individuals who wish to submit editorials should contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Received August 15, 1989.