Early-Career Members Grow Careers Through Our Professional Development Programs

Spring in the northern hemisphere is a time of exploration, growth, and transition. That’s why I’m excited this month to highlight our Society programs that help rising clinicians and researchers explore, grow, and transition to careers in endocrinology.

One of our newer programs is the Medical School Engagement Program (MSEP) , which in April will welcome 10 new member universities to join the 21 other institutions already taking part. Since 2024, the MSEP has offered a pathway for the most talented medical students in the United States to explore the field of endocrinology and connect with some of our top leaders.

The MSEP provides participating schools with curated resources and structured programming to highlight the vibrancy of our field. By all indications, the program is achieving its aims.

Participating schools averaged seven to 10 interest group sessions throughout the academic year, with an average of 20-25 students participating, based on data from our first year of programming. Spring in the northern hemisphere is a time of exploration, growth, and transition.

That’s why I’m excited this month to highlight our Society programs that help rising clinicians and researchers explore, grow, and transition to careers in endocrinology. We’re delighted to recognize the dedication of these future clinicians…and, hopefully, endocrinologists.

Forty-two MSEP students will travel to ENDO 2026 in Chicago, Ill., in June to receive an Excellence in Endocrinology Award at our MSEP awards reception. Mentoring Programs As an added benefit, MSEP medical students – as well as other students and residents – will have the opportunity to participate in ENDO ’s Endocrine Mentor Day.

This popular daylong event connects mentees with accomplished endocrinologists who can answer questions and share their excitement for endocrinology. Together, they will attend sessions on the latest groundbreaking science as well as special interactive sessions.

Another mentoring program for early-career researchers is our Grant Aims Accelerator Program , which allows experienced mentors to review the mentees’ specific aims draft (or international specific aims equivalent) for grant proposals. Offered exclusively to Society members, our mentors and mentees are matched by research interests.

Pairs will meet informally at ENDO 2026 to discuss how mentee’s specific aims draft can be improved. Registration for the program ends Monday, May 4.

Career and Leadership Training The Society also offers programs for early-career researchers and clinicians to grow their professional lives. The Future Leaders Advancing Research in Endocrinology (FLARE) program is designed for promising graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, and junior faculty to learn how they can establish independent research careers.

We recently welcomed 25 FLARE participants into the 2026 class. These individuals, who hail from top universities across the United States, gathered at the Society’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., March 26 – 28, for the in-person FLARE workshop.

The workshop focuses on the “business of research,” and provides leadership training on challenges that early-career researchers often face. Participants heard sessions on the skills needed to market themselves for employment, as well as on transitioning into full-time research positions, and building long-term, successful careers.

FLARE offers benefits that extend well beyond the workshop. A vast FLARE network of alumni, faculty leaders, and peers are committed to supporting each other’s growth.

Early-career clinicians also have a program designed to help them grow in their profession. The Excellence in Clinical Endocrinology Leadership (ExCEL) program offers comprehensive leadership training and mentorship to early career physicians in medicine and science.

As with FLARE, we recently welcomed 16 members into the 2026 ExCEL class, which is set to hold a two-day workshop, April 8 – 10, in Washington, D.C. As I look back on my long career, I’m always seeking ways to welcome more researchers and clinicians into the field that I love so much.

The Society shares this passion. If you are starting out in your career, I encourage you to take advantage of these and other opportunities to maximize your success.

The ExCEL workshop offers practical leadership training on topics such as financial management, contract negotiation, and effective communication. Participants should walk away knowing how to navigate the transition into clinical practice and build the skills needed to grow as leaders in endocrinology.

ExCEL also has a vast mentoring network, from which participants can gain access to accomplished clinicians who provide career advice, feedback, and connections that continue long after the workshop ends. Training to Pass Board Exam The Society takes seriously its mission to grow the profession, including by helping clinicians gain their credentials to become endocrinologists.

Our long-running Endocrinology Board Review (EBR) program prepares physicians for success on the demanding American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism certification exam. EBR 2026 will offer online study sessions September 18 – 20, but the program is much more than that.

Registration includes an interactive practice exam, a comprehensive board review book, in addition to the live study sessions with faculty who are experienced in preparing physicians for their certification. Last but not least, I’m proud to highlight the expansion of our ENDO 2026 travel grant program.

The one-year initiative, announced in January, provides additional support for more early-career researchers to attend our annual meeting. The program provides: Increases to $1,500 per award recipient for Early Investigator Awards, Outstanding Abstract Awards, and Early-Career Forum; and Up to 200 additional grants of $1,500 per award recipient for the Outstanding Abstract Awards.

($1,750 per award for international recipients). We look forward to seeing these researchers at ENDO 2026 in Chicago, Ill., along with our many other members.

As I look back on my long career, I’m always seeking ways to welcome more researchers and clinicians into the field that I love so much. The Society shares this passion.

If you are starting out in your career, I encourage you to take advantage of these and other opportunities to maximize your success. The post Early-Career Members Grow Careers Through Our Professional Development Programs appeared first on Endocrine News .