Endocrine Abstracts

Clara V Alvarez MD, PhD, graduated in Medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). In parallel she initiated studies in hypothalamus-pituitary regulation of somatotroph and follicular thyroid cell function and proliferation. Upon completion of her Ph.D. she extended her training with a first postdoc at the Institut für Tumorforshung (IMT) in Marburg (Germany) and later on in the DIBIT, San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) where she developed functional analysis of RAS and EGFR mutations respectively. For the last 20 years she has been attached to the University of Santiago, where she is now Professor Accredited in Physiology in the School of Medicine and leader of the group, Neoplasia and Endocrine Differentiation at the Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS).

Her major focus is in furthering our understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in pituitary cell renewal and cellular homeostasis, and the alterations in thyroid cell proliferation/differentiation leading to cancer. Her group has helped in the elucidation of fundamental physiological and molecular mechanisms in these two glands. In addition they have illuminated pathophysiologic mechanisms, improved diagnosis and treatment in patients with pituitary or thyroid disease. She has published articles in top peer reviewed journals and is frequently lecturing in International Congress and Symposia.

Dr CV Alvarez has a pro-European view of Endocrinology. She has served in the Executive Committee of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) under both Prof. Steve Lamberts and Prof. Ebo Nieschlag as presidents.