David S. Cooper, MD, to Deliver Paul Starr Award Lecture at the 81st Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association

Newswise — Falls Church, Virginia. Oct. 26, 2011 – The Paul Starr Award recognizes an outstanding contributor to clinical thyroidology, and this year’s recipient, Dr. David S. Cooper, MD, will deliver the Paul Starr Award Lecture, entitled “The Medical Treatment of Hyperthyroidism: Past, Present, and Future” at the 81st annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association on Thursday, October 27 at 1:30 pm. Dr. Cooper is Professor of Medicine and Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Professor of International Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Physician and Director, the Thyroid Clinic at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland. The Paul Starr Award is supported by an ATA member of longstanding, Dr. Boris Catz, of Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Catz is pleased “to honor Dr. Cooper and to honor the memory of his mentor, Paul Starr” with this award.

Dr. Cooper is an accomplished clinical investigator, scholar, and educator in thyroidology. He has made several important contributions to clinical thyroidology, including his extensive work on the development of antithyroid drugs. He has developed immunoassays for the development of antithyroid agents, described the intra- and extrathyroidal effects of propylthiouracil, evaluated the levels of antithyroid drugs in maternal milk and neonatal cord blood, characterized the risk factors for agranulocytosis associated with antithyroid medications, studies drug resistance, analyzed their pharmacokinetics in hyperthyroidism and renal failure, described their impact on subsequent radioiodine treatment of hyperthyroidism, and helped to develop guidelines related to their use.

In addition, Dr. Cooper has had a key role in framing the standard of care for subclinical thyroid dysfunction, and particularly subclinical hypothyroidism, over the past three decades. He performed the first randomized clinical trial on the use of thyroxine treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism in the mid-1980’s, and subsequently published multiple review articles on this topic. Specifically, his work on the cardiovascular consequences of subclinical hypothyroidism over the years have helped guide the field.

He has taken a leadership role in the ATA in establishing guidelines for the management of thyroid nodules and cancer, applying his unique scholarship, clinical expertise, and perspectives to provide valuable guidance to thyroid clinicians. Furthermore, he has actively contributed to the National Thyroid Cancer Cooperative Registry and to studies of recombinant thyroid stimulating hormone use. Dr. Cooper’s research accomplishments and publications have had a clear impact on clinical thyroidology across many different treatment areas, including hyperthyroxinemia due to propranolol, alkaline phosphatase elevation in hyperthyroidism, the limited role of intense TSH suppression in low-grade thyroid cancer management, and acute thyroid swelling with airway obstruction following the use of recombinant thyroid stimulating hormone.

Dr. Cooper was President of the ATA from 2006-2007 and Treasurer (1998-2003). He has also been a member of the Board of Directors (1996-1998) and has served as chairman of the ATA’s Public Affairs Committee, Publications Committee, and Clinical Affairs Committee, and a member of the Awards Committee and the Standards of Care Committee.

He is currently Editor-in-Chief for Endocrinology at Up-to-Date, and was the Deputy Editor of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and was a Contributing Editor of The Journal of the American Medical Association. He is the immediate past Chair of the American Board of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes.

About the ATA Annual MeetingThe 81st Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association will be held October 26-30, 2011 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells (near Palm Springs), California. This four day creative and innovative scientific program, chaired by Drs. Anthony Hollenberg and Martha Zeiger, has carefully balanced clinical and basic science sessions on the latest advances in thyroidology. The ATA meeting is designed to offer continuing education for endocrinologists, internists, surgeons, basic scientists, nuclear medicine scientists, pathologists, endocrine fellows and nurses, physician assistants and other health care professionals. Visit www.thyroid.org for more information.

About the ATAThe American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement, understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer. ATA is an international individual membership organization with over 1,400 members from 43 countries around the world. Celebrating its 88th anniversary, ATA delivers its mission through several key endeavors: the publication of highly regarded monthly journals, THYROID, Clinical Thyroidology and Clinical Thyroidology for Patients; annual scientific meetings; biennial clinical and research symposia; research grant programs for young investigators, support of online professional, public and patient educational programs; and the development of guidelines for clinical management of thyroid disease. Visit www.thyroid.org for more information.