Professor Kristien Boelaert has been recognised for her work in endocrinology.
Professor Kristien Boelaert presenting at the 17th International Thyroid Congress in Brazil, June 2025.
Professor Kristien Boelaert from the University’s Department of Applied Health Sciences has been awarded a prestigious lectureship by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) for her collaborative research into thyroidology (the study of the thyroid).
The ATA focuses on improving thyroid care through research, education and advocacy, with over 1,700 members from around the world. It recognises clinicians, academics and early career researchers in the field.
Professor Boelaert has been granted the Valerie Anne Galton Distinguished Lectureship Award, which recognises an individual that has contributed to the ATA’s clinical knowledge of thyroid conditions through their research (particularly collaborative). It is the first ATA Lectureship that has been named after a woman, and Professor Boelaert is the first woman from outside the US to be given this exceptional award.
Over the last 25 years my collaborative research has provided new insights into the pathogenesis of thyroid cancer, resulting in the exploration of novel therapeutic strategies. My clinical studies have aimed to improve our knowledge of the prevalence, management and long-term outcomes of hyperthyroidism, managing thyroid disorders during pregnancy, as well as the causes of congenital hypothyroidism. My research has changed clinical practice for these disorders and has been incorporated into national and international clinical guidance, patient information sources, and training pathways for clinicians. My studies have spanned the whole spectrum of thyroid diseases from laboratory molecular research to analysis of large clinical databases and the conduct of multi-centre clinical trials.
Professor Boelaert is a Professor of Endocrinology, with her research focusing on the pathogenesis and management of thyroid dysfunction, nodules, endocrine disorders in pregnancy, and thyroid cancer. She has had several leadership roles within international endocrine societies, such as President of the British Thyroid Association, Member of the European Thyroid Association Executive Committee, and President Elect of the Society for Endocrinology. She has been an active member of the ATA since 2003, and currently serves as the co-chair of the ATA 2025 Annual Meeting. Professor Boelaert has recently been elected to the ATA Board of Directors and will be adopted onto the board in September 2025 -marking the first time that a position has been created for an international member of the ATA Board of Directors.
In June 2025, Professor Boelaert presented a vignette summarising the research that led to her Lectureship at the International Thyroid Congress in Brazil. Alongside the other ATA award winners, she will be welcomed and officially conferred with her award at the ATA 2025 Annual Meeting in Arizona, USA, in September 2025.
Professor of Endocrinology
Staff profile page for Dr Kristien Boelaert, Professor of Endocrinology, Department of Applied Health Sciences.
