The Endocrine Society held its annual meeting in Chicago in June 2023. Five sessions focused on endocrine disruptors. Each session had a standing-room-only crowd, indicating great interest among the endocrine community.
HEEDS Director, Jerry Heindel, PhD, chaired and presented a short overview talk at a session, “Exogenous Factors in Obesity.” Other speakers included Bruce Blumberg on Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance of the Effects of Prenatal Obesogen Exposure; Marianna Sadagurski, Early Pollutant Exposures and Hypothalamic Development: Disruption of Metabolic Programming; and Michele La Merrill, Mechanism of Chemical Contributions to Obesity.
A second session also focused on Obesity: Impact of the changes in Food Environment in the Development of Obesity. Session chairs were Maria Balhara and Jamie Almandoz. Speakers included Melissa Melough on Endocrine Disruptors in the Modern Food System, and Jean-Claude Moubarac, Processing Matters: How Ultra-Processed Foods Impacts Obesity and Chronic Diseases.
A third session, Transgenerational Effects of Endocrine Disruptors, was chaired by Shannon Whirledge. Speakers included Andrea Gore, Transgenerational Effects of Chemicals in the Neuroendocrine Axis, Tyrone Hayes, Multigenerational Chemical Exposure Effects in Frogs, and Ramji Bhandari, Health Effects Caused by Ancestral Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.
A fourth session, Hidden Dangers in Dietary Supplements, Natural Products and Endocrine Disruptors, was chaired by Robert Sargis, with presentations by Abby Fleish, The Lasting Impact of ‘Forever Chemicals:’ PFAS and Bone Health, Rachana Shah on Dietary Supplements and Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss, and Mary Lee, Endocrine Disruptors and Pubertal Timing.
The fifth session: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Effects on Reproduction was chaired by Anders Juul with presentations by Patricia Morris, Impacts of Chemical Exposures on Global Trends in Male and Female Fertility, Shanna Swan, Epidemiological Evidence for Male Urogenital Changes Related to Prenatal Chemicals and Laura Vandenberg, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Pregnancy: a Vulnerable Period for the Mother.
There was also an oral session on Mechanisms of Endocrine Disruption by Chemicals.