INF is an academic partnership with the mission of bringing together researchers and promoting relevant discoveries in the field of neuroendocrinology
INF is a neuroendocrinology partnership on a mission to bring together neuroendocrinology researchers and promote relevant discoveries
As President of the International Neuroendocrine Federation, I am delighted to write the first piece for our inaugural INF Newsletter. This endeavor was initiated by the INF Executive Council (Drs. Waljit Dhillo, Kellie Breen and I) to communicate all of the exciting happenings in neuroendocrinology and to keep the community active and engaged. Our Treasurer and Assistant Editor, Dr. Kellie Breen, helps me to come up with an interesting set of topics, and we welcome any new ideas from the membership. This is meant to be an electronic conversation for our members, and we hope that everyone will participate in the process. If you have ideas or want to announce or highlight a topic from your individual society, please send us a note.
I especially want to acknowledge the effort being poured into the upcoming ICN2026 Meeting in Nagoya Japan. We know that the attendees will have an exceptional experience given the organizers. We have included tiltes of the upcoming sessions, as well as a couple of personal pieces from our chairs. I want to thank Dr. Rebecca Campbell, Chair of the program organizing committee, and her committee who put together an integrated scientific program addressing the full spectrum of neuroendocrine research and covering cutting edge developments within twelve sessions. She has just finished a site visit and has written a piece summarizing her experience. I also send a huge thank you to Dr. Hiroshi Arima, Chair of the local organizing committee, as he and his team are instrumental in planning the meeting to be both intellectually stimulating, but with ample opportunities for networking (and fun – we are going to Japan after all). All are volunteering countless hours and have put together what is sure to be a spectacular ICN meeting – I encourage all of our member societies and groups to join us in Japan July 26-29, 2026!
In this newsletter, we will introduce you to the various aspects of the INF that fit into the lives of your individual societies. I will encourage you to consider becoming a lead editor(s) for one of our upcoming Masterclass in Neuroendocrinology books, and spread the message to your friends and colleagues, as this is one of the sources of revenue for the INF to support trainees to attend the ICN meetings globally. Further, I hope that each of our member societies will provide trainee travel awards to attend the ICN2026 in Japan, so that we will have a robust and diverse group of future neuroendocrinologists at the meeting.
Professor Denise D Belsham, PhD
President of the International Neuroendocrine Federation 2024-2028
Reminders
JNE impact factor for 2025 is 5.0! Great news for the BSN and INF.
The Journal of Neuroendocrinology (JNE) is a leading peer-reviewed journal publishing all aspects of neuroendocrine research, providing a single home for high-quality research reports and review articles from across the discipline, through its two research strands: Fundamental and Mechanistic Neuroendocrinology (FMN) and Translational and Clinical Neuroendocrinology (TCN). JNE is the official journal of the International Neuroendocrine Federation (INF) and several of its member societies.
President, 2024-2028
Professor of Physiology and Medicine, Canada Research Chair in Neuroendocrinology. She has over 30 years of neuroendocrine research in obesity, circadian rhythms, and reproduction. Recently, she was awarded the “President’s Teaching Award”, the highest teaching accolade at the U of Toronto. She is particularly proud that many of her >170 trainees have been young women and members of under-represented minorities, well poised to pursue advanced scientific careers for which she serves as a role model, due to her combination of an exceptional understanding of active learning, a brilliant scientific program in neuroendocrinology, and her success as an elite female entrepreneur with two successful start-up companies; thus serving as an exemplar for young scientists. She developed an array of over 300 clonal neuronal cell models from the hypothalamus, now in over 600 labs worldwide. She was the Chairperson for the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology held July 2018 in Toronto, and currently is the Immediate Past President of the Pan American Neuroendocrine Society
Secretary General, 2024-2028
Professor in Endocrinology & Metabolism and Consultant Endocrinologist at Imperial College London. He completed his medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, University of London which included an Intercalated BSc in Biochemistry (awarded First Class Honours). He completed his PhD as a Wellcome Trust Clinical Training Fellow at Imperial College and was subsequently awarded NIHR Clinician Scientist, NIHR Career Development Fellowship and currently an NIHR Research Professorship. He is Head of Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism at Imperial College, Divisional Director of Research at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Dean of the NIHR Academy and Scientific Director for Research Capacity and Capabilities to the NIHR Board
Treasurer, 2024-2028
Associate Professor in the Department of OBGYN and Reproductive Sciences at UC San Diego. She is an educator, mentor and head of a collaborative research program investigating how the brain perceives stress cues and how stress signals contribute to disrupted endocrine physiology in females. Kellie received her PhD at the University of Michigan and conducted postdoctoral training in molecular neuroscience at UC San Diego. Kellie’s leadership and service is represented broadly across the NIH (standing study section member), editorial boards (Endocrinology & Biology of Reproduction), and executive boards governing the Pan American Neuroendocrine Society and International Neuroendocrine Federation. She has received the Neena Schwartz Early Career Award from the Women in Endocrinology and Anita Payne Lectureship from the University of Michigan and recently Chaired the Organizing Committee for a joint Endocrine Society/FASEB Conference
Reduced registration fee to attend the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (held every four years).
Option to advertise training or faculty positions available in your laboratory, or to request a position for yourself.
