In this final issue of 2023 we bring a focus to rare endocrine diseases, with articles covering aspects of clinical practice, innovation and funding. Patient registries are a vital resource for rare disease research, and you can read articles on new endocrine registries here and here.

You’ll find a fascinating feature on the variability of clinical assay set-ups; a must-read for anyone involved in patient management. And we present the first of a planned series of ‘how to’ articles, on a topic we all need to understand for our research to reach patients as rapidly as possible: commercialisation.

If, like me, you’re drawn to human interest articles, you’ll love this issue in which we interview five individuals making a difference in our discipline in a variety of ways. For instance, we hear from three people at the leading edge of changes at the Society: Kevin Murphy, the first ever Events and Training Officer-Elect, Ruth Andrew on changes to the way grant funding will be assessed and distributed, and her successor as General Secretary-Elect, Aled Rees.

We’re all fresh from SfE BES 2023, and what a meeting it was! Craig Doig and I give a ‘behind the scenes’ look into how the schedule was put together by the Programme Committee, and discuss some of our personal highlights from the conference. One of the most rewarding things was seeing others enjoy the sessions that we painstakingly crafted. If you have a burning desire to see a particular themed session or speaker at our next SfE BES meeting, please do remember to submit your suggestions to the committee. It’s your opportunity to have your say in shaping the meeting.

Wishing you all a peaceful, relaxing and enjoyable festive break and a healthy and prosperous 2024!

KIM JONAS