Ali Abbara is Clinical Senior Lecturer in Diabetes and Endocrinology, based in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction at Imperial College London. He has received prestigious fellowships from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Wellcome Trust.

Ali has been actively involved with the Society’s public engagement, from schools outreach events to being Editor of our public-facing website You and Your Hormones. In 2019, Ali joined the Public Engagement Committee. He tells us about his experience of the role, and why you should get involved with Society governance by applying for a Committee position.

How did you become involved with governance at the Society?

As a clinical academic funded by the NIHR, I had long been involved in public engagement activities to communicate research findings to patients and the public in an accessible manner. So, I was keen to contribute to the Society’s public engagement activities.

I applied to join the Public Engagement Committee, which has been a wonderful experience. I also applied to be a content editor for You and Your Hormones, which aims to provide patients and the public with reliable information from our expert members. As a content editor, I reviewed articles to ensure that they remained up-to-date and accurate, and checked that the style and language were suitable for a general audience. Later, I joined the You and Your Hormones Editorial Board and, more recently, became the Editor. As we move forwards, a major focus is to try to increase the audiovisual content offered on the website, in addition to the existing written articles, to engage even more people.

How did your experience support your role in governance?

Although I had some experience with public engagement before joining the Committee, it was not a prerequisite, and many experienced colleagues were able to provide support if needed. So, do apply too, if you are enthusiastic about engaging with the public to promote and help increase understanding of endocrinology.

What did you expect before you took up your role?

I didn’t know what to expect from my first Committee role. Generally, there are a couple of meetings per year, and different members of the Committee will take more of a lead on specific public engagement activities, such as running public engagement events, student video awards, evaluating public engagement grants, and engaging with students and teachers from schools to support aspects of the curriculum related to endocrinology (e.g. producing a short video on the menstrual cycle).

What have your highlights been?

The schools events have always been great fun, and it’s great to enthuse young prospective endocrinologists of the future. Some of these events coincide with the annual SfE BES conference, where local schools are invited to attend and engage with our members, and take part in some interactive learning activities.

Has anything surprised you about the role?

There were far more ongoing engagement activities than I had realised before I joined the Committee. I am sure this has a huge impact on the public’s understanding and enthusiasm for our specialty. It is great to get involved in the Society’s Committees, to be more aware of the activities that you can contribute to.

What is your advice for members who are interested in applying for a Committee role? 

I would highly recommend applying! The Society is always looking for enthusiastic members to join the Committees and contribute to the betterment of our specialty. You will find being on a Committee very enjoyable. It enables you to meet and share ideas with other like-minded Society members, and it can open up further opportunities to get involved and support the Society’s activities in ways you might not have envisioned.

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