In Memoriam: Professor Aldo Pinchera (1934-2012)

Professor Aldo Pinchera passed away on 11th October 2012 at the age of 78 years. He was one of the founders of endocrinology in Italy and one of its greatest ambassadors in the world.

Aldo Pinchera graduated from the University of Rome in 1958 and obtained his postgraduate degree in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases from the same University in 1961. After training in several foreign institutions, such as the University of Marseille, the University of Barcelona, the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he moved to Pisa, where in 1980 he became Professor of Endocrinology until his retirement in 2009. He was then appointed Emeritus Professor of the University of Pisa. From 1981 to 2009 he directed the Postgraduate School in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases at the University of Pisa. Among his numerous academic positions, Aldo Pinchera was Vice-President of the National Research Council from 1998 to 2008. Throughout his career he received numerous awards from the most important scientific institutions in the world. The most recent prize was the prestigious Lissitzky Career Award, received in Pisa during the last annual meeting of the European Thyroid Association. Aldo Pinchera has been President (and Honorary Member) of the European Thyroid Association, President of the Italian Association of the Thyroid, Regional Coordinator for West Central Europe, Member of the Board of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and member of the European Community Thyroid Experts Panel for the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.

Aldo Pinchera founded and directed for many years the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation and served in the Editorial Board of all the major international journals in the field of Endocrinology and Metabolism. His scientific interests ranged from thyroid diseases, with particular regards to thyroid autoimmunity, thyroid cancer and endemic goiter, to parathyroid diseases and calcium metabolism, to obesity. His scientific activity translated into the publication of more than 630 peer-reviewed papers in international journals, 10 international volumes as Editor or Co-Editor, and 36 chapters in international textbooks.

Moved by his insatiable desire to bring endocrine research forward through the creation of a solid international network, Aldo Pinchera, a bright and keen investigator, selected and nurtured a number of capable Fellows, thus creating the Pisan Endocrinology School, one of the strongest in Italy. Many of his pupils have reached positions as full professors in several Universities in Italy, after spending long periods of research and training in prestigious institutions abroad. He has been inspirational for generations of researchers. His intelligence and his drive were contagious for young (and less young) fellows in Pisa and throughout Italy. His wisdom represented a reference point for a good advice or direction in troubled times or difficult situations. We cannot believe that we cannot give him a call any longer to discuss any kind of issue with him.

We miss Aldo and will continue to miss him. We have lost our Mentor. The endocrine community has lost one of the giants in this field. His achievements will continue to live after his death. He will live in our hearts forever.

Claudio Marcocci and Paolo Vitti, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa