Following the recent international controversy regarding the gender of South African runner Caster Semenya, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will closely monitor the results of "The 2nd World Conference: Hormonal and Genetic Basis of Sexual Differentiation Disorders," which will bring together many of the world's top experts in endocrinology and genetics to discuss developments in the evolving area of Disorders of Sexual Differentiation (DSD).
The IOC, which is seeking to develop new guidelines for gender testing of athletes for future sporting events, is partially funding the conference taking place in Miami from January 15 to 17. The IOC will also sponsor a symposium of scientists and sports federation doctors to take place in conjunction with the conference. Maria I. New, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, is Co-Directing the conference with Joe Leigh Simpson, MD, of Florida International University. Dr. New will also participate in the IOC symposium.
"This is the only conference in recent years to cover sexual differentiation," said Dr. New, who is also Director of the Adrenal Steroid Disorders Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "It's a broad topic with multi-faceted diagnosis and treatment and participants in this conference will get the most cutting edge diagnostic tools and treatment options for the diagnosis and management of patients with DSD."
After winning the women's 800-meter race by a large margin at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Athletics in August, Semenya's competitors raised questions over her gender. The controversy brought global attention to the topic of DSD and created a discussion among sports federations and scientists about the best way to address questions of sexual identification in sports. The IOC and the IAAF will use information from the conference and symposium as the basis for establishing guidelines for sexual identity involving future athletes.
Topics at the conference will include up-to-date research on the medical and psychological long-term outcomes of DSD, challenges in sex assignment of patients with DSD, and surgical, medical and psychological factors that affect the care of DSD patients. The conference will also cover topics in endocrinology, including skeletal biology and epigenetics.
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