The European Society for Endocrinology (ESE) and the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) have released today, 17 October 2025, the EndoCompass Research Roadmap: Directions for the Future of Endocrine Science. The supplement is published today in the European Journal of Endocrinology and will also appear in Hormone Research in Paediatrics in due course. The Roadmap is a major new initiative to align research efforts, improve funding strategies and increase the visibility of hormone-related health challenges across Europe.
Endocrine diseases – such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, cancer, obesity, infertility and many rare endocrine diseases – affect millions of people across Europe. Yet research into hormone health remains underfunded and fragmented, accounting for less than 4% of Horizon 2020 biomedical and health research funding. EndoCompass aims to close this gap, setting out what's required to make strategic and equitable funding a reality.
EndoCompass is intended to serve as a compass for endocrine research for the next 10 years. We hope it can inspire all those working in endocrinology to ensure that research focuses on the highest priority questions. More broadly, we hope that the EndoCompass project raises awareness of the importance of endocrinology and endocrine research among policymakers, funding agencies and the public, who often do not link major societal health problems, such as obesity and infertility, to endocrinology."
Professor Martine Cools, ESPE Co-Chair of the EndoCompass Steering Group
The Roadmap was developed over two years by 228 clinical and scientific experts from across Europe, together with nine patient advocacy groups and 10 partner societies.
It identifies specific research needs and opportunities across eight endocrine specialties and five cross-cutting areas, including data and technology, environment, health inequalities and life-course transitions. These recommendations are intended to inform funding and policy decisions at European and national levels, enhance coordination in the field and ultimately contribute to better health outcomes for all.
"EndoCompass has been a huge collaborative effort, bringing together more than 220 scientists, clinicians and patient representatives from across Europe. It reflects a shared recognition of the urgent need to align our research priorities and work together to shape the future of endocrine science and deliver better care and outcomes for patients. Ultimately, this is about improving hormone health and tackling some of Europe's most pressing and under-recognised health challenges," said Professor Martin Fassnacht, ESE Co-Chair of the EndoCompass Steering Group.
The EndoCompass Roadmap has been developed as a practical resource for the endocrine community to use, reference and share, and ensure hormone health gets the attention it deserves.
Read the full Roadmap here.
Here is a list of all the papers included in the EndoCompass supplement, along with DOI numbers for the European Journal of Endocrinology (DOI numbers for Hormone Research in Paediatrics will be available shortly):
Ch. 1 – Endocrinology in European research funding (Horizon 2020 analysis) – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf067
Ch. 2 – Research roadmap for adrenal and cardiovascular endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf063
Ch. 3 – Research roadmap for calcium and bone endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf064
Ch. 4 – Research roadmap for endocrine causes and consequences of cancer – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf066
Ch. 5 – Research roadmap for diabetes, obesity and metabolism – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf065
Ch. 6 – Research roadmap for growth disorders – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf070
Ch. 7 – Research roadmap for pituitary and neuroendocrine tumour endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf035
Ch. 8 – Research roadmap for reproductive and developmental endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf069
Ch. 9 – Research roadmap for thyroid endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf010
Ch. 10 – Rare diseases in endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf072
Ch. 11 – Environmental endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf071
Ch. 12 – Endocrinology across the lifespan – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf074
Ch. 13 – Endocrine laboratory medicine – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf036
Ch. 14 – Artificial intelligence in endocrinology – https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvaf073
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