The EndoCompass Supplement: Preface, Acknowledgments, and Declarations

The EndoCompass Research Roadmap – Directions for the Future of Endocrine Science – was developed as a joint initiative of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) and the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE). This project aimed to outline the specific research needs, priorities, and opportunities in areas of endocrine health, disease, and fundamental research that, when addressed in future research programs and appropriately funded, will contribute to better health in Europe. This supplement to the Hormone Research in Paediatrics is the result of that effort.EndoCompass was developed under the guidance of a joint ESE-ESPE Steering Group with the following members (in alphabetical order): Cynthia Andoniadou, Jérôme Bertherat, Martine Cools, Eleanor Davies, Dirk De Rijdt, Martin Fassnacht, Evelien Gevers, Anita Hokken-Koelega, Anton Luger, Jonathan Mertens, Srđan Pandurević, Robin Peeters, Alberto Pereira Arias, and Martin Reincke.The EndoCompass Steering Group is grateful to the European endocrine societies that joined forces and delegated experts and workgroup leaders to the working groups: the European Academy of Andrology (EAA), the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS), the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors (ENSAT), the European NeuroEndocrine Association (ENEA), the European NeuroEndocrine Tumor Society (ENETS), the European Thyroid Association (ETA), and the Growth Hormone Research Society (GRS). We are also grateful for the engagement and contribution of Endo-ERN, the European Reference Network for rare endocrine conditions.The work on each chapter of the EndoCompass roadmap was developed under the direction of workgroup leaders and experts in their area of both basic and clinical research, but also representing the societies active in that area of endocrinology. We thank them for the leadership provided in this project. Under their guidance, the EndoCompass roadmap was developed to be composed of 8 chapters addressing research needs in specific areas of endocrinology, and 5 chapters addressing the research needs and opportunities in areas traversing the different endocrine glands and systems.The EndoCompass project ultimately builds on the engagement of 215 experts in basic, translational, and clinical science, representing a wide geographical coverage across Europe and beyond. We thank all experts for their work and commitment, the suggestions provided, and the discussions that led to the selection of research priorities and the development of the articles.We are grateful to the early career representatives of the ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (EYES) for their engagement in the working groups of the project and their contribution in developing the concepts for the graphical representations of the research priorities. All individual contributors – workgroup leaders, experts, and early career endocrinologists – are listed in the respective chapter of the roadmap.The Steering Group also expresses its gratitude to the patient advocacy groups that provided a patient perspective in the selection of research priorities: British Thyroid Foundation, Congenital Hyperinsulinism International, European Thyroid Association, the International Neuroendocrine Cancer Alliance, Living with CAH, MRKH Connect, Turner Syndrome Support Society, and Varia Suisse. The individual members of the participating societies also had the opportunity to provide input on 2 occasions: initially in summer 2023 by responding to a survey about research priorities, and secondly in November 2024 during a consultation process based on drafts of the different chapters. We thank all members for their views and constructive input.The Steering Group wants to express its special thanks to Dirk De Rijdt, ESE Director of Strategic Partnerships, who has coordinated this project with vision and commitment from the outset, Srđan Pandurević, the ESE Scientific Programmes Program Manager, for his enduring effort over the last 2 years in managing this project, and to Dr Yulia Matskevich, EU Research Funding Consultant (Brussels, Belgium), who has provided valuable insights and guidance on the research funding schemes and dynamics of the European Commission. We thank Caroline Brewser for editorial support and Marko Šmitran for the final design of the graphics. Finally, we thank Oxford University Press for their support and guidance in the production of this Supplement.Supplementary material is available at https://doi.org/10.1159/000549150.This supplement was jointly funded by the European Society of Endocrinology and the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology.Eleanor Davies (conceptualization [equal]), Martin Fassnacht (conceptualization [equal]), Martine Cools (conceptualization [equal] and resources [equal]), and Evelien Gevers (project administration [equal]).