The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Environmental Endocrine Disruptors (EED) continues to be the
premier meeting in the field of endocrine disruptor research. The 12th Environmental Endocrine Disruptors
Gordon Research Conference (EED-GRC) will be held in Newry, Maine, USA on May 31-June 5, 2020,
together with an associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS; May 30-31,2020), which is oriented toward early
stage investigators and trainees and provides a forum for networking, career development, and project
development/feedback. The scientific discussions, research talks, poster sessions, and informal interactions
among the participants of the GRC and GRS will greatly contribute to advancing the understanding of novel
molecular mechanisms involved in endocrine disruption of human health. The interactions and collaborations
forged here will provide a strong base for future international efforts to understand and mitigate the important
public health problem of endocrine disruption. In the opening plenary, the 2020 GRC will take a broad look and
environmental health research to orient EED research in the overall landscape, and then turn our full attention
to the future by promoting discussion and engagement addressing data gaps and long-term research needs for
future regulatory decision making, public health policy, and clinical practice. Under this central mission, the
program was specifically designed to feature new science and scientists, highlight interdisciplinary efforts, and
engage the full spectrum of stakeholders in the field. A primary goal is to provide an integrated view of how
EDCs affect human and ecosystem health by linking observations in wildlife with mechanistic laboratory
studies using novel model systems and human clinical and epidemiological studies. Session topics include
emerging contaminants, and inter-individual (population level) vulnerability; and of particularly innovative talks
on endocrine disruption in marine mammals and field studies of living ecosystems.
This GRC EED began in 1998 and remains a unique forum to attract researchers from across the research
spectrum who share common interests in the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on wildlife and
human health. Every single talk is directly related to the mission of NIEHS. Held biennially and shaped by its
participants, it is organized by the GRC, an organization internationally known for the high quality, cutting-edge
nature of its meetings. This GRC attracts experts from basic science, clinical medicine, epidemiology, public
health, government, NGOs, and industry, perhaps the widest constituency of any GRC.