Since its foundation in 1960, the International Society of Endocrinology (ISE) has pursued the worldwide advancement of education, science and patient care in endocrinology.

The main activity of ISE throughout the years was the organization of the International Congress of Endocrinology, held every 4 years and since 2008 – every 2 years.

The International Congress of Endocrinology (ICE) is one of the most widely attended medical conference of its field. The rich, diverse and outstanding scientific content of the event coupled with its global perspective make it a congress not to be missed by academics, clinicians, researchers and industry partners from across the globe.

Previously held every four years the ISE now works with its member societies to hold a biennial ICE meeting in regional rotation across The Americas/Europe/Africa and Asia/Oceania therefore allowing for more frequent and geographically diverse exchange of scientific information. For the first time due to the COVID-19 Pandemic the ICE in 2021 will be held fully virtually providing even greater opportunity to people to join from all around the world.

Past Congresses:

Event YearLocation
ICE 2018Cape Town, South Africa
ICE 2016Beijing, China
ICE/ENDO 2014Chicago, USA
ICE/ECE 2012Florence, Italy
ICE/JES 2010Kyoto, Japan
ICE 2008Rio, Brazil
ICE 2004Lisbon, Portugal
ICE 2000Sydney, Australia
ICE 1996San Francisco, USA
ICE 1992Nice, France
ICE 1988Kyoto, Japan
ICE 1984Québec, Canada
ICE 1980Melbourne, Australia
ICE 1976Hamburg, Germany
ICE 1972Washington DC, USA
ICE 1968Mexico City, Mexico
ICE 1964London, UK
ICE 1960Copenhagen, Denmark

Future Congresses:

  • ICE 2021: Fully Online, 24-28 February in partnership with FASEN and FELAEN
  • ICE 2022, 25-28 August, Singapore, in partnership with EMSS

Memories from ICE

  • 1960
    Copenhagen, Denmark  

    1960 - ICE 1960, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Held at the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen, the Congress President was Bernado A. Houssay, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1947 for his discovery of the part played by the hormone of the anterior pituitary lobe in the metabolism of sugar.

    ICE 1960
  • 1964
    London, UK  
    Proceedings of the second international congress of Endocrinology

    1964 - ICE 1964, London, UK

    Held at Imperial College Kensington, Congress President George W Corner said “There is no such person as an endocrinologist pure and simple. A physician or medical scientist calling himself an endocrinologist must besomething more…Our gathering is therefore a Congress of more than endocrinology; we might even be justified in calling it the Second International Congress of Endocrinology and All the Other Medical Arts and Sciences!”

    ICE 1964
  • 1968
    Mexico city, Mexico  
    Black and white photograph of attendees of the ICE 1968 opening ceremony. From left to right, Guillermo Massieu, Ignacio Morones-Prieto, F.T.G. Prunty, Rafael Moreno-Valle, Gustavo Diaz-Ordaz, (President of Mexico), Salvador Zubiran, Sir Charles Dodds, Javier Barros-Sierra, Romulo Sanchez-Mireles.

    1968 - ICE 1968, Mexico city, Mexico

    Sheldon J. Segal gave the Plenary Lecture entitled “Population Growth. A Challenge to Endocrinology”.

    ICE 1968
  • 1972
    Washington DC, USA  

    1972 - ICE 1972, Washington DC, USA

    “Endocrinologists coming from the whole world met for the first time in 1960. It is strange that they hesitated so long to gather on an international scale, because endocrinology surely had already an excellent tradition” – Josef Charvat, Honorary President to the Office of the Congress.

    ICE 1972
  • 1976
    Hamburg, Germany  

    1976 - ICE 1976, Hamburg, Germany

    The Congress took place at the Congress Centrum of Hamburg with Plenary Lecture from H. G. Friesen – “Human Prolactin Receptors and Placental Lactogens” and J. Gorski – “Steroid Hormone Reaction”.

    1976
  • 1980
    Melbourne, Australia  

    1980 - ICE 1980, Melbourne, Australia

    Over 2000 participants from 41 countries around the world gathered for Australia’s first International Endocrinology Congress.

    ICE 1980
  • 1984
    Quebec, Canada July 1-7

    1984 July 1-7 - ICE 1984, Quebec, Canada

    In collaboration with the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, this was the largest ICE meeting so far where
    over 2781 abstracts were presented in addition to 200 symposia, 10 plenary lectures and 20 meet-the-professor sessions.

    ICE 1984
  • 1988
    Kyoto, Japan July 17-23

    1988 July 17-23 - ICE 1988, Kyoto, Japan

    “This Congress provides an invaluable wealth of information on the latest findings and results of endocrinological research, in this way helping to maintain the public health and promoting welfare” – Jiro Kondo, President, Science Council of Japan.

    ICE 1988
  • 1992
    Nice, France August 30

    1992 August 30 - 5 September - ICE 1992, Nice, France

    “Three decades after the first International Congress of Endocrinology, endocrinology still appears as an exponentially expanding field of biological and health sciences having meanwhile altogether incorporated the major conceptual and technical breakthroughs in molecular biology and immunology, and extended the concepts of basic mechanisms of hormone production and action to all fields of intercellular communication” – Rene Mornex.

    ICE 1992
  • 1996
    San Francisco, USA June 12-15

    1996 June 12-15 - ICE 1996, San Francisco, USA

    The 10th anniversary of this prestigious global gathering was held in collaboration with The Endocrine Society in June in San Francisco, USA.

    ICE 1996
  • 2000
    Sydney, Australia October 29

    2000 October 29 - 2 November - ICE 2000, Sydney, Australia

    Following the Olympic Games, this Congress was hosted at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre in the Millennium year and attracted 3300 registrants from 75 countries.

    ICE 2000
  • 2004
    Lisbon, Portugal  

    2004 - ICE 2004, Lisbon, Portugal

    The football fans in Lisbon for the Euro 2004 tournament had departed and were replaced with over 3200 endocrinologists attending this meeting at the Lisbon Congress Centre. A comprehensive program of plenary lectures, symposia, oral communications, ‘meet the professor’ workshops and poster sessions made for a most fruitful congress.

    ICE 2004
  • 2008
    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 8-11

    2008 November 8-11 - ICE 2008, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    This well attended and lively meeting presented cutting edge clinical and basic science of current interest to all those involved in endocrine care and discovery in the bright and exciting milieu of a Rio Springtime.

    ICE 2008
  • 2010
    Kyoto, Japan January 10-11

    2010 January 10-11 - ICE 2010, Kyoto, Japan

    This was the first new style ICE meeting under the revised statutes of the ISE. The Japan Endocrine Society organised an outstanding Congress that brought together over 5,000 leading endocrinologists from around the world. The Congress was honoured to welcome the Emperor andEmpress of Japan to the Opening Ceremony!

    ICE 2010
  • 2012
    Florence, Italy May 5-9

    2012 May 5-9 - ICE/ECE 2012, Florence, Italy

    This prestigious joint meeting with our regional partners, the European Society of Endocrinology, took place in the unique setting of the Fortezza da Basso, a masterpiece of the military Renaissance in the centre of Florence, Italy. With a challenging and stimulating program, a concentration of colleagues and friends and of course, the high quality Italian and food and wine, this was a highly enjoyable and memorable Congress.

    ICE/ECE 2012
  • 2014
    Chicago, USA June 21-24

    2014 June 21-24 - ICE 2014, Chicago, USA

    The 16th International Congress of Endocrinology was held in partnership with the Endocrine Society in June 2014 and turned out to be a hugely successful meeting.

    ICE 2014
  • 2016
    Beijing, China  

    2016 - ICE 2016, Beijing, China

    With more than 5000 delegates from 76 countries theInternational Congress of Endocrinology organized in collaboration with the Chinese Society of Endocrinology in 2016 was one of the most successful events of ISE

    ICE 2016
  • 2018
    Cape Town, South Africa  

    2018 - ICE 2018, Cape Town, South Africa

    The first ever endocrine meeting in Africa marked the launch of the pan African federation of endocrine societies.

    ICE 2018