EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDYOF THE LIVER

Their core work

EASL is the leading European professional association for hepatology, representing liver researchers and clinicians across Europe. In H2020 projects, they serve as a clinical and scientific network hub — providing access to their extensive membership of liver specialists, facilitating multi-center clinical validation, and contributing domain expertise on liver disease classification, diagnosis, and treatment guidelines. Their participation spans the full spectrum of chronic liver disease research, from biomarker discovery to population-level screening strategies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EASL's early H2020 involvement (2017–2018) centered on acute interventions — liver dialysis devices, extracorporeal support systems, and transplantation alternatives (ALIVER), alongside initial biomarker work for NAFLD (LITMUS). From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward population-level disease management: screening methodologies, risk stratification, cost-effectiveness analysis, and combinatorial therapies for cirrhosis decompensation. The later projects also show a growing emphasis on omics-driven and microbiome-based approaches, reflecting the field's move toward precision hepatology.

EASL is moving from acute treatment research toward prevention-oriented, population-scale liver disease screening and data-driven treatment stratification — making them an ideal partner for projects combining clinical hepatology with digital health or public health implementation.

How they like to work

EASL participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a professional association that contributes domain expertise and clinical network access rather than leading project management. With 117 unique partners across 22 countries from just 6 projects, they operate in very large consortia (averaging ~20 partners per project). This broad network means partnering with EASL gives you access to Europe's hepatology community, but their role is typically supportive rather than driving the research agenda.

EASL connects with 117 unique partners across 22 countries — an exceptionally wide network for just 6 projects, reflecting their role as a pan-European association that brings together the continent's liver research community. Their Geneva base and EU-wide membership give them reach into virtually every European country with significant hepatology research.

What sets them apart

EASL is not a research lab — it is THE professional body for European hepatology, which gives consortium partners something no university or institute can: access to a network of thousands of liver specialists across the continent. Their participation in a project signals clinical relevance and community endorsement. For consortium builders, adding EASL means built-in dissemination channels, clinical validation networks, and credibility with the hepatology community.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MICROB-PREDICT
  Largest EASL funding allocation (EUR 56,200), combines microbiome research with liver cirrhosis prediction — sits at the intersection of two rapidly growing fields.
• LiverScreen
  Represents EASL's shift toward public health implementation — a population-based screening study across European countries with cost-effectiveness analysis.
• ALIVER
  Most distinctive project in the portfolio — development of DIALIVE, a physical liver dialysis device, bridging medical device engineering with hepatology.