Obituary for Jens Christiansen

We were deeply saddened to learn that on 16 December 2015 our good friend Jens Sandahl Christiansen from Denmark passed away, following a short illness. 

Jens Christiansen’s current professional role was as Professor in Endocrinology at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Consultant in Endocrinology at the Department of Medicine at Aarhus University Hospital.

His contribution as one of the founding fathers in the creation of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) was immeasurable, as it moved from a federation based society to a society with individual membership.  He was also integral to the formation of the extremely successful European Journal of Endocrinology, which was created from Acta Endocrinologica and is fully owned by ESE.

His primary motive and focus was on education, and he strongly supported at all times the postgraduate activities of ESE.  His partnership approach on ESE’s relations with industry has helped to place ESE in the strong financial position that it is in today. He always had an open eye on the next generation of endocrinologists and was very keen to support our younger colleagues, and to ensure that all geographical corners of Europe are empowered to support their own educational activities. 

He was involved in so many societies over the years, it is difficult to know where he found the time.  For EFES/ESE he was an active member of several committees, and treasurer from 2003 – 2009, before moving on to support ESE as chair of the Corporate Liaison Committee; he was also the current Editor-in-Chief of the journal Endocrine Connections.  On the Congress side, he was the local organising chairman for the extremely successful European Congress of Endocrinology in Copenhagen in 2013.

ESE would not be where it is without Jens’s support over the years.  We have lost a great scientist, clinician, collaborator and friend.  We realise that Jens can not be substituted and we will miss him greatly, and extend our sincere condolences to his family and close friends.

In these sad days, we will raise a glass to honour his spirit at the next Executive Committee meeting – he would have liked that. 

AJ van der Lely
ESE President, on behalf of everyone at ESE