Speaker Profiles

Prof Anna-Maria Andersson is a senior researcher at Dept. of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet and the International Center for Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health – EDMaRC (edmarc.dk). She is a group leader for the “Hormone and Endocrine Disruptor Laboratory Group” at Dept of Growth and Reproduction and Head of the Danish National Center for Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals since 2008 (cehos.dk).

Prof Andersson has more than 30 years’ experience in endocrine aspects of growth and reproduction with emphasis on the physiology and pathophysiology of male reproductive hormones including the impact of environmental and lifestyle factors on endogenous hormone systems, sex differentiation, sex maturation, and reproductive health.

Jérôme Bertherat, MD-PhD, is professor of Endocrinology at Paris Cité University, Chief of the Endocrinology Department of Cochin Hospital, head of the National Center for Rare Adrenal Diseases and of the research team “Genomics and Signaling of Endocrine Tumors” in the Cochin Institute (INSERM U1016 & CNRS UMR8104), Paris, France. He serves as President of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) since May 2023.

He has served as a founding Executive Board member of the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumor (ENSAT), deputy Editor of the European Journal of Endocrinology, and has been member of the Board of the French Endocrine Society (SFE), the Executive committee of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) and chair of the Clinical Committee of ESE, Executive committee member of the International Society of Endocrinology (ISE) (2019-2021), ESE president-elect (2021-2023).

His main research specialties include Cushing’s syndrome, the genetics of familial endocrine tumors and the molecular genetics of adrenocortical tumors.

He is author of more than 470 publications, with an H Factor of 87 (Web of Science).

Professor Dr. Aleksandra Buha Đorđević is a toxicologist who specializes in the impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on human health. Her research is focused on investigating the effects of EDCs on human health and establishing effective strategies for reducing exposure to harmful chemicals, particularly for vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. She is a member of the EDC working group of the European Society of Endocrinology.

Pauliina Damdimopoulou is a professor of reproductive biology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. She is a docent in toxicology and leads a research group “Chemicals and female fertility”. Dr. Damdimopoulou received her PhD in 2008 from the University of Turku, Finland, where she studied the effects of dietary polyphenols and estrogen signaling. She then completed postdoctoral studies on androgen signalling at a biotech industry in Paris, France, and on early embryo development and ovarian biology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2015, she established an independent lab focusing on the effects of chemicals on ovaries and female fertility. Dr. Damdimopoulou is also the co-coordinator of Sveafertil, Sweden’s national fertility preservation study for girls, the recipient of the 2023 ERC Consolidator Grant, and co-lead of the Environmental Endocrinology Focus Area for the European Society of Endocrinology. She has authored over 90 research papers.

Martin Hojsík is a vice-president of the European Parliament, member of the ENVI Committee, substitute in ITRE and EMPL committees. He is a politician and environmentalist, pursuing liberal and progressive values. Since 2019, he serves as a Member of the European Parliament, working to avert the climate threat, regulate hazardous chemicals, protect biodiversity, animals and promote safe and wholesome food. In the past, he served as Parliament´s official contact point for the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Before becoming a member of the European Parliament in 2019, he held key roles in international charities, worked on global campaign for ActionAid and Greenpeace. He has an academic background in genetics.

Professor Anita Hokken-Koelega is pediatric-endocrinologist in the Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands and director of the Dutch Growth Research Foundation. She published > 400 papers in peer-reviewed international journals. Her current research focuses on early life origins of adult health and disease (DOHAD), the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on the development and health of children and adolescents, and rare growth disorders. She is the President of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) since September 2019.

Niels Jørgensen has served as the principal investigator for numerous Danish and international scientific projects examining testicular function in over 12,000 men from general, fertile, and infertile populations. His studies have detailed testicular function, including semen quality and endocrine function, and investigated the effects of external factors such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, lifestyle, and genetics on testicular function. Beyond this, Niels Jørgensen coordinates the world’s largest cohort study on young men’s testicular function, known as The Danish Young Men Study, and chairs the Steering Committee of the Repro Union Biobank and Infertility Cohort (RUBIC). His work has significantly influenced the field of male infertility both locally and globally, leading to advancements in diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Tina Kold Jensen is professor in environmental epidemiology and has studied adverse effects of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and impact on both fetuses, children and adults. She the research leader in the Odense Child Cohort, in which more than 125 articles in peer reviewed journals have been published and more than 50 mill DK from external grants have been obtained. She is a member of expert committees in The Danish National Board of Health and The Danish Environmental Agency addressing the adverse health effects of PFAS exposure and knowledge gaps in PFAS and in WHO expert group to evaluate PFAS. In addition, she holds an ERC advanced grant addressing adverse health effects of PFAS exposure.

Karin Liltorp is a Member of the Danish Parliament (Alternativet). She holds a PhD in Chemistry and has 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including roles as a chemical analyst and as a consultant specializing in regulatory affairs and quality control.

Kenneth Nielsen is a teacher in biology and physics and the current spokesperson for the Korsør Cow Grazing and Nature Conservation Association. He is also the former chairman of this association which represents a community exposed to high doses of PFAS. As such he has become a known and influential voice in the EDC debate within Denmark.  

In addition to his activities for the Association, he has also participated as a test person in the trial: “Substantial decrease of PFAS with anion exchange resin treatment – A clinical cross-over trial” and is a Member for Region Zealand, where he mainly focuses on environment.