Your two new Executive Committee members, Niina Matikainen and Niki Karavitaki, were elected by an online vote earlier this year and they officially take office at the Annual General Meeting on 12 May 2026.
Niina Matikainen, Finland
Niina Matikainen serves as Chief Physician and Associate Professor of Endocrinology at Helsinki University Hospital and leads a research team at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her clinical expertise covers classical endocrinology, with a particular focus on adrenal, pituitary, and neuroendocrine diseases. She actively collaborates within Endo-ERN and engages with patient organisations.
In the field of endocrine research, primary aldosteronism and endocrine hypertension are her key areas of focus. She has also maintained a long-term interest in fatty liver disease, particularly the mechanisms of dyslipidemia in insulin resistance. In addition, her clinical research activities include neuroendocrine tumors, MEN1, and Cushing’s syndrome.
She has served as Chair of the Finnish Endocrine Society and is a member of several national and international committees, currently including the European Endocrine Society’s Nominations Committee.
In her election statement, Niina said:
"My aim is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and to support the next generation of endocrinologists. I share the ESE’s commitment to promoting high quality research, education, and clinical practice, and I view our Society as a key actor in improving endocrine and hormonal health awareness across Europe.
In my role as Head of the Department of Endocrinology at Helsinki University Hospital, I work at the intersection of research, patient care, and teaching. My long-standing involvement in the Finnish Endocrine Society and various national committees has provided me with experience in organising scientific meetings, developing educational initiatives, and strengthening professional networks. I am also committed to fostering international collaboration within the ESE community.
My scientific focus aligns closely with the ESE’s mission. My research interests include primary aldosteronism and endocrine hypertension, pituitary diseases, dyslipidemia, fatty liver disease, and neuroendocrine tumors. As a supervisor of early career researchers, I consider it essential to encourage rigorous clinical endocrine research and to help young scientists build strong foundations for their careers.
It would be a privilege to contribute to the ESE’s work and to support its efforts in advancing endocrine science, education, and patient care. Connections among endocrinologists across Europe are increasingly important, and I am committed to supporting this shared professional community."
Niki Karavitaki, UK
Niki Karavitaki is Professor of Endocrinology (University of Birmingham) and Honorary Consultant Endocrinologist (University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust). She leads the academic Pituitary theme at the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science and is the co-lead of the Pituitary Service at the University Hospitals Birmingham.
Her research focuses on pituitary tumours and hypopituitarism and she has led large collaborative studies and published extensively on the field. She leads the Academic Clinical Training in Endocrinology and Diabetes at the University of Birmingham and supervises a group of post-graduate students.
She has been member of working groups for ESE, Endocrine Society and Pituitary Society guidelines and was chair of the working group on the Endocrine Society Scientific Statement on effects of opioids on the endocrine system.
In the last 10 years, she has delivered more than 170 invited lectures in national/international meetings and has been awarded the Society for Endocrinology Medal for Research Excellence 2026. She has served as overall Chair of ENDO 2025 and as member of programme organising committees of international conferences. She is Deputy Editor of EJE and she is actively involved with patient support groups and public engagement activities and with national/international endocrinology professional bodies and societies.
In her election statement, Niki said:
"I have been enthusiastically involved with ESE activities (Clinical Lead of Expert Panel of Focus Area on Pituitary and Neuroendocrinology, Congress Committee, Education Committee, ECE POC, ESE Clinical Updates, EndoCompass project, clinical guidelines).
These, along with my engagement through various roles with other relevant societies (Endocrine Society, Pituitary Society, European Neuroendocrine Association), have provided me with valuable experience and insights on the landscape of the wider endocrine community, and on the place and future perspectives of endocrine science and medicine within Europe and globally.
I am passionate to contribute to ESE’s vision and mission, serve the endocrine community across all Europe’s regions under the principles of inclusivity and equity, and work with the ESE members and team for the expansion and implementation of its strategic targets.
I am keen to work towards fostering research collaborations and links with national and other relevant societies and for further promoting the ESE members professional development (especially of early career researchers and clinicians). I am also eager through ECE and other activities to expand the opportunities for dissemination of knowledge and good clinical practice, for networking /collaboration amongst members of all regions, and for increasing the visibility and public awareness of endocrinology."
In addition to the new Executive Committee members, we also welcome new ex-officio representative:
Kristina Saravinovska, Serbia - ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (EYES) Committee Co-Chair
Kristina Saravinovska is a junior research assistant and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, and an internal medicine resident at the Clinic of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Clinical Centre of Serbia. She is currently the Co-Chair of the ESE Young Endocrinologist and Scientists Committee (ESE EYES), where she leads the ESE EYES Observership Programmes, and she also represents ESE EYES in the ESE Clinical Committee.
Her focus areas are reproduction, adrenal, EDC and obesity. She was actively involved in the COST Action Harmonis@tion as a Coordinator for Collaboration with ESE EYES. She was a member of the EndoCompass Roadmap Environmental Endocrinology Working Group and a member of the ESE State of Endocrinology project Task Force and Steering Group.
Dr. Saravinovska’s work in the field of reproductive endocrinology was awarded as the Best Oral Presentation Award for the presentation “Impact of COVID-19 on women’s reproductive health”, at the 9th ESE EYES Annual Meeting in 2022. At the 25th European Congress of Endocrinology in 2023, her research “SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to significant and long-lasting changes in women's reproductive health” was selected among the Top 20 clinical abstracts. In 2025, at the 15th EMAS Congress she was awarded 3rd Place JuMP Presentation Award for the work “Menstrual cycle and women’s reproductive, sexual, and mental health: Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Dr. Saravinovska has successfully as a representative of the ESE early career group organised and chaired joint webinars focused on female and male reproductive health, featuring leading experts in the field.
Congratulations and a warm welcome to all our new Committee members.
Our sincere thanks go to our departing Executive Committee members, Maria Chiara Zatelli (Secretary, 2022-2026), Cynthia Andoniadou (Chair of the Congress Committee, 2022-2026) and Juan Manuel Jiménez-Vacas (Co-Chair ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (EYES) Committee and Executive Committee (ex-officio).
Their commitment to ESE has been unwavering and we look forward to working with them on other ESE initiatives.
A full list of the ESE Executive Committee can be found here.
26/05/2026