Søren Brostrøm

Søren Brostrøm was born in Aarhus in 1965, the second son of two medical doctors; his mother a paediatrician and his father a cancer researcher. He grew up in Risskov and Farsø. His father died in an accident when Brostrøm was 11 years old, and the family moved to Mobile, Alabama, where Brostrøm experienced different social conditions. Brostrom said in a 2020-interview that "the tragedy has left an everlasting mark on me" and that life after his father's death was burdened by "both grief and a tough financial situation".{{Cite web|last=Rasmussen|first=Benedikte Christine|date=12 March 2020|title=Søren Brostrøm: Min fars tidlige død har sat varige spor|url=https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/liv-sjael/min-fars-tidlige-doed-har-sat-varige-spor|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Kristeligt Dagblad|language=da}}

In the early 1980s, Søren Brostrøm was the international secretary of the Danish Communist Youth League. Brostrøm graduated from {{interlanguage link|Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium|da}} in 1984.

From an early age, he was interested in biology and mathematics. Brostrøm has said in connection with his profession and education that "although my parents were doctors, it was my own choice, but I was probably also very influenced by them."{{Cite web|last=Lange|first=Mathilde Marie|date=22 January 2021|title=Søren Brostrøm om sit valg af uddannelse: »Jeg er vokset op i en lægefamilie«|url=https://www.berlingske.dk/content/item/1528459|url-access=subscription|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Berlingske.dk|language=da}}

In 1995, Brostrøm received a Master of Science in Medicine (cand. med.){{Cite web |last=Frydenlund |first=Sally |date=13 April 2022 |title=Søren Brostrøm: »Jeg er jo gået hen og blevet sådan en slags skabs-djøflæge« |url=https://uniavisen.dk/soeren-brostroem-jeg-er-jo-gaaet-hen-og-blevet-saadan-en-slags-skabs-djoeflaege/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Uniavisen}} degree from the University of Copenhagen. He completed his clinical clerkship at {{interlanguage link|Regionshospitalet Holstebro|lt=Holstebro Hospital|da}} in Holstebro, Denmark. In 2003, he obtained his PhD degree in obstetrics and gynaecology, with a subspecialization in urogynecology, focused on laparoscopic pelvic surgery.{{Cite web|title=Søren Brostrøm|url=https://www.altinget.dk/person/soeren-brostroem|access-date=2021-08-08|website=www.altinget.dk|language=da-DK}}{{Cite web|title=Søren Brostrøm|url=https://www.sst.dk/da/om-os/organisation/enheder/direktion|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Danish Health Authority – www.sst.dk|language=da|archive-date=2020-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024195759/https://www.sst.dk/da/om-os/organisation/enheder/direktion|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Søren Brostrøm – Ehealthresearch.no (NO)|url=https://ehealthresearch.no/whoisdigital2020/speakers/soren-brostrom|access-date=2021-08-08|website=ehealthresearch.no}} He completed a Master of Public Administration from the Copenhagen Business School in 2011.{{Cite web|date=24 February 2020|title=Søren Brostrøm {{!}} Copenhagen 2020|url=https://internationalforum.bmj.com/copenhagen/2020/02/24/soren-brostrom/|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Copenhagen 2020 {{!}} International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare site|language=en}} In 2019, he completed a Senior Managers in Government (SMG) program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.{{Cite web|date=9 September 2020|title=Nomination for Membership of the Executive Board of the WHO – Curriculum vitae: Søren Brostrøm|url=https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/333529/70wd07e-rev1-Memb-200580.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|access-date=8 August 2021|website=Regional Committee for Europe: 70th Session|page=17}}

His PhD thesis was on motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor and lower urinary tract dysfunction.{{Cite journal|last=Brostrøm|first=Søren|date=2003|title=Motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/nau.10151|journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics|language=en|volume=22|issue=7|pages=620–637|doi=10.1002/nau.10151|pmid=14595605|s2cid=9427779|issn=1520-6777|url-access=subscription}}

He made a career in several Copenhagen hospitals as a gynaecological surgeon and was one of the leading doctors in Europe in performing a special robotic-assisted operation in which the top of the vagina is stitched open.{{Cite web|title=Søren Brostrøm {{!}} lex.dk|url=https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/S%C3%B8ren_Brostr%C3%B8m|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Den Store Danske|language=da}}

After his medical training, Brostrøm worked in 2007 as an attending physician at the gynaecological-obstetric department at Aarhus University Hospital Skejby. He then worked as a chief physician at the gynaecological-obstetric department at Glostrup Hospital from 2007 to 2008. From 2009 to 2011 he worked as a chief physician at the gynaecological-obstetric department at Herlev University Hospital.{{Cite web|last=Ritzau|date=13 March 2020|title=Kaptajnen på corona-beredskabets skib|url=https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/danmark/kaptajnen-pa-corona-beredskabets-skib|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Kristeligt Dagblad|language=da}}

For two years from 2009 to 2011, Brostrøm worked concurrently as an associate professor at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (now part of the Department of Clinical Medicine) at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, and completed a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at Copenhagen Business School.{{Cite web|last=Markussen|first=Jesper|date=31 December 2020|title=Da Søren Brostrøm endte i Holstebro, og byen blev hængende i direktøren|url=https://dagbladet-holstebro-struer.dk/artikel/da-s%C3%B8ren-brostr%C3%B8m-endte-i-holstebro-og-byen-blev-h%C3%A6ngende-i-direkt%C3%B8ren|url-access=subscription|access-date=2021-08-08|website=dagbladet-holstebro-struer.dk|language=da}}

In September 2011, Brostrøm joined the Danish Health Authority as the Director of the Department of Hospitals and Emergency management, with broad responsibilities for the national planning of specialized hospital services, emergency services and preparedness, communicable diseases, immunization and screening programs as well as national action plans in the field of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, mental health etc.{{Cite web|title=Søren Brostrøm – Vidensbanken om kønsidentitet|url=http://www.transviden.dk/soeen-brostroem/|access-date=2021-08-08|language=da-DK}}

The responsibilities also included health preparedness and infectious diseases, which is where the Authority's pandemic preparedness lies. During the COVID-19 pandemic ten years later, Brostrøm would come to rely on the experience and knowledge he gained as department head.

In October 2015, Brostrøm was appointed Director general of the Danish Health Authority, which was immediately afterwards heavily reshaped by a comprehensive organizational change, where major areas such as patient safety, approval of medicines and handling of health data were placed in independent authorities.{{Cite web|title=The Danish Ministry of Health has appointed three new Directors General|url=https://laegemiddelstyrelsen.dk/en/news/2015/the-danish-ministry-of-health-has-appointed-three-new-directors-general/|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Danish Medicines Agency|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|date=8 October 2015|title=Sundhedsministeriet har fundet tre nye direktører for styrelser|url=https://dagensmedicin.dk/sundhedsministeriet-har-fundet-tre-nye-direktorer-for-styrelser/|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Dagens Medicin|language=da-DK}} The Danish Health Authority remained the overall authority.

One of his first major tasks was to complete the update of the specialty plan, which dictates which hospitals can perform complicated treatments and which cannot. It came into force in June 2017 after extensive committee work and many critical debates in medical circles.

In May 2021, Brostrøm was elected a member of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization by the World Health Assembly.{{Cite web |title=Direktør Søren Brostrøm indtræder i WHO's globale bestyrelse |url=https://www.sst.dk/da/nyheder/2021/direktoer-soeren-brostroem-indtraeder-i-whos-globale-bestyrelse |access-date=2021-08-03 |website=www.sst.dk |language=da}}{{Cite web |title=WHO {{!}} Composition of the Board |url=https://apps.who.int/gb/gov/en/composition-of-the-board_en.html |access-date=2021-08-03 |website=apps.who.int}}

Brostrøm came to public attention when the Danish Health Authority's HPV vaccination programme in 2014–15 experienced a sudden and large drop in uptake among the target group, girls and young women, who feared serious side effects. Brostrøm took responsibility for inadequate communication and did so in an open and personal manner, which has also been characteristic of his appearance at numerous press conferences and interviews in connection with the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brostrøm is interested in art, theatre and the opera.{{Cite web|last=Rasmussen|first=Jonas Gamrath|date=12 June 2015|title=Bokseren|url=https://dagensmedicin.dk/bokseren/|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Dagens Medicin|language=da-DK}} Brostrøm is openly homosexual.{{Cite web|last=Bergløv|first=Emil|date=19 September 2020|title=Søren Brostrøms stjernestatus blev tydelig på museumstur|url=https://politiken.dk/kultur/kunst/art7905972/S%C3%B8ren-Brostr%C3%B8ms-stjernestatus-blev-tydelig-p%C3%A5-museumstur|url-access=subscription|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Politiken|language=da-DK}}

Brostrom spoke in an interview in 2020 about how the HIV and AIDS global epidemic affected his youth: "HIV and AIDS is the disease I myself grew up with. Both as a young gay man and as a young medical student." Brostrøm described how the disease came as a shock and put a damper on the free and uninhibited sexuality that had taken hold in the gay community throughout the 1960s and 70s. Brostrøm said, "In 1992 I was in the US as part of (medical) school, and from that period I remember it very clearly. There was a lot of debate and the disease was shrouded in taboo. There were religious and conservative groups who called HIV and AIDS God's punishment on homosexuals. At that time I saw young beautiful men lying dead. People like myself."

Brostrøm has been chairman and board member of a number of organizations. List:{{Cite web|date=28 October 2020|title=Søren Brostrøm får toppost i WHO|url=https://www.berlingske.dk/content/item/1515689|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Berlingske.dk|language=da}}

• Member of the Board of the Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.{{Cite journal|date=August 2001|editor-last=Nielsen|editor-first=Birgitte Bruun|others=Danny Svane|title=DSOG Medlemsbladet|trans-title=Member Journal of the Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.|url=https://www.yumpu.com/da/document/read/18341293/15-august-2001-dsog|journal=DSOG Bladet|publisher=Dansk Selskab for Obstetrik og Gynækologi [Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology]|issue=22|page=6|issn=1601-1627}}
• 2001–2003: President of the Danish Association of Young Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (FYGO).
• 2008–2011: President of the Danish FIGO-foundation.
• 2018–2022: Member of the Board of the Danish Health Fund.{{Cite web|title=Bestyrelse|trans-title=the Board of Governors|url=https://helsefonden.dk/om-fonden-0/bestyrelse|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Helsefonden|language=da}}

• 2014–present: Chair of the National Task force on Cancer and Heart Disease.
• 2014–present: Chair of the National Task force on Mental health.
• 2015–present: Advisory role to Cabinet and Parliament.
• 2015–present: Executive officer in the Ministry of Health.

• 2001–2002: Member of the Executive Committee of the European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ENTOG)
• 2003–2005: President of the European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ENTOG).{{Cite web|title=History – ENTOG|url=http://entog.eu/about/our-history/|access-date=2021-08-08|website=entog.eu}}
• 2003–2006: board member of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG).
• 2008–2011: Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Urogynaecology Association (IUGA).
• 2008–2011: President of the Nordic Urogynaecology Association (NUGA).
• 2010–2012: Secretary general of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA).
• 2012–2015: Member of the Health Security Committee (HSC) of the European Union

• 2017–2018: Member of the Standing Committee of the European Regional Committee (SCRC) of the WHO.
• 2018: Vice-chair of the WHO World Health Assembly Committee A
• 2018–2019: Vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the European Regional Committee (SCRC) of the WHO.
• 2019–2020: Chair of the Standing Committee of the European Regional Committee (SCRC) of the WHO.
• 2019–2020: Deputy Executive president of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.
• 2021–2024: Member of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization.

• {{flag|Denmark}}:
• 70x70px Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (2018){{Cite web|date=12 December 2017|title=Modtagere af danske dekorationer|trans-title=Recipients of Danish decorations|url=https://www.kongehuset.dk/modtagere-af-danske-dekorationer|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Kongehuset|language=da|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418142224/https://www.kongehuset.dk/modtagere-af-danske-dekorationer|url-status=dead}}

• {{Cite journal|last=Brostrøm|first=Søren|date=2003|title=Motor Evoked Potentials from the Pelvic Floor|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nau.10151|journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics|language=en|volume=22|issue=7|pages=620–637|doi=10.1002/nau.10151|pmid=14595605|s2cid=9427779|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q44640788|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Brostrøm|first1=Søren|last2=Jennum|first2=Poul|last3=Lose|first3=Gunnar|date=2003|title=Motor evoked potentials from the striated urethral sphincter: A comparison of concentric needle and surface electrodes|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nau.10030|journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics|language=en|volume=22|issue=2|pages=123–129|doi=10.1002/nau.10030|pmid=12579629|s2cid=19880017|issn=0733-2467|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q40605865|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Brostrøm|first1=Søren|last2=Jennum|first2=Poul|last3=Lose|first3=Gunnar|date=2003|title=Motor evoked potentials from the striated urethral sphincter and puborectal muscle: Normative values|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/nau.10077|journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics|language=en|volume=22|issue=4|pages=306–313|doi=10.1002/nau.10077|pmid=12808705|s2cid=2471980|issn=1520-6777|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q40581130|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Brostrøm|first1=Søren|last2=Jennum|first2=Poul|last3=Lose|first3=Gunnar|date=2003|title=Motor evoked potentials from the striated urethral sphincter and puborectal muscle: reproducibility of latencies|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1388245703001998|journal=Clinical Neurophysiology|language=en|volume=114|issue=10|pages=1891–1895|doi=10.1016/S1388-2457(03)00199-8|pmid=14499750|s2cid=24909746|issn=1388-2457|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q48194155|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Brostrøm|first1=Søren|last2=Frederiksen|first2=J. L.|last3=Jennum|first3=P.|last4=Lose|first4=G.|date=2003|title=Motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor in patients with multiple sclerosis|url=https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/74/4/498|journal=Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry|language=en|volume=74|issue=4|pages=498–500|doi=10.1136/jnnp.74.4.498|issn=0022-3050|pmc=1738390|pmid=12640072}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q35472804|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Brostrøm|first=Søren|date=2005|title=European trainees cooperate to harmonise and improve the quality of training in OB/GYN|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11296-004-0001-2|journal=European Clinics in Obstetrics and Gynaecology|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=57–58|doi=10.1007/s11296-004-0001-2|s2cid=68229375|issn=1613-3412|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q89363696|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Brostrøm|first1=Søren|last2=Lose|first2=Gunnar|date=2008|title=Pelvic floor muscle training in the prevention and treatment of urinary incontinence in women – what is the evidence?|journal=Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica|language=en|volume=87|issue=4|pages=384–402|doi=10.1080/00016340801938806|pmid=18382863|issn=1600-0412|doi-access=free}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q80999376|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Brostrøm|first=Søren|date=2008–2010|title=Which nonsurgical options are effective for the treatment of female urinary incontinence?|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ncpuro1197|journal=Nature Clinical Practice Urology|language=en|volume=5|issue=10|pages=532–533|doi=10.1038/ncpuro1197|pmid=18728631|s2cid=42368096|issn=1743-4289|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q51686821|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Brostrøm|first=Søren|date=2019|title=Improving care for patients with functional disorders in Denmark|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399918309498|journal=Journal of Psychosomatic Research|language=en|volume=116|pages=22–24|doi=10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.11.003|pmid=30654989|s2cid=58551967 |issn=0022-3999|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q91096796|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Guldberg|first1=Rikke|last2=Brostrøm|first2=Søren|last3=Hansen|first3=Jesper Kjær|last4=Kærlev|first4=Linda|last5=Gradel|first5=Kim Oren|last6=Nørgård|first6=Bente Mertz|last7=Kesmodel|first7=Ulrik Schiøler|date=2013|title=The Danish Urogynaecological Database: establishment, completeness and validity|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-012-1968-8|journal=International Urogynecology Journal|language=en|volume=24|issue=6|pages=983–990|doi=10.1007/s00192-012-1968-8|pmid=23073539|s2cid=434294|issn=1433-3023|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q38429806|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Guldberg|first1=Rikke|last2=Kesmodel|first2=Ulrik Schiøler|last3=Brostrøm|first3=Søren|last4=Kærlev|first4=Linda|last5=Hansen|first5=Jesper Kjær|last6=Hallas|first6=Jesper|last7=Nørgård|first7=Bente Mertz|date=2014|title=Use of antibiotics for urinary tract infection in women undergoing surgery for urinary incontinence: a cohort study|journal=BMJ Open|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=e004051|doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004051|pmid=24496697|pmc=3918979|issn=2044-6055|doi-access=free}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q37572012|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Due|first1=Ulla|last2=Brostrøm|first2=Søren|last3=Lose|first3=Gunnar|date=1 April 2016|title=Lifestyle advice with or without pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse: a randomized controlled trial|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-015-2852-0|journal=International Urogynecology Journal|language=en|volume=27|issue=4|pages=555–563|doi=10.1007/s00192-015-2852-0|pmid=26439114|s2cid=20986824|issn=1433-3023|url-access=subscription}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q47947648|y}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Due|first1=Ulla|last2=Brostrøm|first2=Søren|last3=Lose|first3=Gunnar|date=2016|title=The 12-month effects of structured lifestyle advice and pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse|journal=Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica|language=en|volume=95|issue=7|pages=811–819|doi=10.1111/aogs.12884|pmid=26910261|issn=1600-0412|doi-access=free}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q39972666|y}}

• {{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/769811356|title=Subjektivt & objektivt: anamnese, undersøgelse og journal|publisher=Munksgaard Danmark|others=Søren Brostrøm, Niels, f. Saxtrup, Lotte Clevin|year=2011|isbn=978-87-628-1012-9|edition=3|location=Copengagen|trans-title=Subjective & objective: anamnesis, examination and journal|oclc=769811356}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brostrøm, Søren}}

Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:Physician-scientists

Category:Danish civil servants

Category:COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark

Category:University of Copenhagen alumni

Category:COVID-19 researchers

Category:Obstetrics

Category:Gynaecologists

Category:People from Aarhus

Category:World Health Organization officials

Category:LGBTQ scientists