Sophie Ulrika Bensing

I was born in 1970 in Stockholm and graduated with a medical degree from Karolinska Institutet in 1996. I became a specialist in Internal Medicine in 2009 and in Endocrinology and Diabetology in 2011. In parallel with my clinical training, I pursued doctoral studies and obtained my PhD in Endocrinology in 2005. I became an Associate Professor in 2014 and between 2016 and 2025 I was a Senior Lecturer and head of the research group in Experimental and Clinical Neuroendocrinology at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet. Today, I am Head of the Division of Experimental Endocrinology at the Department of Medicine, Solna, and a Senior Consultant at ME Endocrinology at Karolinska University Hospital. On 15 September 2025, I was appointed Professor at Karolinska Institutet.

For many years I have worked with patients who have various forms of cortisol deficiency, with a particular focus on Addison’s disease. Together with colleagues across Sweden, I have helped to establish the world’s largest research registry containing information and biobank samples from these patients, the Swedish Addison Registry. With the help of the patients, we have been able to conduct a large number of clinical, genetic, immunological, and epidemiological studies.

I have participated and continue to participate in European collaborations (Dynamic hormone diagnostics | ULTRADIAN | Project | Fact Sheet | H2020 | CORDIS | European Commission; Digital Endocrinology Training Network to combat adrenal diseases | Endotrain | Project | Fact Sheet | HORIZON | CORDIS | European Commission) focusing on ambulatory monitoring of circadian rhythms of steroid hormones.

I have a strong interest in organ-specific endocrine diseases and participate in collaborations on, among other topics, autoimmune primary ovarian insufficiency and postpartum thyroiditis.

Doctoral students for whom I have been the main supervisor:

Anna-Karin Åkerman, 250523, Karolinska Institutet. Studies on cortisol deficiency with focus on biochemical and clinical characteristics and self-management.

Jakob Skov, 200605, Karolinska Institutet. Epidemiological studies on comorbidity, heritability and co-aggregation in organ-specific autoimmune diseases.

Sigridur Björnsdottir, 140425, Karolinska Institutet. Addison's disease: epidemiological and clinical studies.

Doctoral students for whom I have been co-supervisor:
Maria Isabel Aranda Guillen, 231123, Karolinska Institutet. Genetic risk factors in autoimmune Addison's disease.

Åse Bjorvatn Sævik, 231023, University of Bergen. Clues to diagnosis and clinical outcomes in autoimmune Addison’s disease.
Annelies van ’t Westeinde, 230324, Karolinska Institutet. Brain structure and function in primary adrenal insufficiency.
Daniel Eriksson, 180531, Karolinska Institutet. Genetic and serological characteristics of tissue-specific autoimmune disease.
Frida Dalin, 151216, Uppsala University. Model diseases for studies of autoimmune diseases.

Ongoing doctoral projects for which I am the main supervisor:
Stavros Stergianos, Karolinska Institutet. Epidemiological studies of socioeconomics and fracture risk in Addison’s disease.
Sara Öster, Karolinska Institutet. Clinical and epidemiological studies of autoimmune endocrine disease.

Currently course director and examiner for the course Clinical Medicine 2: Advanced and Broadening Studies in Internal Medicine (25.5 credits), Karolinska University Hospital Solna, in semester 6 of the medical programme.
Many years of teaching experience as teaching coordinator at ME Endocrinology, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, and as part of the SVK advanced course in Endocrinology.