Obituary: Peter Laurberg

Peter Laurberg, Denmark, member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, deceased unexpectedly on 20 June 2016. When walking by foot in Tiflis, Georgia together with his wife shortly after his 71st birthday, he was involved into a car accident. Whereas his wife survived, Peter Laurberg died. Peter Laurberg was worldwide one of the leading thyroidologists. His scientific work dealt mainly with thyrotropin and its reference range, the involvment of the thyroid gland in the formation of triiodothyronine, the iodine supply of the population, the prognosis of Basedow/Graves disease and the diagnosis of thyroid disorders during pregnancy. His studies served many scientists as basis for further studies, so also for J. W. Dietrich and his group from the referee ́s clinic in Bochum about the TSH-T3 shunt. Laurberg received his medical degree at the University of Aarhus in Denmark 1971, and became a doctor with a thesis about the release of iodothyronines from the perfused thyroid gland in 1980. He was author of more than 300 publications cited in PubMed. He received many awards and was guest professor at the Chinese Medical University of Shenyang. His final position was that of a Professor for Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at the Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark. He served as member of the committees of the American and European Thyroid Association for their guidelines. From 2008 to 2011 he was president of the European Thyroid Association. The Thyroid Community and the International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism have lost with Peter Laurberg an outstanding member.