Our Executive Board
The Executive Board of the ISPAD plays a pivotal role in guiding the organization’s mission and strategic direction. Comprised of dedicated professionals with extensive expertise in pediatric and adolescent diabetes, the Executive Board ensures that ISPAD remains at the forefront of clinical and scientific advancements, education, and advocacy.
Duties and Activities
Meeting Attendance & Participation
Participate in three main annual in-person meetings:
- Winter Meeting (Feb/March, around ATTD)
- ADA Meeting (June)
- ISPAD Annual Conference (Oct/Nov)
- Attend monthly EB and quarterly EB/AC video calls.
Reporting & Documentation
- Contribute to or review reports for all Board meetings and the Annual General Assembly.
- Review and approve meeting minutes
Representation & External Engagement Collaboration
- Act as ambassadors for ISPAD in external meetings, joint symposia, and with partner organizations.
- Support society visibility and partnerships at conferences and advocacy events.
- Engage with industry partners as part of Corporate Advisory Board activities.
Collaboration & Committee Support
- Oversee or liaise with specific committees or task forces.
- Coordinate with committee chairs to ensure progress on their mandates.
- Support development of new Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and ensure alignment with ISPAD goals.
Membership Engagement and Communication Oversight
- Messages and activities to engage, support, retain, and connect ISPAD members to strengthen participation and community.
- Review and approve communications strategy (e.g., newsletters, website updates, social media posts).
- Provide content or messaging for member communications when requested.
Conference & Event Involvement
- Attend and contribute to planning of the ISPAD Annual Conference.
- Support scientific content, speaker selection, and conference session coordination.
- Participate in and support official conference activities (e.g. dinners, awards, ceremonies).
Financial Awareness
- Participate in discussions and decisions related to ISPAD’s budget and financial planning.
- Approve and review budget proposals and financial reports.
- Ensure activities align with available resources and society priorities.
David Maahs
Since 2016, Dr David M. Maahs is Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at Stanford University, with a courtesy appointment in Health Research and Policy (Epidemiology) and Associate Director of the Stanford Diabetes Research Center. Lead for International Collaborations T1DX-QI, Editorial Board for Journal of Pediatrics, NIDDK Study Section Human Studies in Diabetes & Obesity. He earned his MD followed by Pediatric Residency at the University of New Mexico. After 3 years on New Mexico’s faculty, Dr Maahs completed a Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship and a concurrent PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Colorado. He remained on Colorado’s faculty for 10 years, advancing to Professor of Pediatrics before moving to Stanford. Prior to his medical career, Dr Maahs received a BA and MA in English from the University of Kansas and was inspired to pursue a medical career after serving in the Peace Corps with assignments in Tunisia and the Central African Republic. Dr Maahs’ leadership experiences include being a past co-Chair (2013-16) for Protocols and Publications with the Type 1 Diabetes Exchange for which he continues as a Steering Committee member and Director of International Collaborations. This complements his role as Secretary-General for the International Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD, 2016-20) and Editor-in-Chief for the 2018 ISPAD Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines. Previously, he served on the Professional Practice Committee for the American Diabetes Association (ADA, 2017-19), which writes the annual ADA Standards of Care. He served on the ADA Scientific Sessions committee representing the Council on Youth. He has also served on national committees for the American Heart Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, and multiple journal editorial boards and review committees.
Jannet Svensson
Dr. Jannet Svensson is a pediatric diabetologist from Copenhagen, Denmark. She is the team leader of the Pediatric and Technology research group at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen (SDCC) and chief physician in the pediatric and adolescent clinic at SDCC. Since 2022, she has been a professor at Linköping University. Her research interest is mainly epidemiology and the clinical outcome in children on diabetes technology. She is particularly interested in skin problems due to diabetes devices, sleep, and exercise. Skin problems, especially, currently have her concern to motivate the development of equipment free of allergens. She is a member of the steering committee for the Danish Diabetes Database (DDiD), which encompasses all age groups and types of diabetes in Denmark. This database was established in 2022, and prior to its formation, she was in charge of the DanDiabKids database, which has now become a part of DDiD. In 2008, she collaborated with Nordic colleagues to initiate NordicDiabKids, a successful joint effort among Nordic childhood diabetes registries. Currently, she is responsible for collecting incidence data for Eurodiab. Her extensive research portfolio includes publishing over 100 papers, and her academic profiles can be found on ORCID (0000-0002-9365-0728) and Web of Science (AAI-9913-2021). The goal for her clinical work is to be a part of a team that provides optimal care, meets the individual needs of the families, and works to find the best possible treatment solution for all children and all types of diabetes. She is keen on using resources best and knows we don’t have unlimited resources worldwide. Dr Svensson became an ISPAD member in 2015, and she has been elected as the ISPAD Secretary General 2024-2026.
Sabine Hofer
Dr. Sabine Hofer is living and working in the western part of Austria, functioning as Assoc. Professor of Pediatrics and Senior Consultant in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Department of Pediatrics 1, at the Medical University of Innsbruck. She is the 2nd Deputy Director at the Department of Pediatrics 1 and Chief of Diabetes Services. Sabine Hofer has earned her MD at the Medical University of Innsbruck followed by the Pediatric Residency at the University Children´s Hospital in Innsbruck. Her research career started at the Department of Physiology in Innsbruck, followed by research fellowships at the Institute de Pasteur in Lille, France and the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Children´s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia. She received her qualification as Professor of Pediatrics in 2009. Her research focus includes diabetes care for children and youth on a national basis; she was working as Scientific Board Member for DPV – a broadly used diabetes registry and was involved in many registry studies and international collaborations comparing care and outcome in children and youth with diabetes in different countries. Since 2018 she is Deputy-Editor for the Journal ´Pediatric Diabetes´ and serves as Editorial Board Member in other endocrine and diabetes journals and as a member of review committees. Additional to her clinical and research qualification and specialization in Pediatric Diabetes she served in the Austrian Working Group for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes of the Austrian Pediatric Society and was functioning as Vice President from 2012-2014 and as President from 2015-2017. Thereafter she worked for the Austrian Diabetes Association as Executive Board Member and as 2nd Secretary General. In this position, she developed an online education program for teachers to improve care for children with diabetes in Austrian schools. Her engagement with ISPAD started by attending the ISPAD annual meeting in 2000 in Los Angeles and the 2nd ISPAD Science School in Portugal in 2001. Being an ISPAD member since then she has been involved in several ISPAD activities and projects. She was elected to the Advisory Council for the period from 2013-2015, was the convener of the ISPAD annual meeting in Innsbruck in 2017, was serving as Guideline Editor of the ISPAD Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines 2018, has given lectures at the ISPAD Science School 2022 and has been representing ISPAD in several occasions worldwide (ASPAE, ASPED,…) throughout the years.
Roque Cardona-Hernandez
Roque Cardona-Hernandez obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with several honor distinctions and specialized in Pediatrics at the Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. He further pursued a Fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Hospital Vall d'Hebron.
Dr. Cardona-Hernandez has been a pivotal figure at the Division of Endocrinology of Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, the largest pediatric diabetes center in Spain, where he has served as Senior Pediatric Endocrinology Consultant since 2008 and the Head of the Diabetes Unit since 2019. He has also undertaken international research stays, including at Stanford University, the University of Ulm (Germany), and Washington University in Saint Louis.
His research contributions are significant, with high impact-factor publications and involvement in numerous funded projects in pediatric diabetes field. These include trials on the efficacy and safety of various treatments for type 1 diabetes, such as Frexalimab, Diamyd®, CFZ533, and LY900014. He has also led epidemiological studies on type 1 diabetes in Spain.
Dr. Cardona-Hernandez is an active member of several prestigious organizations. He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) and the Executive Committee of the SWEET network, where he also coordinates European centers. Previously he served on the Advisory Council of ISPAD and the International Diabetes Federation's Young Leaders in Diabetes group. Additionally, he is involved with the Spanish Diabetes Society and the Spanish Society of Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes Working Group, where he is also one of the representatives for the National Type 1 Diabetes Registry and the joint initiative among Spanish diabetes societies on screening for pre-clinical type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Cardona-Hernandez's relationship with ISPAD is extensive. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2022 and previously served on the Advisory Council from 2019 to 2022. He has chaired the Communication Committee and participated in various working groups, including the Diabetes in Schools and JENIOUS group, the ISPAD network for young clinicians and researchers. His contributions to ISPAD also include presenting at international conferences, co-authorship of clinical guidelines, attendance science schools as either delegate or tutor, and collaborating on research projects aimed at improving diabetes care for children and adolescents.
Dr. Cardona-Hernandez's dedication to pediatric endocrinology and diabetes research is evident through his numerous awards, including the Spain Best Technological Innovation in Health Award in 2023 and the Spain Research in Pediatric Endocrinology Award in 2022. His work continues to impact the field significantly, advancing both clinical practice and scientific understanding.
If you have a query or question for any of our Executive Board members, submit your request here.