Eva Steiness née Uhl (born 1941) is a Danish

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, former university professor and businessperson who has been active in Scandinavia's pharmaceutical industry since the late 1990s. She is currently

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Serodus ASA, a biomedical company based in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

which develops drugs for the treatment of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. In 1982, Steiness became the first women to be appointed dean of

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

's faculty of medicine and in 1985, she became the first women in Denmark to become a full professor in the medical field with her appointment at

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

Early life and education

Eva Uhl was born in

Glostrup Glostrup is a Danish town in Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the administrative seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated population of 22,357 . During the 20th century Glostrup developed from ...

on 4 October 1941. She is the daughter of the physician Erik Axelssøn Uhl (1908–82) and Grethe Holmer. She was raised in a well-to-do household in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

where she was the eldest of three children. After matriculating from Østersøgades Gymnasium in 1960, she immediately began to study medicine at Copenhagen University. After marrying the medical doctor Ib Steiness (1928–80) in 1966, she moved with him to

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, where she continued her studies at

while raising her two daughters. She graduated in 1968. After which she moved back to Copenhagen, where she had her third daughter.

Career

Following assignments in various hospitals, Steiness returned to her academic interests, teaching at Copenhagen University's pharmacological institute. In 1978, she earned a doctor's degree in medicine with a doctoral thesis titled ''Digoxin-klinisk farmakologi''. After her husband's death in 1980, she raised her children alone, working as a physician in parallel with her academic agenda. In 1982, she was appointed dean of the Faculty of Medicine, the first woman to hold the post. With her appointment as professor of

clinical pharmacology Clinical pharmacology has been defined as "that discipline that teaches, does research, frames policy, gives information and advice about the actions and proper uses of medicines in humans and implements that knowledge in clinical practice". Clinic ...

at Aarhus University in 1985, she became Denmark's first woman to hold a professorship in the medical field. She built up the institute, encouraging interest in research. In 1989, she was appointed research director of the pharmaceutical company

H. Lundbeck H. Lundbeck A/S (commonly known simply as Lundbeck) is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world. The company’s products are target ...

in Copenhagen. She remained there for the next nine years, becoming director and executive vice president. Under her leadership, the company grew considerably from 75 to 450 employees. In particular, the company prospered with sales of the antidepressant drug Cipramil. In 1998, after raising capital, she founded Zealand Pharma, with a focus on hormone preparations, serving as principal and board member. She also founded and owns the Danish company New Pharma. In April 2009, she joined Serodus, Oslo, as chief executive officer. Steiness also serves on the boards of several other companies in the medical field.

Awards

* 1989, Tagea Brandt Rejselegat

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiness, Eva 1941 births People from Glostrup Municipality University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen 20th-century Danish physicians Danish pharmacologists Danish women physicians Danish business executives Danish women company founders Danish women business executives Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Danish women academics Living people Danish healthcare chief executives Clinical pharmacologists 20th-century women physicians