Dr. J. Apelqvist (in memoriam)

Senior consultant and associate professor

Department of endocrinology University hospital of Skåne in Malmö, and division for clinical sciences University of Lund (Sweden)

It is with deep sadness that our fellow IWGDF editorial board member Jan Apelqvist passed in the summer of 2026. Jan was one of the earliest clinicians and researchers in diabetes-related foot disease, and has been a global advocate for improving care and research for these patients ever since.

Jan worked clinically as an expert in diabetes-related foot disease at the department of endocrinology University hospital of Skåne in Malmö, and as a researcher at the division for clinical sciences University of Lund (Sweden). His vast experience of clinical work, clinical research, leadership and teaching on the management and prevention of diabetes-related complications of the lower extremity and wound management has been valued throughout the world. He wrote various seminal papers in this field, and was widely recognized as a key leader. He has been president of EWMA (European Wound Management Association), international board member of the AAWC (Association for the Advancement of Wound Care), and he was one of the founding members of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF). He was part of the first-ever IWGDF editorial board, who produced the first guidelines in 1999. And he held that role until his sad and sudden death.

A friend to many, a mentor to so many more, and the quiet force behind so many initiatives. He will be greatly missed, but forever remembered, in the world of the diabetes-related foot disease.