Prof. Lars Aabakken, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Oslo, Norway, in 1986. He received his specialist diploma in gastroenterology in 1990 and his doctoral degree in 1991, also from the same university. He started working as an attending gastroenterologist at Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, in 1996. At the same hospital, he has served as the Head of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy since 2002. Since 2008, he has held the position of Full Professor of medicine at the University of Oslo.

Professor Aabakken served as the President of the Scandinavian Association for Digestive Endoscopy between 2005 and 2013 and as the President of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy between 2014 and 2016. He is also a former Council Member of the United European Gastroenterology and a former Secretary General of the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO). At present, he acts as the President Elect of the WEO and as a Regional Chair of the WEO Outreach Committee, serving the African region. Additionally, he is a member of the Expert Panel on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices of the European Commission.

His professional interests include gastrointestinal endoscopy, documentation systems, and clinical research. He has written more than 250 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as a number of books and book chapters. Following fourteen years as executive editor, Professor Aabakken now acts as the Editor-in-Chief of the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology.