John-Helge Heimdal is the Managing Director of the Department of Surgery at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway, and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen. He is a specialist in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, with more than two decades of dedicated experience in laryngology.

He completed his PhD in tumour immunology at the University of Bergen in 2002 and has extensive research expertise through participation in numerous clinical studies. His academic work includes over fifty peer‑reviewed scientific publications, as well as book chapters, reviews, and a wide range of presentations at national and international conferences.

In 2002, together with colleagues at Haukeland University Hospital, Professor Heimdal designed the Continuous Laryngoscopy Exercise (CLE) test, which has since become an important tool for evaluating laryngeal function during physical stress. He has performed exercise‑based laryngeal assessments for more than twenty years and has chaired the ELS Committee on Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO).

He has supervised multiple PhD candidates whose theses focused on upper airway function during exercise. The “Upper Airway Group” at Haukeland University Hospital, an interdisciplinary team of ENT specialists, pulmonologists, pediatricians, and sports medicine physicians has, over the last twenty years, contributed significantly to the understanding of laryngeal function related to respiration and airway protection. The group collaborates broadly with research partners across Europe and beyond.