These are the Nominees for the Enthusiast of the Year Category

The nomination process began in autumn 2025, and the jury received more than 100 nominations across the six categories: Centre of the Year, Researcher-Initiated Trialof the Year, Industry-Initiated Trial of the Year, Innovative Environment of the Year, Young Researcher of the Year, and Enthusiast of the Year.

Following a thorough assessment process, the jury has selected a small number of nominees in each of the six categories.

The nominees for Enthusiast of the Year are:

• Espen A. Haavardsholm
• Fredrik Schjesvold
• Kristina Lindemann
• Mohsan Ali Syed
• Tobias S. Slørdahl
• Åslaug Helland
• Espen A. Haavardsholm

Espen A. Haavardsholm

Espen A. Haavardsholm is Head of Research and Consultant Rheumatologist at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, a part-time Professor at the University of Oslo, and Centre Director of REMEDY, a Centre for Clinical Treatment Research (FKB). For more than 15 years, Haavardsholm has focused his research on clinical trials and has made substantial and sustained efforts to ensure their implementation in clinical practice. He strengthens professional environments at project, institutional, and national levels by sharing expertise both formally and informally with colleagues.

His work has enabled the conduct of clinical trials in rare conditions with limited national patient populations. Haavardsholm is also a strong advocate for translating research findings into clinical practice and has served as project leader or played a key role in several major treatment studies that have directly influenced patient care and clinical guidelines. These include the ARCTIC, ARCTIC REWIND, NOR-SWITCH, NOR-DRUM, and NORD-STAR studies, published in BMJ, The Lancet, and JAMA.

Fredrik Schjesvold

Fredrik Schjesvold is a Consultant Haematologist and Head of the Oslo Myeloma Centre at Oslo University Hospital HF. Since establishing the Centre 11 years ago, he has served as a national investigator in numerous trials —both academic and industry-sponsored—and has positioned Norway among the global leaders in clinical myeloma research. He collaborates with nearly all companies conducting trials in this therapeutic area and is a prioritised investigator for a large proportion of them. This has provided Norwegian patients with access to innovative treatments at a level unmatched in other fields.

Schjesvold is deeply committed to ensuring that patients receive the best possible treatment and that all patients are offered the opportunity to participate in clinical trials. He actively inspires and guides other clinicians to engage in research and frequently contributes to public debate to increase understanding of the factors necessary for success in this field. He consistently challenges the system to prioritise clinical research in line with political ambitions and goals and is one of the most prominent clinical voices in the public discourse on clinical trials.

Kristina Lindemann

Professor Kristina Lindemann is a Consultant Oncologist at the Section for Gynaecological Cancer Treatment at Oslo University Hospital HF, Centre Lead for gynaecological cancer, and a key driving force in clinical cancer research and patient-centred innovation in Norway. She combines professional authority with a rare commitment to people, and her efforts go far beyond what is typically expected of a researcher and clinician. For many years, Lindemann has worked strategically to strengthen clinical trials for patients with gynaecological cancer and plays a central role in the National Quality and Competence Network for Gynaecological Cancer, ensuring equitable access for patients regardless of where they live.

Under her leadership, the Section for Research and Clinical Trials at OUS has become the second-largest recruiter to clinical trials in gynaecological cancer in the Nordic region. She has helped build structures that facilitate the inclusion of Norwegian patients in international trials and has acted as an important bridge between clinicians, research communities, and health authorities. She actively involves centres across the country, engages with the Gynaecological Cancer Association, and serves as a trial physician in the European NSGO-CTU/ENGOT network, where she shares expertise internationally and supports the development of younger researchers and clinicians across Europe.

Mohsan Ali Syed

Mohsan Ali Syed is an oncologist, Consultant Physician, and Medical Lead at Akershus University Hospital. He is distinguished by a passionate commitment to clinical trials, always placing patients’ needs at the centre. Through warmth, clarity, and accessibility, he helps create a sense of security for patients and a strong foundation for conducting research within routine clinical practice. His engagement has contributed, among other initiatives, to the establishment of the Kidney Cancer Association.

Syed is involved from the planning stages of clinical trials, ensures support from clinical management, and works actively to remove practical barriers so that trials can run alongside routine patient care. He has played a key role in engaging the majority of physicians in research activities by demonstrating that participation is both feasible and essential, and by making involvement easier. He openly shares results and experiences so others can learn from both successes and challenges.

Tobias S. Slørdahl

Tobias S. Slørdahl is a Consultant Haematologist at St. Olav’s Hospital and an Associate Professor at NTNU, as well as Academic Lead for the Myeloma Registry in Central Norway. He is a truly exceptional figure in his field—haematology in general and myeloma research in particular—characterised by an unusually positive attitude, high work capacity, and an exceptional ability to deliver results. Slørdahl is an investigator in several clinical myeloma trials and has ensured that participation in clinical trials is fully integrated into routine clinical practice within his department.

His driving motivation is to ensure that patients receive the best possible treatment as early as possible, which he believes is achieved through clinical trial participation. He strongly advocates that the financial returns from research activity should be reinvested directly into departments, for example through funding research nurses and coordinators, thereby generating further research activity. He has also led the national seminar on patient and public involvement in myeloma research. In short, he is present wherever myeloma research is advancing.

Åslaug Helland

Åslaug Helland is an oncologist and Research Director at the Division of Cancer Medicine, Oslo University Hospital HF, and a Professor at the University of Oslo. She leads NorTrials Cancer and has worked tirelessly for many years to increase access to clinical trials for cancer patients in Norway. Her primary focus has been lung cancer, and she has played a key role in ensuring that new, groundbreaking treatments have been rapidly made available to Norwegian patients.

In recent years, her engagement has expanded to encompass cancer care more broadly. She has led major national clinical initiatives, including IMPRESS-Norway, and through this work has helped mobilise the professional community nationwide and reach patients in all regions of the country. Her long-term and consistent efforts to establish close collaboration with the health industry have contributed to oncology becoming the field that attracts the largest number of industry-sponsored trials in Norway. She actively participates in national and international forums to share her experience and knowledge.

The text was translated from Norwegian using Optimizely and ChatGPT, and edited by Ellen Johnsen.