Katarina Olofsson

Hi,

My name is Katarina Olofsson and I am employed as a senior physician in voice and speech disorders (phoniatrics) 80% of the time and as a clinical professor 20% of the time at Umeå University. There, I am responsible for training and developing the business at various levels. Through this combined position, I have the privilege of being clinically active, currently in Region Norrbotten, and section manager in Region Norrbotten at Sunderby Hospital for the patient group covered by our research. This facilitates patient-centred clinical research and the training of Norrbotten's first specialist in voice and speech disorders (phoniatrics), My Bergman.

Our research is about subglottic stenosis (SGS) and respiratory papilloma (RRP)

SGS is a progressive narrowing of the airway just below the vocal cords, with female predominance. There is currently no cure, and the condition requires repeated surgical treatment under anaesthesia, with 80% recurrence within 3 years. On average, it takes >18 months to diagnose and treat the condition because SGS is often confused with asthma. Including all variants of SGS, approximately 0.49/100,000 individuals/year are affected. The disease is relatively rare, but highly relevant from a healthcare cost perspective, which is reported to be comparable to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and diabetes. Not being able to breathe has a major impact on quality of life and functionality as a human being.

What I am working on now and in the future

We are working to map the impact on quality of life before and after surgery for subglottic stenosis (SGS), compare different surgical methods, and study the causes (primarily microbiota) of SGS. If we can address the cause, it will affect treatment. We want to contribute to preventive and health-promoting efforts by identifying patients at risk for surgery, improving diagnostics and thus access to the right treatment. We are trying to map treatment intervals over the course of the disease. We are collaborating with Associate Professor Ola Forslund at Lund University on respiratory papilloma (warts on the vocal cords), where we are mapping microorganisms in the airways at different locations and studying antibody responses and cytokine profiles to better understand the course of the disease and thus influence treatment, which today, as with SGS, consists of repeated surgery. In the field of subglottic stenosis, we collaborate with Clinical Genomics at Umeå University and SciLife Lab at Uppsala University.

Previlege

I am responsible for the regional treatment of patients with subglottic stenosis (SGS) and respiratory papilloma (RRP). Both SGS and RRP require surgical treatment under general anaesthesia, sometimes several times a year, most likely for the rest of the patient's life. These conditions cause progressive breathing difficulties and hoarseness, which have a documented major impact on all aspects of quality of life. Being able to contribute to research is an incredible privilege. Our group has shown, among other things, that the number of treatments for RRP can be reduced from 2/year to 0.8/year with additional treatment with a vaccine (Gardasil) and that surgical treatment intervals for SGS decrease with disease duration. These findings are expected to influence the treatmentoptions we offer to SGS and RRP  patients.

A brief description of my academic career

Swedish medical licence 2 November 1992

ENT specialist 29 April 1998

Foiatri specialist 27 November 2001

Doctoral thesis defence 1 October 1999

University senior physician 1 February 2015–30 November 2020

Associate Professor 06/06/2012

Lectureship, UmU 01/12/2020–31/12/2021

Adjunct/clinical professor 01/01/2022–present, since 01/06/2026 adjunct at Region Norrbotten Sunderby Research Unit
Head of Section, Phoniatrics 1 January 2002 to 9:th of February 2025 at Region Västerbotten. Since 10 February 2025, active at Region Norrbotten

Main supervisor for PhD students

In December 2024, Stina Chorell was registered as a doctoral student with the thesis ‘Subglottic stenosis, causation, risk factors and course of the disease’. Mid-term report planned for 2027

In January 2021, Anders Erlandsson was registered as a doctoral student with the thesis ‘Airway stenosis – in relation to surgical technique, causation and impact on quality of life’. Mid-term report 22 March 2024. Planned defence 20 November 2026

In November 2022, Alexandra Schindele defended her thesis entitled ‘Human papilloma virus and Epstein-Barr virus in upper airway mucosa’.

In May 2019, Anna Holm defended her thesis entitled ‘Human papillomavirus in sino-nasal inverted papilloma, recurrent respiratory papilloma and non-malignant tonsils’.

In February 2017, Stina Sundstedt defended her thesis entitled ‘Swallowing function in patients with Parkinson's disease and Deep Brain Stimulation’. Stina obtained her licentiate degree in April 2014.

In October 2016, Christos Loizou defended his thesis entitled ‘Human papillomavirus in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, tonsillar and mobile tongue cancer’.

In April 2014, Stina Sundstedt defended her licentiate thesis entitled ‘Swallowing function in Parkinson's patients following deep brain stimulation’.

Co-supervisors for PhD students

Eleonor Koro, registered PhD student in November 2019, half-time April 2023

Elenor Lundgren, registered PhD student in September 202, half time in January 2026