Thor Einar Gjerstad Andersen

Thor Einar Gjerstad Andersen is a Professor at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. He serves as the Medical Director of the Norwegian FA's Sports Medical Center (Idrettens helsesenter) and as Chief Medical Officer of the Football Association of Norway. With a background as a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist and authorized Sports Medicine & Exercise Physician, he brings extensive clinical experience to his academic role.

Dr. Andersen's research focuses on sports injury prevention, particularly in football, with special emphasis on football injuries, football physiology, and physical and rehabilitation medicine. His work spans multiple areas including neurodegenerative disease in female football players, groin and pelvic injuries, concussion management, and training load monitoring. He employs both prospective cohort studies and advanced statistical methodologies to investigate injury mechanisms and prevention strategies.

His recent publications (2021-2025) demonstrate strong focus on women's football medicine, heading in football, mental health in professional footballers, and innovative approaches to injury risk modeling. The research often involves large-scale collaborations across Norwegian and international institutions, with particular attention to practical applications in football medicine.

As an educator, he serves as a senior lecturer in the Master of Sports Physiotherapy Education Program and leads football medicine research initiatives. His clinical background as former team physician for the Norwegian Men's A-team (2002-2014) informs his practical approach to sports medicine research.

Dr. Andersen also maintains active involvement in football beyond academia, having played professionally for IK Start (winning championships in 1978 and 1980), served as a coach, and held various leadership positions including executive board member at IK Start.