Dr. Ólafía Sigurbjörnsdóttir

Dr. Ólafía Sigurbjörnsdóttir is a senior consultant pulmonologist at Landspítali University Hospital in Reykjavik — Iceland's national university hospital, the country's only university-level hospital, and the sole location in Iceland providing tertiary specialist respiratory care. With 16 years of clinical experience, she is one of Iceland's most experienced respiratory medicine specialists.

Iceland's respiratory medicine landscape is shaped by unique environmental factors. The country's active volcanic geology means that volcanic ash (tephra) events — most famously from Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 and ongoing Reykjanes Peninsula volcanic activity — create distinctive respiratory health challenges, including particle inhalation with potential for silica-related lung disease in exposed populations. Dr. Sigurbjörnsdóttir has developed particular expertise in volcanic ash lung disease assessment, including follow-up of workers and residents exposed during eruption events.

She completed her PhD at the University of Iceland with research on respiratory effects of volcanic ash exposure and undertook advanced pulmonology training in Denmark at Aarhus University Hospital — one of Scandinavia's leading respiratory centres — reflecting Iceland's strong Nordic academic ties.

Dr. Sigurbjörnsdóttir completed her medical degree at the University of Iceland Faculty of Medicine in Reykjavik. She undertook pulmonology specialty training at Landspítali University Hospital and obtained Icelandic specialist certification in pulmonology. Her PhD from the University of Iceland (2015) focused on the respiratory health effects of volcanic ash in Icelandic agricultural workers. She completed advanced pulmonology training at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, and holds the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Diploma in Respiratory Medicine. She participates in the Nordic Respiratory Society.

Dr. Sigurbjörnsdóttir's clinical expertise spans obstructive, environmental, and fibrotic respiratory disease with distinctive Icelandic-specific expertise. In COPD, she manages the full spectrum from early disease through severe COPD requiring home oxygen therapy and NIV. In asthma, she evaluates severe asthma phenotypes using FeNO and blood eosinophil measurement, and manages biologic therapy for eligible patients.

Her unique clinical contribution is in environmental and occupational lung disease, particularly the assessment of workers and residents with volcanic ash and silica exposure. She coordinates occupational lung disease clinics for Iceland's agricultural workers, who have elevated silica exposure risk. In sleep medicine, she interprets polysomnography and manages CPAP/BiPAP therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea — a condition with higher prevalence in Iceland's northern latitude population, where seasonal variation in sleep-wake patterns may worsen OSA severity.

Dr. Sigurbjörnsdóttir consults in Icelandic, English, Danish, and German. Landspítali is Iceland's only university hospital and routinely manages international patients — including tourists who develop respiratory illness during their Icelandic visit, often in the context of outdoor activity, geothermal exposure, or volcanic events. She also manages occupational respiratory exposures for Iceland's international fishing and agricultural workforce. Video consultations are available for remote second opinions.

Dr. Sigurbjörnsdóttir received the Icelandic Medical Association Award for her research on volcanic ash lung disease. Her PhD research attracted international media and scientific attention following the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. She has published in Environmental Health Perspectives and the European Respiratory Journal on volcanic ash respiratory health effects. She is a recognized international authority on this rare and distinctive environmental respiratory hazard.