Dr. Markus Haapasalo received his dental degree from the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Helsinki, Finland in 1978. He received his PhD (Dr odont.) from the University of Helsinki in 1986 on the microbiology of endodontic infections, and completed his specialization in endodontics in 1987. He has taught and practiced endodontics in private practice and at the university. From 1995 to 2004 he has been a Professor of Endodontics and 1999 - 2004 the Head of the Endodontic Department and director of the Postgraduate Program in Endodontics (from 2001) at Dept. of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry in Oslo, Norway. From 2004 Dr. Haapasalo accepted the position as the professor and head of the Division of Endodontics, and from 2006 as the acting head of the Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences (OBMS), Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Haapasalo is a member of the Canadian Dental Association, Royal College of Dentists of Canada (Endodontics), and an Associate member of American Association of Endodontics. He has authored or co-authored ca. 90 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Haapasalo is the editor-in-chief of the scientific international journal "Endodontic Topics", an associate editor of "Journal of Endodontics", and he serves on the Editorial Board of "International Endodontic Journal". He is also a reviewer for several other scientific journals and has contributed to several endodontic textbooks. He is the editor "Visual Endodontics Curriculum" multimedia program. In clinical endodontics his areas of special interest include instrumentation, irrigation, persistent infections, resorptions and root canal morphology. Dr. Haapasalo has received several teaching awards including the Louis I. Grossman International Award by the French Endodontic Society in 2007. He is actively lecturing about endodontics world-wide.