Solbakk is trained as a physician and protestant theologian and holds a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy (all degrees from the University of Oslo). Since 1996 he has been Professor of medical ethics at Centre for Medical Ethics, UiO. Until 2007 he served as Head of the Centre. In  2007 and 2008 he was Chief of Bioethics at the UNESCO Headquarter in Paris. In the period of 1996-2011 he was also Adjunct Professor of Philosophy of Medicine and Medical Ethics at Centre for International Health at the University of Bergen. Solbakk is involved in several international capacity building projects in research ethics and research integrity. At present his main fields of research are moral residue, the didactics of bioethics and science ethics, research ethics and integrity in research. He has published extensively, and is frequently invited as key note speaker in bioethics conferences in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.