SPEAKERS

ABDELAZIZ RAJI


MOROCCO

ABDELAZIZ RAJI

Head ENT-HNS Department Mohammed VI University Hospital Marrakech Morocco. Director of ENT-HNS training program Medical Faculty Cadi Ayyad University Marrakech Morocco. President of ENT-HNS Moroccan College ( CEMORL). Founding member of International Society for Inner Ear Therapeutics ( ISIET). Past Vice President of ENT-HNS Moroccan Society (SMORL). Past General Secretary of Moroccan Society of dizziness & balance disorders ( SMEVE)

AD SNIK


NETHERLANDS

AD SNIK

Ad Snik obtained a master’s degree in physics. After completion of his PhD study, he got a position as trainee clinical physicist/audiologist and was registered as such in 1986. In 1998, he became the head of the Nijmegen Audiological Centre and Implant Team. In 2006 he was appointed as a professor in Audiology. He published over 250 (peer reviewed) papers. Ad Snik was employed at the Nijmegen University Medical Centre (until his retirement in 2017) and at the Biophysics department.

ALESSANDRO MARTINI


ITALY

ALESSANDRO MARTINI

Honorary Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Padova. Former Head dept Neurosciences, University Hospital, Padova. Coordinator Scientific Board Research Center “International Auditory Processing Project Venice: IApprove”, Padova University. Member Accademia Galileiana di Scienze Lettere Arti. Honoray President AUORL. Editor-in-Chief Hearing, Balance and Communication (Informa) 2013-today. Scientific editor Italian Journal Audiology & Phoniatrics (Padova University Press)

ALIMOHAMAD ASGHARI


IRAN

ALIMOHAMAD ASGHARI

Prof. Alimohamad Asghari is an Otolaryngologist and Head and Neck Surgeon with a subspecialty in Otology-Neurotology. His research focuses on a variety of hearing-related topics such as cochlear implantation, hearing loss, balance and vestibular disorders, vestibular schwannoma. Additionally, He is exploring the use of stem cells and genetics to address ear diseases, as well as sleep disordered breathing. He is the professor of Otolaryngology at Iran University of Medical Sciences. Tehran, Iran.

ANA PATIÑO GARCÍA


SPAIN

ANA PATIÑO GARCÍA

Full professor in Genetics at the University of Navarra, Director of the Medical Genomics Unit and Researcher at the Laboratory of Advanced Therapies for Pediatric Tumors. Co-PI of the laboratory of CIMA LAB Diagnostics (https://en.unav.edu/web/cimalab/), the genomics platform of our institution for research and diagnosis. Scientific production: 167 original papers (H index 44, total cites 5900), 21 scientific awards and 46 funded research projects.

ANDRÉS SOTO-VARELA


SPAIN

ANDRÉS SOTO-VARELA

Professor and Chairman of Otorhinolaryngology. Member of the cochlear implant team at the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago since 1995. President of the Galician Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervical-Facial Pathology. President of the Research Commission of the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. Corresponding Academic of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Galicia

ANDRZEJ ZAROWSKI


BELGIUM

ANDRZEJ ZAROWSKI

Prof. Dr. Andrzej Zarowski is ENT consultant and neurootologist with a background of electronic engineering. He is the Chairman of the European Institute for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and professor of clinical audiology at the Thomas More University College in Antwerp (Belgium). He is currently the General Secretary of EAONO and the Executive Board Member of IFOS. He is an internationally acclaimed scientist and innovator with different publications and patents on his name.

ANDY BEYNON


NETHERLANDS

ANDY BEYNON

Andy Beynon is CI (1986) and BAHA (1988), director Vestibular & Auditory EP-Lab at Radboudumc Nijmegen; received PhD Medical Faculty of Radboud University (auditory electrophysiology). Invited professor at international courses on objective assessment, member editorial board J. Audiol Res & ORL Hear Balance Medicine, advisory & council board member and senior researcher in animal/human auditory electrophysiology, speech processing, oto-genetic audio-vestibular assessment and CI

ANTONIO DELLA VOLPE


ITALY

ANTONIO DELLA VOLPE

Head of ENT Department. Head of Otology and Regiona Referral Center for Paediatric Cochlear Implant. President of Mediterranean Society of Otology and Audiology ( MSOA). Past President of Italian Society of Hearing Science ( SIOSU)

ANNA R. FETONI


ITALY

ANNA R. FETONI

Prof. Anna R.  Fetoni is MD, she completed her training in ENT and the doctoral studies in Neuroscience at the Catholic University in Rome. She is Member of the Committee and Senior Researcher of the Audiolab for fundamental research for hearing and deafness in Rome. She is full professor in Clinical Audiology, Head of the Audiology Institute and Director of the Campania Regional Center for early diagnosis of deafness and Cochlear implant program in the University of Naples Federico II.

ARUN GADRE


UNITED STATES

ARUN GADRE

Arun K. Gadre is Director of Otology & Neurotology at Geisinger Medical Center.  He was a clinical fellow in at the NYU Medical Center. Dr Gadre has written over 50 peer-reviewed articles. He is a member of the Triological Society and board member of The Laryngoscope and is co-editor of the Journal of Advanced International Otology.  He is member of the American Otologic Society.  Dr. Gadre has lectured in several countries. an wrtten over 50 articles and book chapters.

ATHANASIA WARNECKE


GERMANY

ATHANASIA WARNECKE

Otorhinolaryngology. Her main research interest is the development and clinical testing of novel therapies for the inner ear. She is member of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, the Association of Research in Otology (ARO) and the Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum (CORLAS).   

ABDULRAHMAN A. HAGR


SAUDI ARABIA

ABDULRAHMAN A. HAGR

Professor, King Saud University 2013. President, Saudi ORL Society 2010 until present. Founder and President, Arab Academy of Otology and Cochlear Implant (AAOCI) 2018-now. Founder and First Director of National Saudi Neonatal Screening Program. Director, King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center (KAESC) 2011 till 2023. Director of Prince Sultan Research Chair for Hearing Disability & Implantable Devices. International Federation of ORL Societies (IFOS) Congress Program Chair 2023. Author of ten books

BAKI FATTHI


EGYPT

BAKI FATTHI

Professor ENT Alexandria faculty of Medicine; Alexandria- Egypt. President of Egyptian Society of Cochlear Implant. Former President of Global Cochlear Implant Access Network Conference. Steering Committee of GCIAN % AACI. Co-Director of CI Hannover Masterclass. Reviewer of The Journal of International Advanced Otology. Award for the service to the Deaf Dubai 2016. 50 publications. Operated around 1500 Cochlear Implant

BRUCE GANTZ


UNITED STATES

BRUCE GANTZ

Bruce J Gantz, MD is currently Professor and Chair emeritus of the Department of Otolaryngology. Head and Neck Surgery and Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.   He is the principal investigator of the Iowa Cochlear Implant Clinical Research Center, funded by the NIH since 1985.  In May, 2023 the Center was awarded their eighth five-year NIH renewal that will run through 2028.  He has led the Iowa CI Team in development of the Hybrid Cochlear Implant.

BULENT SATAR


TURKEY

BULENT SATAR

Bulent Satar  graduated from Gülhane Military Medical  School  in 1990. He was trained in ORL H&N surgery at the same hospital. He attended  University of Michigan and UCSF for postdoctoral  fellowship. When he was there, he specifically studied on otology and neurotology. He also visited  Royal Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, University of Stanford and Gruppo Otologico. He received professor  title in 2010.  His practice is mostly on otological diseases and vestibular disturbances.

BADR ELDIN MOSTAFA


EGYPT

BADR ELDIN MOSTAFA

Professor Emeritus, MD,DU. Head of Cochlear implant Unit National Health Insurance. Member: CORLAS, ELS, American Academy, Societe Francaise d’ORL-CCF, Korean ENT-HNS Society, Egyptian ORL society, Egyptian Skull Base Society, Egyptian CI Society. Regional representative MSOA, executive committee Vertigo Academy International (VAI), board member Politzer society. Publications: 103 articles, 5 books. Interests: Otology-neurotology, laryngo-tracheal stenosis, vestibulogy , cochlear implants.

CAGLAR BATMAN


TURKEY

CAGLAR BATMAN

Started Cochlear Implantation in 1995.Done personally more than 4300 cochlear Implantations, not only in Turkey,but many international centers worldwide. These cases include many malformed cochleas,cochlear ossifications and auditory brainstem implantations. Speaker in numerous national and international meetings as a presenter,panelist, moderator in the field of cochlear implantation.Author of many publications and took part in many international projects about cochlear implantation.

CARLOS CEJOR


SPAIN

CARLOS CEJOR

Head of ENT Department of HUJimenez Diaz, HIE& HUgeneral de Villalba QuuironSalud Madrid. Full professor of Otolaringology Autonoma University of Madrid. Ex General Secretary of  SEORL-CCC. Member of board of EAONO. Member of nominating commitee of IFOS

CHISTOPHER RAINE


UNITED KINGDOM

CHISTOPHER RAINE

Consultant Otolaryngologist with special interest in paediatric and adult auditory implants. Previous board member to ENT UK and ESPO. Founding member of British Society of Otology and the British Cochlear Implant Group. Past President of the section of Otology, Royal Society of Medicine. Senior examiner for the Intercollegiate exams and also the European ORL examinations. Advisor to the NHS health care on specialised ear services. Publication of > 140 peer-reviewed papers and 20 book chapters.

DAYSE TAVORA-VIEIRA


AUSTRALIA

DAYSE TAVORA-VIEIRA

Dayse Tavora completed her PhD on cochlear implant, unilateral deafness and brain plasticity at the School of Surgery, University of Western Australia and obtained her Doctorate at the University of Florida, USA. She is the Head of the State-Wide Audiology Services in Western Australia and a faculty member at the University of Western Australia and Curtin University. Her main research interest is focused on cortical activity, binaural hearing pathway and brain plasticity after hearing implantation.

ESRA YÜCEL


TURKEY

ESRA YÜCEL

Prof. Dr. Esra Yücel was born in 1969 in Ankara. She completed her master's and doctorate education in Hacettepe University Health Sciences Institute Educational Audiology program, and received the title and authority of University Associate Professor in the field of Audiology Science in 2010. Since 1991, she has worked with different academic staff in Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences Dept of Audiology. Her current studies have focused on memory and perception, sensory integration

ENRIQUE A. LOPEZ-POVEDA


SPAIN

ENRIQUE A. LOPEZ-POVEDA

He is a physicist and a professor of otorhinolaryngology at the University of Salamanca (Spain). He is the director of the Auditory Computation and Psychoacoustics Group at the Neuroscience Institute of Castilla y León. He has authored over 90 research articles on hearing. He is an associate editor for Trends in Hearing and JARO. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA).

EDUARDO CORRALES


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

EDUARDO CORRALES

Dr. Corrales is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital specializing in otology, neurotology and skull base surgery. He is also an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. He completed an otolaryngology residency and a neurotology and skull base surgery fellowship at Stanford University. His interests include otosclerosis and stapes surgery, superior semicircular canal dehiscence, hearing loss, gene therapy to treat diseases of the ear and acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma). (ICRA).

ERIC TRUY


FRANCE

ERIC TRUY

MD 1988. Graduated in ENT 1991, Phoniatrics 1991. Master of Science: 1992. Habilitation for Conducting Researches: 1994. Professor of Otolaryngology, 1996-present. Head of the School for Speech Therapists (elected), Lyon University, 2001-2010. Head of ENT departments at Edouard Herriot Hospital and Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant; Lyon. Present. INSERM Research fellow 1986-1988. Research Unit CNRS 1447 1988-2001; RU CNRS 2001-2008; RU INSERM U1028-CNRS UMR5292: 2008-present.

FARID ALZHRANI


SAUDI ARABIA

FARID ALZHRANI

Professor & Consultant of ORL-HNS. Otologist & Neurotologist. Medical Director of King Abdulaziz University Hospital

FRANÇOIS BERGERON


CANADA

FRANÇOIS BERGERON

Pr. Bergeron completed his doctoral studies in biomedical sciences at the Université de Montréal. He then did a postdoctoral fellow in health technology assessment at the Agence Nationale d’Accréditation et d’Évaluation en Santé (Paris). His research activities are focused on the efficacy of assistive technologies for the hearing impaired, notably on cochlear implants, and on auditory assessment. Pr Bergeron is the scientific director of the Quebec cochlear implant program.

GONZALO CORVERA BEHAR


MEXICO

GONZALO CORVERA BEHAR

Graduate of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Otolaryngology from the UNAM, Ear and Skull Base Surgery in Toulouse, France. Director of the Mexican Institute of Otology and Neurotology SC, since 1993. Founder of the Asociación Mexicana para la Audición "Ayúdanos a Oír", A.C., since 1995, a non-profit NGO created to support low-income people with hearing problems. Postgraduate professor in high speciality of neuro-otology at UNAM.

GRIET MERTENS


BELGIUM

GRIET MERTENS

Griet Mertens (PhD, MSc AUD) holds a position as professor at the Antwerp University and is coordinating the clinical cochlear implant research program at the ENT department of the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) in Belgium. She completed her PhD on Single-Sided Deafness and partial deafness at the Antwerp University in 2015 and her MA studies in Audiology at the Catholic University of Leuven in 2011.

GEORGE TAVARTKILADZE


RUSSIA

GEORGE TAVARTKILADZE

Professor George Tavartkiladze. Head of the Department of Clinical Audiology, Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Moscow. Research interests: Electrophysiology of hearing, cochlear implantation, objective measures in auditory implants, audiological screening. Secretary General, International Society of Audiology; Member of the Expert Advisory Panel, World Health Organization; Member of the Lancet Commission on Hearing; President of the Russian Society of Audiology

HELGE RASK-ANDERSEN


SWEDEN

HELGE RASK-ANDERSEN

Senior Professor at the Uppsala University, Department of Surgical Sciences, section of ORL. Ear Surgeon and skull base surgeon, Head of the Inner Ear Research Laboratories at the Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Focus on cochlear implants, Cochlear anatomi, Synkrotron Imaging and Electron Microscopy and Immune Chemistry, super resolution microscopy and RNA scope technique for gene localization in human inner ear tissue

JAVIER GAVILÁN


SPAIN

JAVIER GAVILÁN

Professor and Chairman. Department of Otorhinolaryngology. La Paz University Hospital. Madrid, Spain. 10 books and 92 book chapters. Over 300 papers in scientific journals. Visiting Professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Toronto and University of Pittsburgh. Speaker, Panelist or Moderator in more than 600 meetings. Organized more than 70 scientific activities. Recipient of 56 different awards and grants. Member of more than 25 different scientific societies. Research Secretary of the HEARRING group since 2017

JA-WON KOO


republic of KOREA

JA-WON KOO

Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Seoul National University College of Medicine. Director, Dizziness Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. President-Elect, Korean Balance Society. Past-President, Korean Otological Society

JAWWAD AHMAD


PAKISTAN

JAWWAD AHMAD

Dr. Jawwad Ahmad, is currently Director, CDA Cochlear Implant Centre, Capital Hospital, Islamabad. His academic focus is on otology especially Implantation   with particular focus on outcome related to Hearing preservation techniques. He has performed more than 900 cochlear implant surgeries and has a vast experience in ear surgery. He has been involved in teaching and research in the field of otology and has published 30 articles pertinent to his field.

JUAN ARMANDO CHIOSSONE


UNITED STATES

JUAN ARMANDO CHIOSSONE

MD Central University of Venezuela (UCV). Otorhinolaryngology at UCV. Fellow in Neurotology at Addenbrooke's Hospital NHS - Cambridge University Hospital. Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology at UCV Director of CI program. Vice President of the Venezuelan Otology Foundation Director of CI program. Assistant Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Director of the Cranial Access Neuroanatomy & ENT Surgical Laboratory (CANES LAB)

JOHAN HM FRIJNS


NETHERLANDS

JOHAN HM FRIJNS

Johan H.M. Frijns is ENT-consultant, director of the Center for Audiology and Hearing Implants and professor of Otology and Auditory Physics at LUMC, and Medical Delta Professor at Delft University of Technology. He earned his MSc (hons, 1983) in Applied Physics at Delft UT, his MD (hons, 1988) and his PhD (hons, 1995) at Leiden University. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers. His research interests include (neuro-)otology and audiology, especially cochlear implants.

KATALIN GAL


ROMANIA

KATALIN GAL

Katalin Gál is President of the Association for Hearing Impaired Children in Romania and is also a speech and language therapist and psychologist. She is very active in supporting families in Romania where services have been limited for so long. She has been working in the CI field for more than 12 years, using the natural-aural approach. Her experience shows that „The parents are their child`s first and the most important teacher” with a specialized assistance.

LEO DE RAEVE


BELGIUM

LEO DE RAEVE

PhD Leo De Raeve is Director of the Independent Information and Research Center on Cochlear Implants (ONICI) and is Scientific Advisor of the European Users Association of Cochlear Implant Users. He is also a member of the World Hearing Forum (WHO). In 2022 he became chair of the International Foundation CIICA (Cochlear Implant International Community of Action) and one of the co-chairs of the Task Force of the Living guidelines project.

LEOPOLDO DEIVE MAGGIOLO


DOMINICIAN REPUBLIC

LEOPOLDO DEIVE MAGGIOLO

Felllowship in Otology at hospital materno infantil , las Palmas de gran Canaria. MIR ORL at the  Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo. Owner and Medical Director , Centro Otologico Deive Maggiolo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Coodinator of the ""hearing lost program""  National Helth Service .   Dominican Republic. Profesor of ENT ,  Universiad Nacional Pedro Henrriquez Urena  (UNPHU)

LUISA MONTEIRO


PORTUGAL

LUISA MONTEIRO

Otorhinolaryngologist with special interest in pediatric ENT, deafness and cochlear implants. Master degree in Audiology. Founder of the Cochlear Implant Program at the pediatric hospital in Lisbon (2007), Hospital Dona Estefânea. Head of the ENT Department at Hospital Lusíadas since 2013. Founder of the GRISI steering group that implemented UNHS in Portugal. Member of the WHF, Make Listening Safe sub-group. Author of a text book on Pediatric ENT an another on Audiology.

MARCO D. CAVERSACCIO


SWITZERLAND

MARCO D. CAVERSACCIO

Prof. Marco Caversaccio is chairman of the Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery at the University Hospital in Bern (Switzerland) . Dr. Caversaccio is a well-known technology expert for the development and implementation of novel surgical techniques . He has conducted First in Man studies like the Robotic Cochlea implantation as well the insertion of the Bone Anchoring Port for Nephrodialysis. He is member of  different societies, as well of of the Collegium ORL Amicitiae Sacrum.

MARGARET DILLON


UNITED STATES

MARGARET DILLON

Margaret Dillon, AuD, PhD is an Associate Professor, Director of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck (OHNS) Clinical Research, and Director of the Cochlear Implant (CI) Clinical Research Laboratories in the Department of OHNS at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research investigates outcomes of CI and electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) device use for new indications for cochlear implantation and the effectiveness of methods to individualize the mapping of CI and EAS devices.

MAURIZIO BARBARA


ITALY

MAURIZIO BARBARA

Graduated in 1978. Specialized in ENT in 1981. Specialized in Audiology in 1988. PhD at Karolinska Institut, Stockholm, Sweden, in 1988. Full professor in Otorhinolaryngology from 2005. Head of ENT Clinic at University Hospital Sant’Andrea, Rome, Italy. Head of NESMOS Department in 2017-2022. Coordinator of the Sapienza PhD Program “Sensorineural Plasticity” in 2018-2023. Author of more than 180 publications.

MEREDITH HOLCOMB


UNITED STATES

MEREDITH HOLCOMB

Dr. Holcomb is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Hearing Implant Program at the University of Miami Ear Institute. She is a cochlear implant audiologist who manages patients across the lifespan. She is a consultant for Advanced Bionics, Cochlear, Med El, Hemideina, ICIT and ASHA. She currently serves on the Joint Committee for Infant Hearing and is an active member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance and the Hearing Health Collaborative.  

MIGUEL VACA


SPAIN

MIGUEL VACA

Specialist in Otolaryngology, Otology & Neurotology at Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid. Professor of Speech Therapy Degree, Universidad de Alcalá. Author of several publications in specialized journals. Author of several presentations and communications in congresses of the specialty.

MILAN PROFANT


SLOVAKIA

MILAN PROFANT

Comenius University Bratislava, Medical Faculty, Department of ORL HNS

MANOHAR BANCE


UNITED KINGDOM

MANOHAR BANCE

Manohar Bance is an Otologist/Neurotologist and clinician-scientist at Cambridge University, and the inaugural Professor of Otology and Skull Base Surgery at the University of Cambridge, UK. Previously he was Professor and Head of the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery at Dalhousie University until April 2017, where he was also Director of the EAR and SENSE labs.

MARCELO RIVOLTA


UNITED KINGDOM

MARCELO RIVOLTA

Marcelo Rivolta is Professor of Sensory Stem Cell Biology at the University of Sheffield and the Founder Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Rinri Therapeutics. His lab identified and isolated a population of stem cells from the human foetal cochlea and generated one of the first developmentally informed protocols to direct human pluripotent stem cells into auditory cell types. He established the proof of concept that stem cells can be used to functionally repair the damaged cochlea.

MOHAN KAMESWARAN


INDIA

MOHAN KAMESWARAN

Professor. Mohan Kameswaran is the Managing Director & Senior Consultant   of Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd, Honorary Distinguished Professor, The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University. Special Interests: Cochlear Implants and Auditory Brainstem Implants. Past President APSCI and Former board member Politzer board. One of the Pioneers of Auditory Implants

MICHAEL TONG


CHINA

MICHAEL TONG

Professor Michael Tong is the Chairman of Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is pioneering in development of advanced endoscopic ear surgery techniques. His interest has extended to epidemiology and public Health especially in elderly health. As a distinguished skull base surgeon and otologist, he has 260+ peer-reviewed publications on otology, cochlear implantation, auditory brainstem implantation, and nasopharyngeal cancer research

NEIL DONNELLY


UNITED KINGDOM

NEIL DONNELLY

Neil Donnelly is a Consultant Otoneurological & Skull Base Surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He is a Fellow of Homerton College, University of Cambridge and is a Council Member of the British Skull Base Society. At Cambridge University Hospitals, Neil  is a member of a team delivering high quality care in Skull Base Surgery, Otology and Hearing Implantation.

NICOLA QUARANTA


ITALY

NICOLA QUARANTA

Prof. Nicola Quaranta graduated at the Medical School of the University of Bari with a graduation thesis in Otolaryngology.
He completed his training in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology at the University of Parma.
He is Full Professor of Otolaryngology. He is author of more than 200 papers and his research interest are in the field of Audiology, Otology, Cochlear Implants and Otoneurological and Skull base Surgery.

OSMAN NURI OZGIRGIN


TURKEY

OSMAN NURI OZGIRGIN

President, International Vertigo Society, Past President - Turkish Otology, Neurotology Society, Politzer  Society, EAONO, MSOA. Board Member – IFOS. Editor in Chief – The Journal of International Advanced Otology "Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair" Award for Services to the Deaf. 2011 Dubai. Honorary Member – Indian ORL Academy. Contributions in more than 250 International Organizations

ÖZGÜR YIĞIT


TURKEY

ÖZGÜR YIĞIT

Prof. Özgür Yiğit, MD, is currently the Chief of Otorhinolaryngology Clinic - University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital. He is the current General Secretary of the Turkish ORL-HNS Society and the Central and West Asian ORL-HNS Associations. He is the president of upcoming International Federation of ORL Societies congress (IFOS-2026). He is also board member of Balkan Society of ORL-HNS and Skull Base Society.

PEDRO BRÁS DA SILVA


PORTUGAL

PEDRO BRÁS DA SILVA

He is a Speech and Language Therapist for 23 years. He is a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist and mentors professionals to obtain LSLS Cert. AVT credentials. He is currently a member of the AG Bell Academy Board of Directors. He is a guest assistant on the SLT course at the Health School of Aveiro University. He is part of the Hearing Implants team at Hospital Lusiadas Porto, working with babies, children, teenagers and adults with hearing loss.

PIOTR H. SKARZYNSKI


POLAND

PIOTR H. SKARZYNSKI

Participated in the 3rd Stakeholders Consultation meeting during which the World Hearing Forum WHO was announced. A member of the Roster of Experts on Digital Health WHO, Institutional Representative of ISfTeH, President of International Advisory Board of AAO-HNS, member of Congress and Meeting Department of EAONO, Vice-President of Hearring Group, Auditor of EFAS. Member of Implantable Hearing Devices Committee and Otology & Neurotology Education Committee of AAO-HNS and more.

RALF GREISIGER


NORWAY

RALF GREISIGER

In 2016, Ralf Greisiger received his PhD degree at University of Oslo, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Topic: Objective Measurements and Cochlear Implant Imaging. His working experience with Cochlear Implants (CI) started in 1997 at University Hospital Freiburg, Germany and University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. Since 2003, he is working for the ENT department at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. Research focus: Intra-operative measurements and imaging of electrode arrays.

RAQUEL MANRIQUE-HUARTE


SPAIN

RAQUEL MANRIQUE-HUARTE

She finished her ENT training in 2011 and her Ph D in 2013. She has been working on the following research topics in an animal model: hearing preservation with cochlear implantation, drug delivery in the inner ear, vestibular damage after cochlear implantation and in the clinical scenario in the analysis of vestibular and radiological assessment in meniere disease. She has participated in 20 research projects and published more than 80 papers in the otology and neuro-otology area.

ROBERT BRIGGS


AUSTRALIA

ROBERT BRIGGS

Robert Briggs is an Otolaryngologist with a clinical practice and research specializing in Otology and Neurotology. His current appointments are Clinical Professor in the University of Melbourne Departments of Surgery and Otolaryngology and Medical Director of the Cochlear Implant Clinic at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He has a large experience with acoustic neuroma surgery and with cochlear implantation.

ROBERT STOKROOS


NETHERLANDS

ROBERT STOKROOS

Professor and chair, department of otolaryngology- head and neck surgery,  University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands

ROHIT MEHROTRA


INDIA

ROHIT MEHROTRA

Master in otorhinolaryngology. Professor. Teaching experience of 20 years. Special interest in otology, especially cochlear implants. Done over 1400 cochlear implants. Several publications done. Research in cochlear implantation

SHIN-ICHI USAMI


JAPAN

SHIN-ICHI USAMI

Prof. Usami has been Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Shinshu University from 1999 to 2020. He is currently emeritus Professor and is continuing his clinical and basic research as a Professor of the Department of Hearing Implant Sciences. His scientific interests include molecular genetics and the therapy of hearing loss with a focus on cochlear implantation. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles in international scientific journals.

STEFAN PLONTKE


GERMANY

STEFAN PLONTKE

Professor Plontke was President (2020/2021) of the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. He is member of the Collegium ORLAS, member of the board of directors of the Prosper Menière Society, and editor in chief of the Journal 'HNO' (Springer). His clinical research interests focus on otology, hearing implants, lateral skull base surgery, audiology, innear ear surgery, drug delivery to the ear and outcome parameters for clinical trials.

STEFAN ZIRN


GERMANY

STEFAN ZIRN

2008 - 2008 Engineer at MED-EL. 2009– 2011 Research assistant at ENT clinic Großhadern Munich (Germany). 2012 – 2014 Head of experimental audiology at ENT clinic Großhadern Munich and researcher at the Munich School of BioEngineering/Group of Prof. Werner Hemmert. 2014 – 2015 Postdoc at ENT clinic Freiburg/Germany. 2015 – today Professor for electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg

SUE ARCHBOLD


UNITED KINGDOM

SUE ARCHBOLD

Sue co-ordinated Nottingham Implant Programme until 2004. At The Ear Foundation, she led the support, information, education and research programme, to ensure lifelong benefit from implantation. She has published widely on cochlear implantation and feels passionately that the impact of deafness and hearing loss is not recognised by the public or decision makers, and seeks to influence public policies and practice on hearing care, working with major international organisations, including WHO.

SHANKAR B. MEDIKERI


INDIA

SHANKAR B. MEDIKERI

Dr Shankar Medikeri is a Practicing ENT surgeon for the last  40 years in Bangalore, India. He has two decades old robust CI program with 900+ implants to his credit. He has mentored 40 ENT surgeons from different parts of India and Vietnam in CI surgery. He has conducted many live surgical workshops and conferences in Otolaryngology and Cochlear implants. He was President of Cochlear implant group of India, 2015-17. Presently He is the President of The Association of Otolaryngologists of India.

SHAKEEL SAEED


UNITED KINGDOM

SHAKEEL SAEED

Professor Shakeel R. Saeed. MBBS, M.D., F.R.C.S (ORL). Emeritus Professor of Otology / Neuro-otology University College London, Ear Institute. Consultant ENT and Skullbase Surgeon, Royal National Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London. Honorary Consultant Guy’s St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital, London. Honorary member of the Spanish ENT Society since 2022 (by invitation)

TERESA AMAT


SPAIN

TERESA AMAT

Teresa Amat is Linguist Philologist and Speech Therapist (University of Barcelona) and she has been working in the deaf world more than 45 years; even before her deaf daughter was born and was implanted at 11 years old, she was recently reimplanted. She has as well a teenager nephew who wears bilateral CI. She worked 10 years as speech therapist doing rehabilitation to CI of all ages; but the last years she is the Director of the Spanish cochlear implant Federation AICE as well as EURO-CIU President.

THIERRY MOM


FRANCE

THIERRY MOM

Professor of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery in Clermont-Ferrand. Head of the Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery. Head  of the Cochlear Implant Program of the University Hospital Center. Head of Lateral Skull Base surgery. Researcher at INSERM UMR 1107. President of the Humanitarian Committee of the French Society of Otolaryngology (SFORL), “Action d’entraide Globale en ORL Française” (AEGOF). Representative of the Humanitarian and Global Outreach Section of IFOS

ULRIKA LÖFKVIST


SWEDEN

ULRIKA LÖFKVIST

Ulrika Löfkvist is Associate professor at Uppsala University. She has worked at University of Oslo in Norway (2015-2020), and before that at the Hearing Implant Section, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden (2001-2015). She is certified SLP and LSLS Cert AVEd. Dr Löfkvist’s research focus is to explore  the variation in linguistic, cognitive and verbal communication in individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and to develop new assessment tools and intervention options for caregivers.

WALDO NOGUEIRA


GERMANY

WALDO NOGUEIRA

He received his Engineering degree from the Technical University Catalonia and his PhD degree (Dr.-Ing) from the Leibniz University Hannover in 2003 and 2009, respectively.  In 2008 he joined the R&D division of Advanced Bionics. In 2011 he became Post-Doc at the Department of Information and Communications Technologies of the Pompeu Fabra University. Since 2013 he leads the Auditory Prosthetic Group (Prof. Dr.-Ing) of the cluster of excellence "Hearing4all" and the Medical University Hannover.

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