Dr. Howard W. Francis, is the Richard Hall Chaney, Sr professor of Otolaryngology and chair of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences (HNS&CS) at Duke University Medical Center. As a neurotologist Dr. Francis’ clinical interests span the full scope of this subspecialty including the management of conditions of the ear, skull base and associated nervous system. His research interests include determination of best practices in the delivery of hearing health care, with a special interest in cochlear implantation in young children and older adults, and the study of best practices in surgical education. He serves on editorial boards of the Cummings Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Text, the World Journal of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Operative Techniques in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He is a Director on the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, a member of the Otolaryngology Residency Review Committee of the ACGME, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He is the past president of the Society of University Otolaryngologists, and Education Director of the American Neurotology Society.

Daniel J. Lee, MD, FACS (US)

Associate Professor, Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School

Daniel Lee is Director of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology and the Harvard Neurotology Fellowship at Mass. Eye and Ear. His areas of clinical interest include cochlear implant (CI) for infants, children, and adults with single-sided or bilateral hearing loss and auditory brainstem implant (ABI) surgery for patients with Neurofibromatosis type 2 and other conditions that preclude a CI. Dr. Lee’s laboratory seeks to 1) answer fundamental questions about how the ABI provides hearing using animal models, 2) examine novel methods to correlate position of the array with ABI outcomes in the clinic and 3) develop a new generation conformable ABI system.

Dr Neelam Vaid (IN)

Dr Neelam Vaid is Head of the Cochlear Implant Programme and BIG EARS, the Audiology and Speech Pathology department at K.E.M. Hospital, Pune. She is a Consultant in the Dept of E.N.T. at K.E.M. Hospital Pune. Dr Vaid has been actively involved in research, clinical treatment and education related to all aspects of E.N.T since the past 30 years. Her special interests are otology, neurotology, skull base surgeries and endoscopic sinus surgery. She has numerous publications in national and international journals and books. She is on the editorial board of Otology and Neurotology and Cochlear Implants International. She is an internationally recognised speaker and involved in national and international teaching related to Cochlear Implantation and Endoscopic sinus surgery.

Prof. George A. Tavartkiladze, M.D., Ph.D. (RU)

Director National Research Centre for Audiology and Hearing Rehabilitation, Secretary General of International Society of Audiology, President of Russian Society of Audiology.

Valeria Goffi (BR)

Valeria Goffi has graduated in Speech Therapy and Audiology at the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo. She received her Master of Arts degree and also PhD in Hearing and Communication Sciences at Escola Paulista de Medicina of Universidade Federal de São Paulo. She has been working at the ENT Department from Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMUSP) as Supervisor Audiologist at the Cochlear Implant Group., since 1990.

Professor Michael Tong (HK)

Professor Michael C.F. Tong, Professor and Chairman of Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, is specialized in the fields of otology, neurotology and skull base surgery.  Paralleled with that, his interest has extended to the broader field of epidemiology and public Health especially in elderly health.  Having led the clinical research team, he has resulted in a national and international reputation of his Department in the field of general otology, cochlear and auditory brainstem implantation and nasopharyngeal cancer research.  Development of new techniques of minimally invasive surgery, robotics and artificial intelligence in Otorhinolaryngology, head and surgery has also been his recent interest. Professor Tong has also visited regional centres regularly in the past 20 years to share his clinical and surgical experience in hearing implants.  He has organized many international conferences, and co-founded the World Chinese Academy of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery that runs biennial meeting in different cities in greater China.  Apart from teaching, research and clinical work, Professor Tong advocates community service to educate the public on health issues related to ear, nose and throat.  As Founder and Chairman of a non-profit organization, Hear Talk Foundation, he enlists voluntary service from the professionals offering service to the underprivileged.  Recently he has founded a new surgical training association APOST, for innovative surgical training in Asia-Pacific region.  He is also the Congress co-chairman for the Rhinology World Congress of the International Society of Rhinology and ISIAN 2017 in Hong Kong.  He is currently working with Thieme publisher for a book titled “Endoscopic and Microscopic Ear Surgery-  Temporal bone dissection manual and surgical approaches”

Professor Gaetano Paludetti (IT)

Gaetano Paludetti is Full Professor in Otolaryngology. In 2004, he became Chairman of Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery of the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS Hospital and School of Medicine, Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore of Rome. Since 1999 he is member of Collegium Otorhinolaringologium Amicitiae Sacrum. He is currently the President of Italian Society of otolaryngology. He published more than 350 papers, in all fields of Otolaryngology, Audiology and Head and Neck Surgery. He is involved in the basic research focusing on the mechanisms of cochlear damage and innovative therapeutic approaches for hearing. He has clinical and research expertise in cochlear implantation, with a particular interest in cochlear-implant surgery and in improving cochlear implant fitting and music perception.