Australia

Stephen O’Leary is the Head of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne and a Senior Otolaryngologist at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He obtained his PhD in 1994 under Prof Graeme Clark and has undertaken post-doctoral research at Oxford under David Moore and the University of Utrecht under Jan Veldman. Prof O’Leary’s clinical and research interests are in cochlear implantation, drug delivery to the ear and otology. His group specializes in clinical translation of experimental research and CI-related clinical research.
Prof O’Leary’s special interest has been in the preservation of inner ear function during surgery on the cochlea. His team have performed pioneering work on the role of steroids in protecting the inner ear during cochlear implant surgery and were the first to record intracochlear electrocochleography real-time during surgery from a commercial cochlear implant.

Slovakia

Dr. Lukas Varga, MD, MSc, PhD is an assistant professor and ENT consultant / otologist at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He also works as a researcher at the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. Dr. Varga graduated from Faculty of Natural Sciences and Faculty of Medicine at the Comenius University. He is an author and co-author of more than 40 in extenso scientific papers and four books/book chapters. His main research interests include otogenetics, otology, implantable hearing devices and various topics in biomedical research.

Doctor of Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics; University of Antwerp 01/07/77, magna cum laude.
Board certified specialist in ORL-HNS (01/07/82). Board certified specialist in Rehabilitation (23/01/91).
PhD Thesis : Study, Realization & Cochlear Implantation of a Teleneural Stimulator for the profoundly Deaf Patient. Antwerp University (12/07/91).
Belgium

Honorary Chairman and former Chairman of the European Institute for ORL-HNS at the Sint-Augustinus Hospital, Wilrijk-Antwerpen, Belgium (1991-2018). Guest Professor Audiology Dept., Thomas More University College – KUL since 2003. European Regional Secretary (1991-2017) and Counsellor (2017-) of IFOS.
Author / co-author of an extensive list of papers in peer reviewed journals. I have lectured on and demonstrated ear surgery widely throughout the world.
Main research interests: cochlear implant research, development and clinical application; chronic middle ear pathology; functional and reconstructive middle ear surgery; implantable devices; imaging of the auditory system, vestibular implant research.
(Former) Board functions in IFOS, EUFOS, EAONO, EAORL/HNS, the Politzer Society, the Royal Belgian ENT Society.
Main Awards and Honours:
Officer in the Royal Order of Oranje Nassau” (Amsterdam The Netherlands 2015).
Honorary Membership of the Polish, Cuban, Spanish an South-African Societies of ORL-HNS. Corresponding Membership of the German Society of ORL-HNS.
IFOS Gold Medal (2013).
Honorary Medal of the Leuven University (Belgium)(2011).