Dr Karen Kost is a Professor of Otolaryngology,  Director of the Voice and Dysphagia Laboratory and Fellowship program at McGill University. She is the past president of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (CSO-HNS) and Founder of the Women in Otolaryngology section of the CSO-HNS. She is also the past president of the American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology. Dr Kost is the Current President of the American Laryngological Association, and was recently nominated to serve as Eastern Section VP of the Triological Society in 2028.

Dr Kost has authored over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals,  30 book chapters, and has edited or co-edited 4 textbooks on Otolaryngology. She is the Associate editor of Laryngology for the Ear, Nose and Throat Journal, as well as for the ‘How I Do It’ section of the Laryngoscope. Dr Kost has given over 500 presentations around the world on voice, airway, and tracheostomy as a keynote speaker, ‘orator’, professor, invited lecturer and guest speaker.

As part of her interest in Global health, Dr Kost worked in the Canadian Arctic for over 20 years, performed the first surgical procedure under general anesthesia in Northern Quebec, and played an instrumental role in repatriating medical and surgical services to Nunavik in Northern Quebec. In addition, Dr. Kost participated in 2 humanitarian medical missions in remote villages of the Himalayas in Nepal accessible only by foot, with no running water and no electricity.

Dr Kost is the recipient of several awards, including: i) Birkett prize in Otolaryngology, ii) Recognition of Service and Commitment Award from the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, iii) Distinction Award of Otolaryngology from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, iv) McGill Otolaryngology Teacher of the Year Award twice, v) Helen B Krause Trailblazer Award from the Women in Otolaryngology section of the AAO-HNS, vi) Quebec Otolaryngology Association Award for Excellence and International Impact (2025), vii) Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Lifetime Achievement Award June 2025 viii) Irma Levasseur prize for Exceptional female physicians March 2026 from the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec.