Prof. dr. Vincent Van Rompaey is appointed as associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Antwerp. He graduated magna cum laude as medical doctor in 2008 at the University of Antwerp and was board-certified as an Otorhinolaryngologist in 2013. He is the current vice chairman of the dept. of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery at the Antwerp University Hospital and chairman of the dept. of Translational Neurosciences at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Universiyt of Antwerp). Vincent Van Rompaey is a regular CORLAS member and also FWO senior clinical investigator.

The applicant obtained his PhD in Medical Sciences on Quality Assurance in Middle Ear Surgery at the University of Antwerp in 2012. He has authored over 230+ papers (WoS), was cited 2.300+ times (H-index 26).

The applicant is responsible for organizing the multidisciplinary consultation on cochlear implant candidacy, tinnitus and vertigo. He teaches and performs multiple state-of-the-art cochlear implant procedures on a weekly basis and routinely performs all types of otologic and neurotologic (skull base) procedures, such as stapedotomy, cholesteatoma resection, vestibular and intralabyrinthine schwannoma resection, selective vestibular neurectomy, labyrinthectomy, superior and posterior semicircular surgery, tympano-ossiculoplasty, etc. This clinical and surgical expertise is essential for the identification of feasible innovative inner ear therapies as well as prioritization of disorders to avoid waste of resources. The expertise in performing phase 2 and 3 trials as well as how to organize a quality management system will provide important knowledge towards translation of innovative inner ear therapies. Since his appointment as assistant professor the applicant has supervised 20 doctoral candidates that have successfully defended their PhD thesis in the field of auditory neuroscience. Currently, 22 doctoral candidates are active covering fundamental, preclinical, translational, and clinical research topics. The applicant has promoted active input and participation from the patient perspective (incl. advocacy) to receive feedback across the whole research spectrum from the patients and caregivers, as well as to communicate research findings back to the patients and the public.

Luis Lassaletta is Head of Otology, auditory implants and skull base surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology, La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, Spain

He is Professor of Otolaryngology at the Department of Surgery of the Autonomous University of Madrid, accredited as Full Professor.

 He has been the President of the Otology Board, Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology from 2018 to 2024 and is the current President of the Spanish Skull Base Society.

 Among his main areas of interest is hearing loss and auditory implants, facial paralysis and skull base tumors.

 He is the Director of the Facial Paralysis Unit at La Paz University Hospital, which is now 25 years old.

 He is a member of the Hearring International Network of Experts in Hearing Implants  (Hearring.com), Director of the IdiPAZ  group “Research in Otoneurosurgery”  http://www.idipaz.es/PaginaDinamica.aspx?IdPag=264&Lang=EN, and a member of  the CIBERER.

 He has published more than 250 papers in national and international journals.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis_Lassaletta.

 He has been invited to more than 300 national and international meetings mostly related to facial paralysis, hearing loss and auditory implants.