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.

Michael Hoa, MD, is a surgeon-scientist and a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Hoa completed his neurotology fellowship at the House Clinic in Los Angeles in 2012. Dr. Hoa is board certified in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, otology, and neurotology. Dr. Hoa serves as the director of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Cochlear Implant Program which provides comprehensive cochlear implant services to both pediatric and adult populations. His main research interests as an NIH-sponsored surgeon-scientist include hearing restoration and preservation and the identification of novel and repurposable therapeutics in the setting of hearing instability disorders and cochlear implantation. In addition, he has clinical interests in both surgical management of vestibular and facial nerve schwannoma, endoscopic and microscopic management of cholesteatoma and chronic ear disease, otosclerosis, paraganglioma management, and lateral skull base encephalocele and CSF leak management.

Dr. Yilai Shu is a physician-scientist in the department of otolaryngology at Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University. He obtained both an M.D. and Ph.D. degree in otolaryngology. From 2010 to 2014, he studied as a PhD student in the joint training program and continued his research as a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Eye and Ear-Harvard Medical School. Now, he serves as the vice president of Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University and Director of the Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Hereditary Deafness. His clinical interests are Otology and Neurotology. He is an expert in gene therapy and translational medicine of hereditary deafness based on gene replacement or CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, hair cell regeneration in the inner ear, and hearing protection. He has developed a gene therapy candidate drug—AAV-hOTOF—for the treatment of hearing loss caused by genetic defects and successfully spearheaded the world’s first clinical trial in this groundbreaking field. He was awarded the 2025 ARO Award for Clinical Innovation and the XPLORER PRIZE for his commitment to advancing gene therapy treatments for hearing restoration.