Cody Messick is a fourth-year medical student at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona, with a strong interest in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and global surgical education. His work focuses on improving access to life-saving airway procedures through medical device innovation, simulation-based training, and surgical capacity research in low-resource settings. He has led projects developing airway foreign body removal simulators and bronchoscopy technologies for use in LMICs and is actively involved in global surgery partnerships. Originally from Shanghai, China, he received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University in Utah, USA.

Dr. Taseer Din is a pediatric airway surgeon at Sidra Medicine, Qatar’s tertiary children’s hospital, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. His work centres on acute airway surgery, complex airway reconstruction, and the development of sustainable systems of care for children who require highly specialised ENT treatment.

Trained internationally, including pediatric airway training at Stanford University, USA, he brings a holistic perspective to clinical practice. At Sidra Medicine, he has helped introduce several first-in-Qatar procedures, including pediatric laryngotracheal reconstruction, and is advancing the country’s complex airway and tracheostomy programmes.

He teaches residents, medical students, and regional colleagues through workshops across the GCC and East Africa, and through open educational platforms. His academic work sits at the intersection of pediatric airway surgery, surgical education, and global health equity. He has authored more than 30 publications in leading international journals.

A Mandela Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Din is committed to one principle: specialised pediatric airway care should be accessible to every child who needs it. Through simulation-based training, regional workshops, and collaborative research, he works to transfer skills, raise awareness, and strengthen local capacity.