Prof. Dr. Özgür Sürmelioğlu is a distinguished professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Çukurova University’s Faculty of Medicine in Adana, Turkey. He earned his undergraduate degree from Ankara University’s Faculty of Medicine between 1998 and 2004. He completed his Expertise in Medicine in Otorhinolaryngology at Çukurova University from 2005 to 2010. Professionally, Prof. Dr. Sürmelioğlu has served as an Expert (2012-2013) and Assistant Professor (2013-2018) in the same department before attaining his current position as Professor in 2023.  His clinical interests encompass conditions such as otology- neurpotolpgy. He has contributed significantly to the field with 243 publications and has been cited 266 times, reflecting his active engagement in research and academia.

Professor Abdulrahman Hagr is a distinguished Otolaryngology consultant and Otology–Neurotology surgeon at King Saud University (KSU), where he has served since 2013. He is the founder and former Director of the King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center (KAESC) (2011–2023) and the founder of the largest cochlear implant program in Saudi Arabia, with more than 2,000 implantations performed.

Professor Hagr established the Saudi National Neonatal Hearing Screening Program and launched KSU’s Otology–Neurotology Fellowship in 2008. He has pioneered multiple hearing implant technologies in the Kingdom, including BAHA, Hybrid CI, ABI, ABCI, Bonebridge, Vibroplasty, and Vistafix, positioning Saudi Arabia as a regional and international leader in hearing rehabilitation.

He is the President of the Saudi ORL Society (since 2010) and the founder of the Arab Academy of Otology and Cochlear Implant (AAOCI). Internationally, he serves as an advisor to the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Middle East Secretary for IFOS, and is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Academy. He was also Program Chair of the IFOS Congress 2023.

Professor Hagr holds fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSc) and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (ad hominem). With over 70 peer-reviewed publications, 10 books, 8 patents, and more than 1,500 citations, his research focuses on cochlear implantation, hearing preservation, and implant technology. He is internationally recognized for the rapid and safe “Saudi Method” of cochlear implantation, including participation in a world record of 66 cochlear implant surgeries in 24 hours.