My name is Munar Beishenova, and I am a pediatric otorhinolaryngologist based in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. I work at the National Center of Maternity and Childhood Welfaer under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, the main referral center for pediatric ENT care in the country. Since 2017, I have been involved in the national neonatal hearing screening program of the Kyrgyz Republic and currently serve as its Project Manager. My clinical work includes pediatric ear surgery and cochlear implantation. I collaborate with international partners including GIZ, UNICEF, and TİKA to strengthen early hearing detection and access to advanced hearing rehabilitation for children in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Finished medical studies and PhD in University of Belgrade,

2013 became director of the Clinic for otorhinolaryngology and maxillofacial surgery, University Clinical Centre of Serbia

Prof. Dr. Cem Uzun is Chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Koç University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye. He is the founder and first director of the Mirko Tos Ear and Hearing Research Center, reflecting his primary academic focus on otology, neurotology, hearing research, and cochlear implantation.

Prof. Uzun has held numerous leadership roles in national and international professional organizations. He has served as General Secretary of the Balkan Association of ORL-HNS for over a decade and is a Council Member of the International Cochlear Implant Society, President-Elect of the Turkish Otology-Neurotology Society, and Co-President of the German-Turkish ORL-HNS Society. He previously represented the ORL section at the European Union of Medical Specialists and has led major national initiatives, including newborn hearing screening programs and cochlear implant councils.

His academic contributions include more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, an H-index of 16, two patents, and four surgical techniques in otology and otoneurology. He has delivered over 250 invited lectures and instructional courses at international meetings and has organized numerous scientific events on otology, audiology, scientific writing, and publication ethics.

Prof. Uzun is also active in scholarly publishing and research policy. He is Past President of the European Association of Science Editors, founding president of the Scholarly Publishing Society, and Editor-in-Chief of Balkan ORL-HNS. His EU-funded project received the EASE Best Initiative Award (2025). His honors include the AAO-HNSF Goodwill Ambassador Award, Fulbright Scholarship (University of Miami, Miami Ear Institute), Danish Government Scholarship (University of Copenhagen), and multiple national scientific awards.

Zebo Kh. Karimova, MD, PhD, is an otorhinolaryngologist and otologic surgeon from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She graduated from Tashkent Medical Academy and completed postgraduate training in otorhinolaryngology. Dr. Karimova defended her PhD thesis in the field of otorhinolaryngology in 2012 and is currently continuing her scientific work as an independent researcher.

She is the Director of INVIVO Clinic in Tashkent, where she is actively involved in the diagnosis, surgical treatment, cochlear implant programming, and rehabilitation of children and adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Her clinical practice focuses on cochlear implantation, otologic surgery, audiology, and auditory-verbal rehabilitation.

Her main scientific interests include cochlear implantation in complex congenital inner ear malformations, internal auditory canal hypoplasia, cochlear nerve deficiency, post-meningitic cochlear ossification, and long-term rehabilitation outcomes after cochlear implantation. Dr. Karimova has extensive experience in managing challenging cochlear implant candidates and is particularly interested in improving surgical decision-making in cases where auditory brainstem implantation is often considered.