Tsukasa Ito, MD, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Japan, and Vice Director of Yamagata University Hospital. He received his MD and PhD degrees from Yamagata University and conducted research at University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, from 2007 to 2008.

His clinical and research interests include temporal bone surgery, endoscopic ear surgery, cholesteatoma, congenital middle ear anomalies, and clinical research in otology and audiology. He has also conducted basic research on the middle and inner ear, including middle ear mucosal regeneration, cochlear injury and regeneration, and facial nerve regeneration. He is actively involved in multicenter clinical studies on ear surgery in Japan.

Dr. Ito is a member of the International Otology Outcome Group (IOOG), the International Working Group on Endoscopic Ear Surgery (IWGEES), and Secretary General and board member of the Japan Working Group on Endoscopic Ear Surgery (JWGEES). His work has particularly focused on clinical development, safety, and education of transcanal endoscopic ear surgery.

Daniel Lee is the Ansin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and Harvard Medical School. He is Director of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology, Program Director of the Harvard Neurotology Fellowship and Director of International Patient Services in the Department of Otolaryngology at MEEI. Dr. Lee's funded basic and translational research group seeks to answer fundamental questions about central auditory processing and how to improve auditory brainstem implant outcomes for patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). He has developed an international center for the care of patients with superior canal dehiscence syndrome, endoscopic ear surgery, and complex cochlear and auditory brainstem implant surgery. He serves on the scientific advisory board for Skylark Bio, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company focusing on gene therapy for children with GJB2 related congenital hearing loss.

Specialized in otology, with a particular focus on otologic surgery, hearing aids and auditory implants, as well as clinical genetics related to hearing loss.

Seiji Kakehata, M.D., Ph.D. is best known for his work in pioneering endoscopic ear surgery in his home country of Japan and around the world. He served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine until March of 2023 after which he became Professor Emeritus. In May of 2023, he opened the Endoscopic Ear Surgery Center in the Ota General Hospital in Kawasaki Japan to make TEES more accessible to the wider public. He is also the immediate past Chair of Board of Directors, Japan Otological Society. He is a director of the Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. In addition, he is a founding board member of the International Working Group on Endoscopic Ear Surgery (IWGEES) and its immediate past president as well as the president of the Pan-Asia Working Group on Endoscopic Ear Surgery (PAWGEES).

Dr. Kakehata’s clinical interests include minimally invasive endoscopic ear surgery, conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, and facial nerve palsy. Dr. Kakehata’s research has focused on cochlear hair cell physiology and hearing regeneration. His funded research includes the study of outer hair cell motility, effects of cholesterol alterations on outer hair cells, regeneration of the facial nerve, and regeneration of auditory nerve fiber growth and synapse formation after ear injury.

Dr. Kakehata hosted the 4th World Congress on Endoscopic Ear Surgery in 2022 and is the president-elect of the 36th Politzer Society Meeting to be held in 2028 in Kyoto. He organized and conducted the first endoscopic ear surgery courses in Asia and has continued to host an annual hands-on course since 2012. He has delivered numerous presentations at regional and national meetings in Japan, as well as at international conferences and courses, particularly in the field of endoscopic ear surgery.

2019~   Professor in Department of ORL Osaka Metropolitan (City) University Graduate school of medicine

2018-2019 Associate Professor in Department of ORL Osaka City University Graduate school of medicine

2016-2014 Assistant Professor in Osaka City University Graduate school of medicine