I am Dr. Alfred Aga, an Albanian-Italian otolaryngologist and Head of the ENT Department at the American Hospital in Tirana since 2012. I earned my medical degree from the University of Brescia, Italy, and completed fellowships in head and neck surgery at the National Cancer Institute in Rome and at Ohio State University in the USA. With experience in over 3,800 surgeries, my clinical focus includes head and neck oncology, reconstructive microsurgery, and endoscopic skull base surgery. I have received multiple awards, presented at numerous international conferences, and published several articles in peer-reviewed journals. Currently the president of Albanian society of Otorhinolaryngology H&N society and an active member of European ENT societies, fluent in both Italian and English.

Full Professor of Medical Sciences since 2012,

President of the European Laryngological Society (ELS) since V2023, Past President and PC Member since V2025

Honorary Member of the Polish Society of Otolaryngologists, Head and Neck Surgeons, IX2024 Elected as Member of the Main Board of the Society for the years 2024-2026, IX2024 delegate representing Poland and contact person of the European Confederation of Otolaryngology

Editor-in-chief of the Polish Journal of Otolaryngology

Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers in Surgery Section: Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery,

Dr Karen Kost is a Professor of Otolaryngology,  Director of the Voice and Dysphagia Laboratory and Fellowship program at McGill University. She is the past president of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (CSO-HNS) and Founder of the Women in Otolaryngology section of the CSO-HNS. She is also the past president of the American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology. Dr Kost is the Current President of the American Laryngological Association, and was recently nominated to serve as Eastern Section VP of the Triological Society in 2028.

Dr Kost has authored over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals,  30 book chapters, and has edited or co-edited 4 textbooks on Otolaryngology. She is the Associate editor of Laryngology for the Ear, Nose and Throat Journal, as well as for the ‘How I Do It’ section of the Laryngoscope. Dr Kost has given over 500 presentations around the world on voice, airway, and tracheostomy as a keynote speaker, ‘orator’, professor, invited lecturer and guest speaker.

As part of her interest in Global health, Dr Kost worked in the Canadian Arctic for over 20 years, performed the first surgical procedure under general anesthesia in Northern Quebec, and played an instrumental role in repatriating medical and surgical services to Nunavik in Northern Quebec. In addition, Dr. Kost participated in 2 humanitarian medical missions in remote villages of the Himalayas in Nepal accessible only by foot, with no running water and no electricity.

Dr Kost is the recipient of several awards, including: i) Birkett prize in Otolaryngology, ii) Recognition of Service and Commitment Award from the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, iii) Distinction Award of Otolaryngology from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, iv) McGill Otolaryngology Teacher of the Year Award twice, v) Helen B Krause Trailblazer Award from the Women in Otolaryngology section of the AAO-HNS, vi) Quebec Otolaryngology Association Award for Excellence and International Impact (2025), vii) Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Lifetime Achievement Award June 2025 viii) Irma Levasseur prize for Exceptional female physicians March 2026 from the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec.

Graduated from Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine in 2009. Completed residency training in Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in 2015. Has been serving as a faculty member at Kastamonu University since 2021. Promoted to Associate Professor in 2025. Main areas of interest include head and neck cancers and laryngology.