Stefan K. Plontke is professor and chairman at the University ORL-HNS department in Halle, Germany and member of the Presidential Council of the European Confederation of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (CEORL-HNS) and conference president of the CEORL-HNS congress 2028 in Berlin, Germany. He is member of the Collegium ORLAS, member of the board of directors of the Prosper Menière Society, and member of several editorial boards. His clinical research interests focus on otology, neurotology, and lateral skull base surgery, middle and inner ear surgery including cochlear implants, sudden hearing loss and drug delivery to the ear.

Konstantina Stankovic, MD, PhD, FACS, is the Bertarelli Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, and professor, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery. She is a Harvard-trained ear and skull-base surgeon and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained auditory neuroscientist. She blends her surgical expertise with training in physics, molecular biology, auditory neuroscience, and systems electrophysiology to devise novel solutions tailored to the unmet needs of those with hearing loss. She is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine and President-Elect of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.