Keynote Speakers

Dinesh Chhetri

Speech therapy: indications, techniques and their rationale form STL and surgeon perspective
Keynote Lecture Voice/Phoniatrics - Thursday 11:00 – 11:30

Paula Aragon

Evaluation and treatment of swallowing in children
Keynote Lecture Swallowing - Thursday 11:00 – 11:30

Graduated in Medicine from the University of Zaragoza (2012).
Enrolled in the Doctorate Program in Medicine focusing on Pediatric Dysphagia in Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Specialist in Otorhinolaryngology with training at La Paz University Hospital (2013-2017).
Interim Head of the Pediatric Section of the Department at La Paz University Hospital.
Head of the Multidisciplinary Pediatric Dysphagia Clinic since 2021.
Member of the Pediatric Aerodigestive Pathology Committee. Member of the Multidisciplinary Pediatric Thyroid Cancer Unit. Member of the Pediatric Dysphagia Working Group (Infant Nutrition Commission).
Co-Director of the University Expert Program in Pediatric ENT (University of Barcelona).

Wioletta Pietruszewska

Modern tools/techniques in diagnosing and monitoring larynx organic lesions
Keynote Lecture National - Thursday 11:00 – 11:30

Gauthier Desuter

Timeliness of interventions for UVFP: new developments
Keynote Lecture Voice - Thursday 14:30 – 15:00

Dr G. Desuter completed his Medical Degree and his Master in ENT- Head & Neck Surgery at the Louvain University, Belgium. He obtained a Master of Science degree in Health Care Management from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, and a medical PhD degree from Leiden University, The Netherlands. He directed the Voice & Swallowing center of the St-Luke University hospital in Brussels, Belgium, and teaches, as professor of surgery and speech therapy at Louvain University up to August 2022. He is now working as a head of clinics and invited professor at the Antwerp University Hospital of the University of Antwerp. Finally, Dr Desuter is vice president of the European Laryngological Society. He is the author of numerous articles and books chapters on laryngology.

Nick Gibbins

Voice and the musculoskeletal system
Keynote Lecture General - Thursday 14:30 – 15:00

Rehab Awad

Voice and the musculoskeletal system
Keynote Lecture General - Thursday 14:30 – 15:00

Anna Rzepakowska

Impaired vocal fold mobility diagnostic steps, timely treatment
Keynote Lecture National - Thursday 14:30 – 15:00

Otorhinolaryngologist, audiologist and phoniatrics with 20 years of experience in diagnostic and surgical practice of head and neck pathology, in particular of the larynx and salivary glands. Committed researcher at the leading Polish medical school, the Medical University of Warsaw. Experienced in managing scientific projects and supervising the development of young scientists in the student scientific research group.
Areas of expertise:
- Larynx, throat, salivary gland and neck surgery
- Upper respiratory tract endoscopy
- Ultrasonography of superficial organs of the neck
- Voice rehabilitation
- Functional endoscopic swallowing assessment

Cesare Piazza

Summary Cancer Symposium
Keynote Lecture Voice - Friday 11:00 – 11:30

The use of free flaps in laryngeal cancer and their functional outcome
Keynote Lecture Swallowing - Friday 14:30 – 15:00

Cesare Piazza, MD, born in Cremona in 1971, is Full Professor and Chief of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery of the University of Brescia, School of Medicine since 2020. He received his MD degree at the University of Pavia, Italy in 1996 and completed his Residency Program in Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in Brescia in 2001. He became Assistant Professor in 2007 and Associate Professor – Chief of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Maxillofacial, and Thyroid Surgery of the National Cancer Institute, University of Milan, Italy in 2017. His clinical and research activities are focused on head and neck oncology, with special emphasis to laryngo-hypopharyngeal, tracheal, oral, thyroid, parotid, sarcoma, laser, and reconstructive microsurgery.
Prof. Piazza is an active member of the European Laryngological Society since 2000, part of its Scientific Council since September 2010, and Past President since June 2023. He authored or co-authored 312 papers in peer-reviewed journals as well as 82 book chapters. He delivered over 1100 proffered papers and invited lectures in national and international Congresses and Courses. He serves as Editor of the Current Opinion in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery journal for the Head and Neck Oncology issue since 2010 and is Member of its Editorial Board since 2013. He is Editor in Chief of the Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica journal since January 2023.
His surgical activity has been always mainly devoted to head and neck cancer treatment, with nearly 8000 surgical procedures performed in this field (of whom 1400 free flaps).

Ashley O’Rourke

How to use high resolution manometry in clinical practice
Keynote Lecture Swallowing - Friday 11:00 – 11:30

Ashli O’Rourke, M.S., M.D., is a Professor and Director of Laryngology at the Evelyn Trammell Institute for Voice and Swallowing at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. Dr. O’Rourke began her professional career as a speech-language pathologist, earning her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Florida State University. After more than seven years of clinical speech therapy practice at Emory University Hospital, she attended medical school at the Medical College of Georgia. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and her fellowship in Laryngology – Voice and Swallowing disorders at the Medical College of Georgia.
In her clinical practice, Dr. O’Rourke manages adult patients presenting with pathologies of the larynx, airway, and esophagus, including dysphonia, dysphagia, and airway stenosis. She has a particular interest in the diagnosis and management of swallowing disorders and laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.
Dr. O’Rourke has made significant contributions to the scientific literature, including pioneering studies on the application of High-Resolution Pharyngeal Manometry (HRPM) in the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia. Renowned for her expertise, she is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences, where she shares insights on HRPM and advances in dysphagia management.
Dr. O'Rourke is board certified through the American Board of Otolaryngology and serves on the Board’s Exam Council. She is Treasurer and on the Executive Council of the Board of Directors for the Dysphagia Research Society and holds the Mark & Evelyn Trammell Endowed Chair in Otolaryngology.

Kishore Sandu

Airway stenting: A double edged sword
Keynote Lecture Airway - Friday 11:00 – 11:30

Kishore SANDU heads the Airway Sector - a quaternary care center of excellence in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Switzerland.
He is a teaching staff at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lausanne, and the Ecole Politechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Awarded the Privat Docent from the University of Lausanne, he has been invited to more than 200 international conferences, as an expert speaker on compromised and critical airway in neonates, children, and adults.
He performs outreach airway surgeries in 16 countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. He collaborates closely with the Terres des Hommes Organization that works actively for children from the sub-Saharan countries and who suffer from laryngotracheal stenosis and caustic pharyngo-esophageal stenosis.
Dr Sandu is a member of the working group of the Swiss association of Head & Neck surgeons, the Swiss Pediatric ENT working group and the scientific council of the European Laryngological Society (ELS). He has received research grants from the Swiss National Foundation and his current research activity includes development of bio-stents for tracheomalacia and bio-engineered tracheal graft.

Alberto Paderno

AI in laryngology
Keynote Lecture Translated - Friday 11:00 – 11:30

Susanne Wiegand

Immune checkpoint: a new strategy for organ preservation: what a surgeon should know
Keynote Lecture Cancer - Friday 14:30 – 15:00

Marc Remacle

Idiopathic subglottic stenosis: change of therapeutic paradigms?
Keynote Lecture Translated - Friday 14:30 – 15:00

Marc Remacle, M.D., Ph.D., is an Emeritus Academic Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL). He obtained his medical degree in 1978 and specialized in ENT and cervico-facial surgery at St. Luc University Hospital, Brussels, and the University Hospital in Lille, France. In 1992, he earned his Ph.D. with a thesis on Injectable Collagen in Vocal and Laryngeal Insufficiency.
Professor Remacle has played a significant role in academic and clinical training, serving as President of the Commission for the Master’s Degree in Logopedics and Director of the training program in speech and hearing rehabilitation. He has held multiple leadership positions, including Vice President of the NOPS academic department and Associated Head of the ENT Department at UCL.
His contributions to research include the supervision of numerous Master’s and Doctoral theses on voice, speech pathology, and surgical treatments for laryngeal conditions. As an external examiner and jury member, he has contributed to doctoral evaluations at institutions in France, Malaysia, and Egypt. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Belgrade.
Beyond academia, Professor Remacle has been actively involved in clinical practice as a consultant for voice and speech pathology in Brussels, Charleroi, and Luxembourg. His extensive experience in phoniatrics, laryngeal surgery, and rehabilitation continues to shape advancements in the field.