Celebrating Excellence in Otolaryngology

Dr. Herzog’s research contributions include seminal work examining cognitive outcomes in older adults undergoing cochlear implantation. This work culminated in his 2023 Triological Society thesis, which at the time represented the largest single-center study evaluating long-term cognitive function in this population.

Citation Awardees

Oliver F. Adunka, MD

Dr. Adunka is an academic otologist, neurotologist, and lateral skull base surgeon at The Ohio State University in Columbus, where he serves as vice chair for clinical operations and director of the division of otology, neurotology, and cranial base surgery. He is a tenured professor and the William H. Saunders, MD Endowed Professor, and also directs pediatric otology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Adunka’s clinical practice spans the breadth of adult and pediatric otology, neurotology, and complex skull base surgery, with particular expertise in hearing restoration through cochlear implantation. A central theme of his academic work has been advancing hearing preservation and cochlear physiology. His early research helped shape modern atraumatic cochlear implant techniques and electrode designs, and his leadership in the first U.S. multicenter electric–acoustic stimulation trial contributed to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of hybrid hearing technology. He subsequently developed intraoperative electrocochleography (ECochG) as a real-time physiologic tool to guide cochlear implantation—an innovation that advanced from concept to FDA-approved clinical technology. He currently serves as principal investigator of a multi-center National Institutes of Health U01 trial evaluating the clinical utility of residual hearing in the cochlear implant ear.

Amit Walia, MD, MSCI

Dr. Walia is a neurotology and skull base surgery fellow and instructor in the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. He completed his T32- supported residency training at Washington University, where he worked closely under the mentorship of Craig Buchman, MD. His work with Dr. Buchman has focused on cochlear electrophysiology to better understand cochlear mechanics and improve outcomes for cochlear implant recipients. This body of work has led to multiple patents, foundational publications, and competitively funded research grants, and has helped establish an important and growing area of investigation in the field.

Southern Section

Guest of Honor Kenneth M. Grundfast, MD

After completing a residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the Boston University–Tufts University combined otolaryngology residency program, Dr. Grundfast went to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for a one-year fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology. Subsequently, he joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, staying there until he became chair of the department of otolaryngology at the Children’s National Medical Center. He took a one-year sabbatical to study deafness genetics at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, after which he became chair of the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the Boston University School of Medicine. He has published extensively in medical literature, held many leadership positions in professional organizations, and he served as an assistant dean at the Boston University School of Medicine.