The Triological Society recognized and celebrated David B. Conley, MD, FACS, Pamela Fiebig, AuD, and David S. Haynes, MD, MMHC, with presidential citations at this year’s Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting in Orlando, Fla. Elizabeth H.Y. Toh, MD, MBA, was the guest of honor, and Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, was the Joseph H. Ogura, MD, lecturer.
Explore This Issue
August 2026David B. Conley, MD, FACS
Dr. Conley is an otolaryngologist and an associate professor in the department of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, an otolaryngologist at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and a consultant at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, all in Chicago. He is the director of the Northwestern advanced rhinology and endoscopic skull base fellowship and the clinical director of the Northwestern otolaryngology practice.
Dr. Conley’s clinical practice focuses on the surgical and medical treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis and the surgical management of sinus and skull base tumors. He is a founding member of the Northwestern Allergy and Sinus Center, which provides coordinated evaluation and care for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and facilitates a longstanding interdepartmental research program to study the etiology and treatment outcomes of chronic rhinosinusitis.
Dr. Conley has served on numerous American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) and American Rhinologic Society (ARS) committees, is a past president of the Chicago Laryngological and Otological Society, serves as a board member of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), and is a past president of the IAC-CT Board of Directors. He has presented at numerous national and international otolaryngology conferences. His longstanding career goals are to provide the best care for patients, improve the education of residents and fellows, and advance research to better understand the nature of sinus disease and optimize treatment outcomes.
Pamela Fiebig, AuD
Dr. Fiebig had a 38-year career at Northwestern University in Chicago in the audiology and otolaryngology programs. During this time, she wore many different hats—teacher, administrator, clinician, and mentor. Her most rewarding role was in the establishment and expansion of the cochlear implant clinical program at Northwestern Medicine. Along with the young Alan G. Micco, MD, FACS, she managed the patients and study data for early trials with devices and investigative protocols from the three major cochlear implant manufacturers. As the cochlear implant program grew, she mentored new audiologists by sharing her extensive historical experience in their skill development.
Dr. Fiebig was a founding member, past president, and Honors Recipient of the Illinois Academy of Audiology. She served as trustee of the American Academy of Audiology Foundation. She was surprised, flattered, and honored by this nomination. She has been retired for three years and now lives quietly with her husband and two Maine Coon cats in Michigan.
David S. Haynes, MD, MMHC
Dr. Haynes is chief of the division of otology and neurotology, program director of the neurotology fellowship, co-director of the cochlear implant program and skull base center, and endowed director of relationship development in the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville. He was named VUMC’s chief patient experience officer in 2023.
Dr. Haynes is a pioneer of otologic surgery and has helped design many of the tools and techniques that have become the standard of practice in chronic ear surgery, cochlear implantation, and lateral skull base surgery. With a career-long focus on the care of the individual patient, Dr. Haynes has developed novel systems to overcome barriers to timely otologic care. Beginning in 1997, he designed and piloted a streamlined process to reduce travel burden and wait times for cochlear implant patients that resulted in the world’s first bundled cochlear implant program and, in 2019, the initiation of the Same Day Cochlear Implant Program.
His leadership positions have included the executive board of the American Neurotology Society, the Hearing Health Foundation, Otology and Neurotology INC, and the American Cochlear Implant Alliance. He is an associate editor of Otology and Neurotology Open, president-elect of the American Neurotology Society, and a co-editor of the book Haynes-Glasscock-Shambaugh Surgery of the Ear.
His research, involving investigating treatment optimization of patients with hearing loss and skull base disorders and optimizing healthcare delivery to patients with otologic disorders, has appeared in leading academic journals, including The Laryngoscope and Otology and Neurotology. Dr. Haynes serves as an advisor to the Haynes Award for Innovation, given annually in Nashville. He has hosted many international conferences, including the XIV International Pediatric Cochlear Implant Conference in Nashville, and he co-directed the International Fall CI Meeting.
Elizabeth H.Y. Toh, MD, MBA
Dr. Toh is the chair of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, director of the balance and hearing implant center, and co-director of the center for cranial base surgery at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass. She has a special interest in hearing implant technology and skull base surgery.
Dr. Toh has served in various national leadership roles in otolaryngology and neurotology, including past president of the American Neurotology Society, past president of the Otosclerosis Study Group, and deputy editor-in-chief of the gold open-access journal, Otology and Neurotology Open. She also served as the co-advisor for the Asia Pacific Rim for the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. She currently serves on the exam council of the American Board of Otolaryngology.
Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS
Dr. Megerian is chief executive officer of University Hospitals (UH), a comprehensive health system with nearly 300 locations in 16 counties throughout Northeast Ohio, including 21 hospitals, outpatient facilities, and physician offices. He holds the Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair.
Dr. Megerian is a professor in the department of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, and neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine, in Cleveland, and an adjunct professor of surgery at Northeast Ohio Medical University, in Rootstown, Ohio.
Dr. Megerian’s clinical career has been devoted to the management of hearing loss, chronic ear disease, cholesteatoma, otosclerosis, vertigo, and other otology and neurotology issues. As a surgeon, Dr. Megerian co-founded UH’s cochlear implant program, and he and his team have performed thousands of cochlear implant surgeries, making it one of the largest programs in the country.
He is also an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of acoustic neuroma. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts and abstracts and has served as a visiting professor at numerous medical schools and institutions throughout the world.
His research interests in the pathogenesis of Ménière’s disease have been funded by several agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. He previously served as a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the regulation of ear, nose, and throat devices. He is co-author and co-editor of a textbook in its second edition, Surgery of the Cerebellopontine Angle.
Dr. Megerian has been widely recognized for his leadership in healthcare at the regional and national levels.
2026 Thesis Award Winners
Gavriel D. Kohlberg, MD, received the Harris P. Mosher Award for his thesis, “Perceptual Effects of Delayed Speech Enhancement: Influence of Delay, Gain, and Listening Environment.”
Jin Young Min, MD, PhD, received the Edmund Prince Fowler Award for her thesis, “Nongastric H, K-ATPase in Type 2 Inflammation Associated Airway Acidification: Implications of Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps.”
Susan D. Emmett, MD, MPH, received the Maureen Hannley Alternative Science Award for her thesis, “Reimagining School Hearing Screening in Rural America: An Evidence-Based Approach.”
Honorable Mention for Basic Science Award
Alexander G. Bien, MD, for his thesis, “Real Time Measurement of Basilar Membrane Movement During Low Intensity Blast Exposure”
Anita S. Jeyakumar, MD, MS, FACS, FAAP, for her thesis, “Cochlear Implants and Electrocautery: A Live Animal Model”
Honorable Mention for Clinical Research Award
Matthew L. Carlson, MD, for his thesis, “Unique Natural History of Very Small Vestibular Schwannoma Substantiates Wait and Scan Management via Size Threshold Surveillance”
R. Jun Lin, MD, FRCSC, MSc, for her thesis, “Comparison of Blue Light Laser and KTP Laser for Treatment of Benign Vocal Fold Lesions: A Randomized Controlled Trial”
With Distinction Award
Shumon I. Dhar, MD, FACS, for his thesis, “Laryngeal Cryotherapy for Refractory Neurogenic Cough: Safety, Feasibility, and Prospective Outcomes”
Matthew Shew, MD, for his thesis, “From Binary to Personalized: A Novel Machine Learning Probability Score for Cochlear Implant Candidacy-Empowering Providers and Improving Precision Hearing Healthcare Delivery”
Congratulations to the 2026 Triological Society Fellows inducted at COSM
New Fellows Inducted in 2026
|
Alexander G. Bien, MD Selena E. Briggs, MD, PhD, MBA, FACS Raewyn G. Campbell, MD Matthew L. Carlson, MD Brianna K. Crawley, MD Shumon I. Dhar, MD, FACS Susan D. Emmett, MD, MPH Satish Govindaraj, MD, FACS Jonathan B. Ida, MD, FACS, MA Noel Jabbour, MD Anita S. Jeyakumar, MD, MS, FACS, FAAP Gavriel D. Kohlberg, MD Antonia E. Lagos Villaseca, MDw Matthew K. Lee, MD Michael Z. Lerner, MD R. Jun Lin, MD, FRCSC, MSc |
Lyndsay L. Madden, DO, FACS Patrick O. McGarey, MD Mark M. Mims, MD Jin Young Min, MD, PhD Samuel L. Oyer, MD Aaron N. Pearlman, MD, FACS Harold S. Pine, MD Ryan A. Rimmer, MD Caroline M. Schlocker, MD Matthew Shew, MD Amar C. Suryadevara, MD Mark S. Swanson, MD Samantha H.L. Tam, MD, MPH Dennis M. Tang, MD Andrew G. Tritter, MD Michael T. Yim, MD, FACS |
Leave a Reply