INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
CI2025 John Niparko Memorial Lecture
CI2025 John Niparko Memorial Lecture - “Language Prediction to Improve Outcomes for Children with Cochlear Implants"
Thursday, May 1 | 9:20 AM - 9:50 AM
Dr. Nancy M. Young Selected as Niparko Memorial Lecturer for CI2025 Boston Conference
Nancy M. Young, MD, FACS, FAAP is the Lillian S. Wells Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Fellow of the Knowles Hearing Center of Northwestern. She is Head of the Section of Otology and Neurotology in the Division of Otolaryngology, and Medical Director of Audiology & the Cochlear Implant Programs at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is President-elect of the American Otological Society, a member of the Board of Directors of the Hearing Health Foundation, and was a founding board member of the ACI Alliance.
Dr. Young leads a multi-center study supported by NIH/NIDCD to develop individual child level language prediction after cochlear implantation using pre-surgical brain anatomy derived from magnetic resonance imaging and AI-enabled analytical methods. The goal of this research is to develop a predict-to-prescribe method to improve language outcome by implementation of effective individualized behavioral therapy. She is also principal investigator of the lead site of a multi-center sponsored FDA clinical trial to expand pediatric indications for the MED-EL Synchrony implant system.
Keynote Speaker
Keynote: Single-Sided Deafness and Frequency Allocation in Cochlear Implantation
Keynote Speaker: Paul H. Van De Heyning, MD, PhD
Friday, May 2 | 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Paul Van de Heyning is emeritus professor and former dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Antwerp and consultant and former chairman of the University dept. of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery of the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA).
His clinical expertise focuses on otology, neuro-otology and cochlear implants and OSAS-hypoglossal nerve stimulation.
Basic scientific and clinical research involves hereditary deafness, single-sided deafness, electric-acoustic stimulation, robotic assisted CI surgery and tinnitus, besides obstructive sleep apnea. He published 650 peer-reviewed articles (PubMed) and was the supervisor of 74 PhD theses.
He has been honoured by the Antoine Faes prize Catholic University Leuven for fundamental otogenetic research; as Laureate John Frasier Memorial Lecture of the Royal Society of Medicine London, UK; by the Gold Award of the International Prospère Menière Society; by the James B Snow Jr MD Tinnitus Research Award of the The Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum (CORLAS) for advancement of research in the field of otology and basic research; and by the William House Memorial Lecture of the American Neurotology Society regarding CI in single-sided deafness.
He was the past president of the 15th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Auditory Technology CI2018 Antwerp, founding member, past chair and current vice-chair of HEARRING and founding member and board member of the Hearing Health Forum EU advocating hearing health.
Keynote Panel Leader
Keynote Panel: Advocating for Patient Access in Challenging Times
Keynote Speakers: Karl White, PhD and Panel of Hearing Access Advocates
Introduction of Panel: Donna L. Sorkin, MA
Saturday, May 3 | 8:40-9:10
Karl White is a Professor of Psychology at Utah State University and the founding Director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM). In addition to his teaching and mentoring of graduate students, he has conducted numerous research projects and has published extensively about the issues and evidence related to implementing and improving the efficacy of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs. Projects currently underway at NCHAM are focused on developing more effective hearing screening and intervention programs through research, improving public health information systems, training and technical assistance, and information dissemination. Dr. White is nationally and internationally recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on early identification and treatment of hearing loss.
