Thomas J. Balkany, MD, FACS, FAAP, is the Hotchkiss Professor and Chairman Emeritus in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Miami’s School of Medicine. He is board-certified by both the American Board of Otolaryngology (ABO) and the American Board of Neurotology (ABN). Dr. Balkany has published over 250 scientific papers and four books, most recently The Ear Book (Johns Hopkins Press). He holds 14 U.S. and international patents related to cochlear implants. Dr. Balkany has been on the editorial boards of five U.S. and five international indexed, peer-reviewed journals (including as Associate Editor of one). He has also served as Senior Examiner of the ABO and ABN. Dr. Balkany has been a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), Auditory-Verbal International, AG Bell Florida, the Triological Society (Vice President), and the Florida Society of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (President). Dr. Balkany has received honors and awards from the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the American Broncho-Esophagological Society (First Place Resident Research Award), and the University of Miami School of Medicine (Teacher of the Year Award). He has been inducted into the University of Miami Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity from the University of Miami as well. Dr. Balkany has received the President’s Honor Award from the AAO-HNS, the Frazer Award and Lectureship from the Royal College of Surgeons (UK), the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award in Health Care, the Barany Society (Uppsala) Hallpike-Nylen Prize for Clinical Research, the New York League for the Hard of Hearing Fowler Award for Ethical Research, and was the first recipient of the Noel L. Cohen Award for Significant Contributions to Otology and Neurotology from the American Neurotology Society. Dr. Balkany has been a visiting professor at over 40 universities in the United States and abroad. He developed the first cochlear implant surgeons’ training course in 1984 and has trained over 400 surgeons in the United States. Internationally, he has led courses in South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Dr. Balkany was the founding chair of the AAO-HNS Cochlear Implant Committee and the William House Cochlear Implant Study Group.