International Outreach

AAO-HNSF Board of Directors Selects Mark E. Zafereo, Jr., MD, as Board Coordinator-elect for International Affairs

Mark E. Zafereo, Jr., MD, is an associate professor of head and neck surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he also serves as section chief of head and neck endocrine surgery and associate medical director of the Endocrine Center. He has held many roles within the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and its Foundation over the last 15 years, particularly within the international realm, and looks forward to serving the AAO-HNSF Board in collaborative leadership of the International Program. As Coordinator-elect, Dr. Zafereo will shadow the current Coordinator for International Affairs, J. Pablo Stolovitzky, MD. The Coordinator for International Affairs, which is a four-year term appointment, oversees implementation of the high-profile, important portfolio of AAO-HNSF’s global outreach and programs and ensures alignment with the strategic plan.

Announcing the International Advisory Board (IAB) Chair-elect

The AAO-HNSF call for nominees for Chair-elect of the International Advisory Board (IAB) was highly successful and resulted in the selection of Prof. Muaaz Tarabichi, MD. Dr. Tarabichi is a native of Syria where he grew up and started his medical education. He left Syria in 1980 and arrived in the United States as a political refugee. He then went to Montreal, Quebec, and did his residency at McGill University, during which he received the 1988 AAO-HNS Award for Excellence in Original Investigation for his study on application of finite element methods. He then returned to the Middle East and has been practicing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for 24 years.

Much of Dr. Tarabichi’s professional life has been centered on innovating, advocating, and teaching endoscopy ear surgery (EES), being widely referred to as the “Father of EES.” He struck a long-lasting friendship with the late Heinz Stammberger, MD FRCS Ed(Hon), during years of travel teaching endoscopic techniques in ear and sinus surgery. This relationship was the seed for their mutual project– TSESI: Tarabichi - Stammberger Ear & Sinus Institute in Dubai (www.TSESI.org). The facility includes a wet lab and state of art broadcasting and video production facilities and offers scholarships including travel and boarding for younger otolaryngologists from around the world.

Dr. Tarabichi’s term as Chair-elect will start at the conclusion of the AAO-HNSF 2020 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience, September 13-16, in Boston, Massachusetts, when current Chair-elect Karl Hoermann, MD, PhD, assumes the IAB Chair position.

2019-2020 IAB Chair-Elect Announced: Karl Hoermann, MD

At the IAB General Assembly Meeting on September 16, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Karl Hoermann (Germany) was  elected Chair-Elect of the International Advisory Board (IAB). Dr. Hoermann will serve a one-year term as Chair-Elect and immediately following the conclusion of the AAO-HNSF 2020 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience in Boston, Massachusetts, he will then become IAB Chair and serve a one-year term.

Call for Volunteer Faculty for 2021 International and Joint Meetings

Since its inception, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation has cultivated ties to national otolaryngology societies and similar organizations around the world.  The AAO-HNSF assigns great importance to these relationships ,which collectively advance the otolaryngology specialty in ways no one society can achieve alone.

One important means of building global relationships is through Joint Meetings, i.e., conferences or meetings jointly organized or endorsed by the AAO-HNSF and a counterpart otolaryngology entity.

We are accepting applications for volunteer faculty to present at AAO-HNSF International Joint Meetings in 2021.  Linked HERE is the AAO-HNSF Volunteer Faculty Application.

For more information, contact International@entnet.org.