Dr. R. S. Anand Kumar, BSc, MS, MAMS, DLO has over 35 yrs experience in ENT and Head & Neck Surgery. He has the Distinction of being awarded the MAMS, from the National Academy of Medical Sciences. He is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. He is a Senior ENT consultant and Academic Director of MERF. His special interests are in the field of Cochlear implantation, Laser surgery, Endoscopic sinus surgery and Skull base surgery. He is a Co-Guide for PhD program and presently is guiding 3 scholars. He is also the Faculty in the Implantation Otology Fellowship Program, and he is the Coordinator for the National Board of Examinations. He has organized and conducted several workshops including the All India Temporal Bone Workshop for the past 17 years. He takes care of all academic activities in the institution and supervises the training of doctors. He was instrumental in starting the Tamil Nadu State AOI in 1997 and South Zone AOI in 2005. He is also a Founder Member of CIGI.

She is one of the outstanding neuro-otologists in India and heads the Department of Balance disorders and the Vestibular lab at Madras ENT Research Foundation. She has presented her original work at the "International Symposium on serious fungal diseases" at Cannes, France. She attended Annual Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Course at Singapore General Hospital and Postgraduate Institute and participated in Advanced Otology workshop organized by Prof. Ugo Fisch, Fisch Foundation at Mumbai. Her interests are in the field of Neurotology & Vestibular Medicine. She had special training in audio vestibular lab at Uniklinik, University of Achen, Germany in 2007.She has over 16 yrs experience in ENT and Head & Neck surgery She graduated from Coimbatore Medical College, and subsequently obtained her DLO and DNB. She is a teaching faculty in MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing, and conducts special courses and hands on training for students in vestibular medicine. Her other special interests are Laser surgery, Endoscopic sinus surgery, Skull base surgery,Cochlear Implant and Micro ear surgery.
1.Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd, Chennai
2.Post graduate teacher,thesis coordinator for DNB (ENT) students, at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai - NBE Accredited Institute (2003 – till date)
3.Visiting faculty, Madras ENT Research Foundation Institute of Speech and Hearing, Chennai - 2005 onwards Theory & Clinical teacher in ENT for undergraduate students - B.Sc & Diploma in Nursing Courses at MERF & BASLP Course at MERF-Institute of Speech & Hearing, Chennai (2003 - till date)

She heads the Allergy clinic at MERF. Her interests are in the field of Allergy and Rhinology, Laser surgery, Endoscopic sinus surgery and Micro ear surgery. She is a teaching faculty in MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing, and conducts special courses and hands on training for students in Allergy and Rhinology. She graduated from Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai. She obtained her DLO from Madras Medical College, Chennai & DNB from Madras ENT Research Foundation. She was a national topper and was the recipient of 'Prof.S.Kameswaran Gold Medal' in the NBE in the year 2002. She has 13 yrs experience in ENT and Head & Neck surgery.
1. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd, Chennai – 2005 onwards ,In-charge of the Departments of Allergy at MERF (2005 onwards)
2. Visiting faculty, Madras ENT Research Foundation Institute of Speech and Hearing,Chennai - 2005 onwards Theory & Clinical teacher in ENT for undergraduate students - B.Sc & Diploma in Nursing Courses at MERF & BASLP Course at MERF-Institute of Speech & Hearing, Chennai (2003 - till date)
3. Post graduate teacher & thesis coordinator for DNB (ENT) postgraduate students, at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai - NBE Accredited Institute (2003 – till date)

Dr. Raghu Nandhan is Consultant ENT Surgeon at Madras ENT Research Foundation (MERF), Chennai, a premier tertiary referral ENT training Institute in South India.He specializes in Neuro-Otology, Auditory Implantation & Skull-Base Surgery having received higher surgical training from reputed centers in the UK, namely Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, overseas member of ENT UK and the prestigious British Cochlear Implant Group. He has a decade of experience with Cochlear & Brainstem Implants at MERF, which is today one of the largest centers in the world for Implantation Otology and he is currently the clinical lead for Otology at this Institute.

He holds a PhD in Cochlear Implant Audiology and is also the Research Lead at MERF with keen interest in spearheading the various ongoing and future research programs of the institution. He has around 70 publications in indexed medical journals and has presented research papers in international conferences around the world, where he has received prestigious awards including the APSCI Award, in Korea 2011; APCD Award in Singapore, 2012 and BSBS Award in Cardiff, 2017.

He has co-authored 7 textbook chapters and is one of the very few Indian authors to write chapters in Scott-Brown and Logan-Turner. Apart from his passion to be a competent clinician and skilled surgeon, he dedicates his professional time to being a researcher, academic, medical leader, teacher and trainer for his peers and junior colleagues.

Dr. Raghu started his medical career in 1994 when he joined MBBS in the reputed Kasturba Medical College atManipal, MAHEUniversity, Karnataka. He was an avid academic during his undergraduate days and won the Anatomy Gold-medalalong with awards of distinction in Biochemistry, Forensic Medicine, Pathology, Social & Preventive Medicine and Obstetrics&Gynaecology.During internship he developed a keen desire to become a surgeon and he soon chose the field of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery.He joined Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai and completed his postgraduate training - MS(ENT)in 2004. He began his ENT career at MadrasENT Research Foundation (MERF), Chennai soon after completing his Master degree, starting as an observer and then progressing onto a Senior Registrar and then Otology Fellow with Prof. Mohan Kameswaran. During this time, he passedthe Diplomate of National Board Examinations (ENT) in 2005 &was elected as a Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences(MNAMS) in 2006.

He then traveled to the United Kingdom seeking higher training and obtained the Diplomate Membership in ENT andHead & Neck Surgery – DOHNS (Eng), from the Royal College of Surgeonsof Englandin 2006and further passed the Intercollegiate MRCS (General Surgery)examination to be elected as a Member of the Royal College ofSurgeons of Edinburgh – MRCS (Ed)in 2008.During this period he completed a clinical attachment with the reputed Otology-Skullbase surgeon Prof. Richard Ramsden at Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK and also visited centers of excellence including St.George's Hospital in Brixton and St.Mary's Hospital in London to gain a firsthand exposure of Advanced Otology.

Upon return to India hetook a sabbatical for one year from routine ENT practice to receive special surgical training in Cranio-facial, Plastic &Reconstructive Surgery at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai and in Head & NeckOncosurgery from Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai before joining back inMERF as a Junior Consultant. During this time, he pursued a PhD registered with Sri Ramachandra University and jointly guided by Prof. Mohan Kameswaran at MERF and Prof. A. Ravikumar at SRMC & RI. Thereby he became the first PhD scholar for both MERF and the ENT Dept of Sri Ramachandra University. He received his doctorate in Cochlear Implant audiology and auditory electrophysiology in 2014 after seven years of fruitful research and his thesis, the first of its kind in India has received international acclaim with global citations in this field today.

Dr. Raghu got a further opportunity to visit UK once again in 2014, when ENT UK and the Association of Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC),jointly sponsored him through the Medical Training Initiative for International Medical Graduates scheme to undergo subspecialtyhigher surgical training in his chosen field of interest -Neuro-Otology, Auditory Implantation and Skull-Base Surgery in the UK. Thus he worked as a Specialist Registrar in the Manchester Skullbase Unit for two years with Prof. Simon Lloyd and Mr.Simon Freeman, Otology-Skullbase surgeonswho had then succeeded Prof. Ramsden in Manchester.

During this period he was part of the higher surgical training program of Northwest England, under Training Program Director Prof. Nirmal Kumar and completed his FRCS (ORL-HNS) to became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2016. Of note, he was the only overseas Indian doctor in his batch to pass this prestigious exam in the first attempt, which helped to uphold the regional UK record for a decade of 100% pass rates for FRCS trainees appearing from Northwest England.He also simultaneously pursued the RCSEng accredited MCh ENT course at Edge Hill University, Lancashire, UK during this period under Prof. Nirmal Kumar's supervision. He is the first international MCh student of Edge Hill University and upon graduation, he has now been appointed as an Overseas Faculty of the MChcourse of Edge Hill University and coordinates with the University from India to select and guide prospective Indian ENT surgeons who wish to visit the UK for training in future.

Dr. Raghu subsequently got the prestigious International Neuro-Otology, Auditory Implants and Skull-Base Surgery Fellowship for 2016-2017 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospitals, Birmingham (the biggest hospital in UK and the largest Implantation and skullbasecentre in UK) where he trained with Prof. Richard Irving, one of UK's eminent Otology-Skullbase surgeonsand was also part of the West Midlands Hearing Implant Team for one year. He has now joined the elite Alumni Club of Birmingham Fellows who hail from different corners of the world including Great Britain, Ireland, Holland, South Africa, Oman, Malaysia and Australia.During his tenure in Birmingham he was elected as an International Member of the prestigious British Cochlear Implant Group (BCIG) for his contributions in the field of cochlear implantation which includes his PhD doctoral thesis, along with a series of International and National accoladesfor original research awarded in the APSCI 2011 (Korea), APCD 2012 (Singapore)and a hat-trick of medals at CIGICON from 2010 to 2012 in India.He is one of the very few Indian ENT surgeons to possesslifetimeInternational Membership to BCIG and ENT UK associations with full voting rights apart from being an overseas Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. During his fellowship in Birmingham he also got the coveted UK National award at the British SkullBase Society Annual Conference,BSBS 2017 for his work on Lateral SkullBase Cancer Management - a uniquehonour for an overseas doctor working in the UK.

He has around70 publications in indexed peer-reviewed international medical journals till date and has presented research papers in various International conferences around the world and across India. He continues to coordinate ongoing academic and research projects with the Faculty at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and scientists at the University of Birmingham.He has co-authored 7 textbook chapters and is one of the very few Indian authors to get the honor of writing a chapter in the next edition of Scott-Brown's Otolaryngology Textbook (considered as the Bible of ENT surgery) and also in Logan-Turner (one of the oldest ENT textbooks published from UK).

After successfully completing his higher surgical training, he recently returned back home to Chennai, to takecharge of the Dept of Otology& Auditory Implants at MERF.He is currently involved in setting up a state-of-the-art Skull-Base unit at MERF with multidisciplinary inputs from a team of Neurosurgeons, Plastic Surgeons and Maxillofacial Surgeons, in order to provide comprehensive care for patients with complex skull-base pathology. He is also the Research Lead at MERF with keen interest in spearheading the ongoing and future research programs of the institution. Apart from his passion to succeed as a competent clinician and skilled surgeon, he dedicates his professional time to being a researcher, academic, medical leader, teacher and trainer for his peers and junior colleagues. His current commitments include;

1. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation, RA Puram centre, Chennai
2. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Mandaivelicentre, Chennai.
3. Teaching faculty, MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing, Chennai.
4. Theory & Clinical teacher in ENT for undergraduate students - BASLP Course.
5. Post graduate teacher & thesis coordinator for DNB (ENT) residents, at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai - NBE Accredited Institute.
6. Course coordinator for the Implantation Otology Fellowship Program at MERF.
7. Overseas Faculty, MCh Otorhinolaryngology studies, Edge Hill University, UK

He graduated from Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli in 2000 and obtained his DLO from Madurai Medical College, Madurai in 2004. He qualified the Diplomate of National Board Exams from National Board of Examinations, New Delhi in 2007. He is a Consultant ENT surgeon at Madras ENT Research Foundation and a teaching faculty in MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing.

His interest is in the field of Sleep Disorders and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and he heads this department. He is a Member of World Association of Sleep Medicine. He organized Live Surgical Workshop On "Obstructive Sleep Apnoea" – Current Concepts in Dec 2007 & 2009 and on Balloon Sinuplasty '08 in Oct 2008.As a Joint secretary,he conducted the 63rd Annual National Conference of Otolaryngologists of India AOICON2011 at Chennai. He conducted the First National Conference on Snoring and Sleep Disorders IASSACON2013 at Chennai.

He has had special training in Sleep Related Breathing Disorders, at Euro Sleep Clinic, Bergen, Norway. He has presented papers in the 4th International World Sleep Congress and 5th Conference of the Canadian Sleep Society in Quebec City, Canada.

He has conducted Instructional courses on Sleep Apnoea in International Federation of Otorhinolaryngology IFOS2013, Korea and also in the 5th International World Sleep Congress at Valencia, Spain. He has been invited as an Instructor for the Hands on Training and Cadaver Dissection course for OSA at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. He has been invited as a Faculty to participate in Panel Discussions and to deliver Guest Lectures in various National and International conferences.

He is the only Indian in the International Scientific Committee member of World Congress on Sleep Medicine and is the Founder Secretary of Indian Association of Surgeons for Sleep Apnoea. He is the reviewer of International Journals like International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology and is an Editorial Board member of Austin's International Journal of Sleep Disorders.

1. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai and Heads the Dept. of Snoring & Sleep Apnoea.
2. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd, Mandaiveli centre, Chennai.
3. Teaching faculty, MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing, Chennai, Theory & Clinical teacher in ENT for undergraduate students - BASLP Course.
4. Post graduate teacher & thesis coordinator for DNB (ENT) postgraduate students, at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai - NBE Accredited Institute

She graduated and obtained her MBBS from Thanjaur medical College, Thanjavur & DNB from Madras ENT Research Foundation. She is a Consultant ENT surgeon at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Mandaiveli centre from 2008 and Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation since 2009. She is a teaching faculty in MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing. She has special interest in the field of Voice and Swallowing. She has special focus in the field of Community Otorhinolaryngology. She regularly heads a team of doctors to the rural areas of Tamil Nadu to screen for hearing loss and identify ENT disorders prevalent in the community free of cost. She has also received the International visiting scholarship award from the American Academy of Otolaryngologists of Indian heritage to attend the Annual American Academy conference and Oto expo in September 2012 and did observership in the ENT department at New York Presbyetarian hospital and at Loyola Medical University at Chicago. She is currently the Nodal officer for TNCMCHIS Cochlear implant programme and pursuing her PhD research on the "Study of Etiological factors, Risk factors and Genetic Association in children with Bilateral Congenital Profound hearing loss in Tamil Nadu".

1. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd, Chennai – 2009 onwards In-charge of the Department of Voice and Swallowing disorders at MERF
2. Consultant at Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd, Mandaiveli center, 2008 onwards
3. Visiting faculty, Madras ENT Research Foundation Institute of Speech and Hearing, Chennai - 2008 onwards
4. Theory & Clinical teacher in ENT for undergraduate students - B.Sc & Diploma in Nursing Courses at MERF & BASLP Course at MERF-Institute of Speech & Hearing, Chennai (2008 - till date)
5. Post graduate teacher & thesis coordinator for DNB (ENT) postgraduate students, at Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai - NBE Accredited Institute (2009 – till date)