Professor Patricio Varela received his medical degree from the University of Chile and completed his surgical residency at Mackenna Children's Hospital in Santiago, Chile. He completed a pediatric surgery fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee in 1999. Dr. Varela has received international attention for his surgical expertise in treating pediatric chest wall malformations and tracheal anomalies and in creating video training programs to augment surgical training. He is a pediatric surgeon at the Clinica Las Condes Medical Center in Santiago, Chile and Director of the Chest Wall Malformation and Tracheal Surgery Unit at the Calvo Mackenna Children’s Hospital in Santiago, Chile. He has performed tracheal surgery and lectured all over the world on complex congenital tracheal malformations. He is a leading member of the International Pediatric Airway Team. Dr. Varela brings great surgical expertise to the airway course!

Dr. Andrew F. Inglis Jr., MD, a long standing attending at Seattle Children’s Hospital and associate professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine, recently retired from his clinical practice. He completed his medical school training at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University School of Medicine) and his otolaryngology residency and pediatric otolaryngology fellowship at the University of Washington where he stayed on faculty. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric laryngology with Professor Bruce Benjamin in Sydney, Australia where he learned to appreciate recognizing subtle laryngeal pathology that may affect treatment.

Dr. Inglis is a skilled, thoughtful and innovative surgeon. He is recognized internationally for pioneering endoscopic cartilage grafting for treatment of posterior glottis stenosis. He also popularized the use of the Karl Lindholm laryngeal spreaders - a critical tool for endoscopic airway surgeons. In 2013, Dr. Inglis received the Gabriel Tucker award in recognition for his contributions to the field of pediatric otolaryngology. He is an excellent teacher with a keen sense of humor that often surfaces when least expected at airway courses.

Ian N. Jacobs, MD, is the Medical Director of the Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders in the Division of Otolaryngology (ENT) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He holds the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Endowed Chair in Pediatric Otolaryngology and Pediatric Airway Disorders.

Dr. Petersson is currently an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. Her practice entails all aspects of pediatric otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, including airway reconstruction, head and neck oncology, congenital and vascular malformations, thyroid surgery, otology and cochlear implantation, and pediatric facial plastic reconstructive surgery. She helped start the Aerodigestive Collaborative, Pediatric Voice Clinic, and Velopharyngeal Insufficincy Clinic; is a member of the Craniofacial Care and Cochlear Implant teams; and is Director of the Facial Reanimation Program. In addition to holding memberships in the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, she serves on the board of the Virginia Society of Otolaryngology and is a founding member and president of the Pediatric Head and Neck Surgical Society.

George Zalzal, MD, joined Children’s National Health System in 1986 and has been the chief since 1994. Dr. Zalzal has taught and trained many Pediatric Otolaryngology subspecialty fellows and is regarded as one of the leading experts on the pediatric airway and in pediatric laryngotracheal reconstruction.

Dr. Zalzal has authored more than 135 publications, many of which are landmark articles in clinical and basic science research on laryngeal and tracheal disease. He has presented at nearly 200 national and international meetings. Dr. Zalzal was the president of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology in 2003-2004 and is a member of many professional organizations. He is the associate editor for Pediatric Otolaryngology for the Archives of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, serves on the editorial review board for the International Journal of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and is a reviewer for many specialty journals.

Dr. Preciado is Professor with tenure at Children’s National Health System and George Washington University. He is Vice-Chief of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology as well as program director of the ACGME accredited pediatric otolaryngology fellowship at Children’s National. His busy clinical practice is focused on pediatric airway reconstruction and childhood hearing loss. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and 10 book chapters. Much of his published work has dealt with complex airway surgical repair techniques, including stenting and endoscopic approaches. He has been an invited faculty at numerous national pediatric airway courses and has been co-instructor of a complex airway repair course at the national AAO meeting for over 8 years. Dr. Preciado was named president elect of ASPO for 2019-2020.

Nancy M. Bauman, MD FACS, FAAP, is a pediatric otolaryngologist at Children’s National Health System in Washington D.C. and a Professor of Otolaryngology at George Washington University. She specializes in the surgical evaluation and treatment of complicated conditions of the aerodigestive tract including vascular anomalies of the airway. She has received numerous research awards and has authored over 100 manuscripts and chapters in medical journals and textbooks. She directs the Multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Clinic and co-directs the Multidisciplinary Vascular Anomalies Clinic at Children’s National. She has directed multiple airway and/or laser courses for otolaryngologists and enjoys the educational opportunities and exchange of information that such courses offer to both attendees and instructors. She is dedicated to ensuring that each course participant has a favorable learning experience.

Claire Lawlor, MD., is a pediatric otolaryngologist who also works in the Advanced Sleep Apnea Program (ASAP) and Aerodigestive Clinic (ADC) at Children's National. She completed her fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and is the former chair of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) section for residents and fellows. Dr. Lawlor won the 2018 Charles Furgeson Award for best clinical manuscript at the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology annual meeting. She is a member of the AAO-HNS Sleep Disorders Committee.

Dr. Lawlor has a special interest in caring for children with sleep disorders, airway lesions, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing and head and neck masses. She sees patients with a wide range of otolaryngologic concerns, such as hearing loss, recurrent ear infections, ear drum perforations, sinus disease, surgery of the tonsils and adenoids, tongue ties and fetal medicine.

Lyuba Gitman, MD, is a board-certified pediatric otolaryngologist at Children's National Health System. Dr. Gitman has a special interest in treating children with airway lesions, chronic sinusitis, masses of the head and neck and those with genetic disorders that involve the head and neck. She also has an interest in the evaluation of swallowing disorders, including functional endoscopic evaluation of swallow (FEES). She is interested in all aspects of pediatric otolaryngology, including surgery of the tonsils and adenoids, frenulectomy and chronic otitis media (COM).

Brian Reilly, MD, is a pediatric otolaryngologist and Co-Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at Children’s National Health System. Dr. Reilly is an active clinical researcher with specialized interests in hearing loss, cochlear implants, otitis media, obstructive sleep apnea, airway reconstruction and chronic tonsillitis. He is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, has won several research awards, and has published many articles in peer-review journals. Dr. Reilly also is the appointed physician to Maryland’s State Hearing Advisory Committee.

Pamela Mudd, MD, is a pediatric otolaryngologist at Children’s National Health System. Dr. Mudd serves as the director of the Pediatric Voice Program. Dr. Mudd has a special interest in voice disorders in children and vocal cord paralysis. She specializes in phonosurgery and surgical management of vocal cord paralysis including laryngeal reinnervation. Her research interests include evaluation and management of hoarseness and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. She is a part of the Airway Team at Children’s National Medical Center.