Frontiers 2012

The Art, Science and Future of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

The 2012 Frontiers was the eighth biennial conference, held at The Langham Melbourne.

The three international keynote speakers were all excellent:

• Dr Jonathan Clark from the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, outlined the neurovestibular effects on astronaut performance and the role of the central nervous system in spaceflight.
• Associate Professor Chris Holsinger from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, spoke about robotic otolaryngology and personalising the treatment of head and neck cancer with genomic medicine.
• Professor Peter Hwang from the Stanford University School of Medicine presented papers on the applications of regenerative medicine and the past, present and future use of biomaterials in rhinology.

Other keynote and domestic speakers, all leading experts in their fields, were given specific topics to showcase their own areas of expertise. This resulted in a superb and highly informative conference.

A showcase of 47 excellent poster presentations added to the backdrop of the conference, culminating in prizes being awarded to the top five presentations.

Finally, the unveiling of the portrait of our benefactor Mrs Barbara Williams (painted by Gillian Dunlop), the presentation of the medal to Dr Freeman, and the wonderful after-dinner speech by Mr Christopher Lawrence, made for a very memorable evening at the Conference Dinner.