The BLA celebrates its five-year anniversary

The British Laryngological Association is delighted to celebrate its fifth anniversary.  Addressing the growing need for conversation and collaboration in this critical discipline, the association was founded in 2012 as an outgrowth of its ongoing partnership with ENT UK and today welcomes nearly 300 members from across the spectrum: clinicians, academics, surgeons, speech pathologists, physicians, scientists and students interested in issues relating to the throat and larynx.

Founding members include Professors Martin Birchall and David Howard and Mr Guri Sandhu who remain driving forces behind this vibrant society and receive critical support from a committed board whose members include Past President Professor Janet Wilson, Chadwan Al Yaghchi, Declan Costello, Khalid Ghufoor, Kate Heathcote, Nick Gibbins, Yakubu Karagama, Sam Majumdar, Julian McGlashan, and Jonathan Fishman, as well as Council members with important ties to allied institutions: Michelle Wyatt (BAPO - British Association of Paediatric Otolaryngology) and Nimesh Patel and John Rubin (BVA - British Voice Association.) The critical contributions of speech and language therapists are represented on the Council by Christella Antoni.

The BLA’s increasingly popular annual conference welcomed over 150 delegates in September 2017 and nearly 300 participants take part in the Cutting Edge Laryngology meetings in alternate years which feature a host of international speakers and delegates.

The association’s annual David Howard prize encourages the work of students and trainees by rewarding the best posters and oral presentations of the year, and education is further promoted through annual study days limited to 50 delegates: a Laryngology - back to basics course is planned for February 2018, and a masterclass in on emergency airways is scheduled for March 2018 - just two in a growing list of educational options planned.

New members are encouraged to join the society and take advantage of a range of benefits including reduced conference fees, access to talking slides, and the opportunity to learn in close collaboration with the top luminaries in this growing field.

“We’re extremely pleased with the progress the BLA has been able to make over the past five years,” says Professor of Laryngology, Consultant ENT Surgeon at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital and British Laryngology Association President Martin Birchall.  “We look forward to an exciting future working together with friends and colleagues - questioning conventional understanding and encouraging the best in research, collaboration and discovery.”