Professor Catherine Birman is an ENT at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Macquarie University Hospital, and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital in Sydney, Australia. Prof Birman is an Otolaryngologist specialising in paediatric and adult cochlear implants, otology and paediatric ENT. She has extensive experience in hearing loss and cochlear implants having performed over two thousand cochlear implant procedures. In 2017 Prof Birman was awarded the NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year Award for her work with cochlear implants. She received the Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the Art and Science of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery in 2018. In 2022 she received the Order of Australia Medal for services to Otolaryngology. Prof Birman has published and presented extensively on cochlear implant outcomes, innovative cochlear implant devices; bone conduction implantable hearing devices; and paediatric conditions. She has participated in numerous clinical trials and grants, including the more recent gene therapy trials involving: BDNF and NT3 DNA using electroporation; and Adenovirus vector gene therapy for congenital OTOF genetic auditory neuropathy. Prof Birman has been a Director of NextSense, Australia’s second oldest charity, established to support those with hearing or vision impairment; and Head of Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Sydney University. She is an Honorary Clinical Professor at Macquarie University and Clinical Professor at Sydney University. She is a RACS examiner in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and has been a past NSW chair of ASOHNS. She has served on hospital and NSW Health government committees.