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Qualia Oto welcomes Dr. Roland, Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, to its Board.
September 12, 2023 – Qualia Oto is pleased to announce that Dr. Peter Roland has joined the company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Roland brings extensive experience as a seasoned ENT surgeon who has been a pioneer and a prominent voice in the cochlear implant space for nearly 40 years.
“I don’t think I can overstate the value that Dr. Roland brings to Qualia Oto,” Chair of the Board of Directors Michael Seeligson said. “He holds a distinguished medical record, ground-breaking academic achievements, and global connections within the cochlear implant community. Together we are committed to pushing forward the quality of cochlear implants and improving hearing capabilities for future generations.”
Dr. Roland began practicing as a clinician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 1985, just one year after the FDA approved the use of cochlear implants; he has been a pioneer in cochlear implantation since. During his tenure at UT Southwestern, he served on 20 committees – being the Chair of five of them – and his academic portfolio includes five books, 60 additional chapters, and 230 peer-reviewed articles on cochlear implants as well as on ear surgery, hearing loss, balance disturbance, facial nerve injury, acoustic neuroma, and tumors of the skull base.
UT Southwestern credits Dr. Roland as developing the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery into “…one of the nation’s leading clinical and research centers for audiology and cochlear implantation, balance and facial nerve disorders, head and neck cancer, sleep disorders, and other specialties”.
“It is with great pleasure that I join the Board of Qualia Oto,” Dr. Roland said. “In this capacity, even in retirement, I can continue to be involved with the cochlear implant space and hopefully play a role in its continued growth and development.”
Dr. Kenneth Lee, Qualia Oto co-founder and CMO and current Professor in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern, is thrilled. “Peter is a leader, a mentor, and a friend, and his work within the cochlear implant space remains inspirational. Of all the institutions across the country, I joined UT Southwestern 16 years ago because of its status as a clinical and academic leader in Otolaryngology. In a sense, though, I really was joining Peter Roland.”
In 2003, Dr. Roland performed cochlear implants on one-year-old twins, a first time such a surgery had ever been performed. Beyond cochlear implants, Dr. Roland was selected as one of 12 physicians in the country who helped develop treatment guidelines that became the first official recommendations for dealing with the common infection called swimmer’s ear (acute otitis externa).
Dr. Roland’s titles over the past four decades include Professor of Neurological Surgery at UT Southwestern, Chief of Pediatric Otology at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and now Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern.
He has been recognized by America’s Top Doctors, the Guide to America’s Top Physicians, and the Best Doctors in Dallas, among many others. Most recently, in June 2023, the American Cochlear Implant Alliance honored Dr. Roland with its 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking work in advancing the use and benefits of cochlear implants.
Dr. Roland holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He did his otolaryngology residency training at Penn State University before spending four years in the United States Navy as faculty with the University of Health Sciences as well as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Roland completed his fellowship training at the E.A.R. Institute in Nashville, Tennessee.