Dr. Karen M. Kost

Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, McGill University
Director, Montreal General Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Director, McGill University Voice and Dysphagia Laboratory
Specializing in Voice and Swallowing Disorders, Head and Neck Surgery, Botox and Fillers

Dr Kost did her undergraduate studies and residency at McGill University in Montreal. She completed a fellowship in Voice and Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery at the Institute of Laryngology and Otology in London England under the stewardship of Sir Donald Harrison. She is a Professor of Otolaryngology at McGill University and is the Director of the Voice and Dysphagia Laboratory at McGill University. Areas of special interest include Head and Neck Oncology, Airway problems, and Voice. She is the past president of the Otolaryngology division of the McGill Med-Chi Society, and sits on several local committees associated with McGill university.

Dr. Kost has an ongoing interest in Global health. She worked in the Canadian Arctic for over 20 years, performed the first surgical procedure in Northern Quebec and played an important role in repatriating medical and surgical services to Nunavik in Northern Quebec. In 2014 and 2015, Dr. Kost participated in 2 humanitarian medical missions in remote villages of the Himalayas in Nepal with no road access, no running water and no electricity. In addition to practicing medicine, she provided teaching and instruction to local healthcare providers.

Dr Kost has been, and continues to be heavily involved in the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and has served as chair of Bylaws, Regional Representative of Quebec, and President of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Fund. In 2013, she served as the President of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Society – the second female president of the society since its birth in 1946. She established the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) section of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 2013, went on to form a committee, secure funding for the WIO, and serve as its chair from 2013-2017. She continues to serve as chair of the Laryngology committee within the Society.

Dr. Kost has also served as President of the American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology (ASGO) from 2012 to 2014 and as program chair for 5 years from 2007-2012. In addition, Dr Kost has been an active member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and several of its committees: the Geriatric Otolaryngology Committee from 2006-2016, and again from 2018 onwards, the International Laryngology Committee from 2013-2017, Representative to the Voice Committee and the International Steering Committee from 2017 to the present. She served as the chair of the International Otolaryngology Committee for the year 2016-2017.

Dr Kost is involved in both basic science and clinical research focused on voice, voice disorders and singing. She teaches medical students, as well as residents and is the Director of the Laryngology Fellowship. She served as an examiner for the Royal College of physicians and Surgeons of Canada for 7 years, and Continues to work with the Royal College as part of a team restructuring the Otolaryngology training program in Kuwait, where she also functions as an international examiner.

Dr Kost has published extensively on voice and tracheostomy, which was the subject of her Triological thesis in 2005. She is the first Canadian female to be inducted into the highly respected Triological Society. Dr Kost is a member of over a dozen medical societies, including the prestigious American Laryngological Society, where she has recently been appointed to serve on council.  Dr Kost is the author of several publications in peer-reviewed journals and 20 book chapters on airway and voice. She has edited or co-edited 3 textbooks on Geriatric Otolaryngology, and sits on the editorial boards of three peer-reviewed otolaryngology journals. Dr Kost has given over 400 presentations on voice and tracheostomy around the world as an keynote speaker, invited lecturer/professor or guest speaker.

Dr Kost is the recipient of the Birkett prize in Otolaryngology, the Teacher of the Year Award in Otolaryngology in 2002 and 2009, the Recognition of Service and Commitment Award from the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Society in 2009, and the Distinction Award of Otolaryngology from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 2014. In September 2016, Dr Kost was awarded the Helen B Krause Trailblazer Award from the Women in Otolaryngology of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.