Dr Karen Kost, MDCM, FRCSC
Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Surgeon
Dr Kost did her undergraduate studies and residency at McGill University in Montreal. She completed a fellowship in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and Voice at the Institute of Laryngology and Otology in London England under the stewardship of Sir Donald Harrison. Dr Karen Kost is a Professor of Otolaryngology at McGill University and is the Director of the Voice and Dysphagia Laboratory at McGill University in Montreal. She is also the Director of the McGill Laryngology Fellowship program. Her principal interests include Voice, Transgender Voice Surgery, Airway, Head and Neck Oncology, and Geriatric Otolaryngology. She sits on several committees within the hospital and University, including the McGill Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Diversity, Equity and Diversity Committee, and the McGill University Faculty Promotions Committee as well as the Senate Pool for the Statutory Selection Committee.
Dr Kost is a member of and has been active within several otolaryngologic Societies, including, amongst several others, The International Association of Transgender Voice Surgeons, The International Association of Phonosurgery, the AAO-HNS, the CSO-HNS, and the Voice Foundation. Within the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, she has served as chair of Bylaws Committee, 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. Dr Kost founded the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) section of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, served as its president, and continues to secure long-term funding for the WIO.
Dr. Kost is a founding member of the American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology (ASGO). She served as the Society’s program chair for 5 years, and was President of ASGO from 2012 to 2014.
Dr Kost continues to be an active member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, having served on several of its committees, including the Geriatric Otolaryngology Committee, the International Laryngology Committee, and the International Steering Committee. She has also served as the chair of the International Otolaryngology Committee.
Dr Kost completed her Triological Thesis in 2005 and was the first Canadian female to be inducted into the Triological Society. She sits on the Scientific Program Committee and has served on the Nominating Committee of the Triological Society. In January 2021 Dr Kost received a vice presidential citation from the Triological Society. Dr Kost became a member of the American Laryngological Association (ALA) in 2009, was nominated to join the executive Council of the ALA in 2019, and currently serves as the editor of the ALA. In addition, she sits on the Board of the International Association of Phonosurgery as well as the Board of the Voice Foundation.
Dr Kost is the author of over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 27 book chapters on airway, tracheostomy and voice. She has edited or co-edited 4 textbooks on Otolaryngology, and sits on the editorial boards of five peer-reviewed otolaryngology journals. She is the Associate editor of Laryngology for the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Journal, as well as for the Ear, Nose and Throat Journal, and was recently appointed Associate Editor of the ‘How I Do It’ section of the Laryngoscope. Dr Kost has given over 500 presentations on voice, airway, tracheostomy and head and neck cancer around the world as a keynote speaker, ‘orator’, professor, invited lecturer and guest speaker.
As part of her interest in Global health, Dr Kost worked in the Canadian Arctic for over 20 years, performed the first surgical procedure in Northern Quebec, and played an instrumental 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 accessible only by foot, with no running water and no electricity.
Dr Kost is the recipient of several awards, including the Birkett prize in Otolaryngology, the Recognition of Service and Commitment Award from the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the Distinction Award of Otolaryngology from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. She has taught and mentored dozens of medical students and residents, and is passionate about teaching, having been awarded the McGill Teacher of the Year Award in Otolaryngology twice. Dr Kost has also been the recipient of the prestigious Helen B Krause Trailblazer Award from the Women in Otolaryngology section of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr Kost most recently received the Quebec Otolaryngology Association Award for Excellence and international Impact.
