Dr. Amber Luong Extends the Department’s Global Reach at EROC 2025
Amber Luong, MD, PhD, professor and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at UTHealth Houston, delivered the keynote address and other presentations at the Emirates Rhinology and Otology Conference (EROC) 2025 Global Forum held Jan. 16-18 in Dubai. The combined meeting included about 1,500 members of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies, the ASEAN Otorhinolaryngological-Head and Neck Federation, the International Association of Phonosurgery, and the Union of European Phoniatricians.
“Our participation in international conferences allows us to extend the impact of our institution’s research and education beyond the United States. In addition, it lets us understand the variations in treatment worldwide and benefit from that knowledge,” says Dr. Luong, who runs a basic science lab at the Center for Immunology and Autoimmune Diseases at the UTHealth Houston Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases.
During the EROC forum, she also delivered an invited address entitled “Current and Upcoming Biologics in Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) Management,” a long-term focus of her research. “More than 40 million Americans suffer from CRS, which causes facial pain and pressure, nasal congestion, and obstruction – symptoms that result in from 18 to 22 million physician visits annually with a direct annual health care cost of more than $3 billion. People with CRS often are also diagnosed with asthma. The two chronic respiratory diseases are among the most prevalent of chronic illnesses in the United States.”
Dr. Luong also participated in a panel discussion of advancements in allergic fungal rhinosinusitis management, a core area of her basic science research on which she has published widely. Other invited panelists were from Canada, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. On day 2 of the forum, she participated in a roundtable discussion of office-based procedures in rhinology, discussing rhinorrhea and options for in-office management.