Madras ENT Research Foundation Private Limited

Prof. S. Raghu Nandhan

MBBS, MS, DNB, MRCS (Ed), DOHNS (Eng), FRCS(Ed), MCh, MNAMS, PhD

           Prof. Raghu Nandhan.S is Senior Consultant ENT Surgeon at Madras ENT Research Foundation (MERF), Chennai, a premier tertiary referral ENT training Institute in South India.He specializes in Neuro-Otology, Auditory Implantation & Skull-Base Surgery having received higher surgical training from reputed centers in the UK, namely Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, overseas member of ENT UK and the prestigious British Cochlear Implant Group. He is also a research committee member representing the South & West Asia region in the Yo-IFOS international committee. He hasmore than two decades of experience with Cochlear, Bone conduction& Brainstem Implants at MERF, which is today one of the largest centers in the world for Implantation Otology and he is currently the clinical lead for Otology at this Institute. He is also a Visiting Professor to the ENT Departments of Sri Ramachandra Medical University, Chennai &SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Post Graduate Medical Institute, Edge Hill University, UK. He contributes to the strength, sustenance and development of the ENT fraternity in his state by serving as the Treasurer of the Tamil Nadu Association of  Otolaryngologists of India.

​            He holds a PhD in Cochlear Implant Audiology and is also the Research Lead at MERF with keen interest in spearheading the various ongoing and future research programs of the institution. He is an avid academician and keen researcher and has 186 publications in indexed international and national medical journals and has also contributed to 24 textbook chapters till date. He is one of the very few Indian authors to get the honor of writing a chapter in the current edition of Scott-Brown's Otolaryngology Textbook (considered as the Bible of ENT surgery) and also in Logan-Turner (one of the oldest ENT textbooks published from UK).He has presented numerous original research papers in international conferences around the world, where he has received prestigious international awards including the APSCI Award, in Korea 2011; APCD Award in Singapore, 2012 and BSBS Award in Cardiff, 2017.

​​            Dr. Raghu started his medical career in 1994 by qualifying the national PM/PD entrance test, when he joined MBBS in the reputed Kasturba Medical College Manipal, MAHE University, Karnataka. He was an exemplarystudent during his undergraduate days and won the Anatomy Gold-medal along with awards of distinction in Biochemistry, Forensic Medicine, Pathology, Social & Preventive Medicine and Obstetrics Gynaecology.During internship he developed a keen desire to become a surgeon and hence he soon chose the field of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery.He joined Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai and completed his postgraduate training - MS(ENT)in 2004, when Prof. Mohan Kameswaran was visiting professor to his department and had inspired &mentored him. He began his ENT career at MadrasENT Research Foundation (MERF), Chennai soon after completing his Master degree, starting as an observer and then progressing onto a Senior Registrar and then Otology Fellow with Prof. Mohan Kameswaran for two years between 2004-2006. During this time, he passed the prestigious Diplomate of National Board Examinations (ENT) in 2005,standing All India 2nd in the ranking & was also elected as a Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences(MNAMS) in 2006.

​            He then traveled to the United Kingdom seeking higher training and obtained the Diplomat Membership in ENT andHead & Neck Surgery – DOHNS (Eng), from the Royal College of Surgeons Of England in 2006 and further passed the Intercollegiate MRCS (General Surgery)examination to be elected as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh – MRCS (Ed)in 2008.During this period he completed a clinical attachment with the reputed Otology- Skull Base surgeon Prof. Richard Ramsden at Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK and also visited centers of excellence including St.George's Hospital in Brixton and St.Mary's Hospital in London to gain a firsthand exposure of Advanced Otology.

​            Upon returning to India he took a sabbatical for one year from routine ENT practice to receive special surgical training in Cranio-facial, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai and in Head & NeckOncosurgery from Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai before joining back inMERF as a Junior Consultant. During this time, he pursued a PhD registered with Sri Ramachandra University and jointly guided by Prof. Mohan Kameswaran at MERF and Prof. Lt.Col. A. Ravikumar at SRMC & RI. Thereby he became the first PhD scholar for both MERF and the ENT Dept of Sri Ramachandra University. He received his doctorate in Cochlear Implant audiology and auditory electrophysiology in 2014 after seven years of fruitful research and his thesis, the first of its kind in India, has received international acclaim with global citations in this field today.

​            Dr. Raghu got a further opportunity to visit UK once again in 2014, when ENT UK and the Association of Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC),jointly sponsored him through the Medical Training Initiative for International Medical Graduates scheme to undergo subspecialty higher surgical training in his chosen field of interest - Neuro-Otology, Auditory Implantation and Skull-Base Surgery in the UK. Thus he worked as a Senior Clinical fellow / Specialist Registrar in the Manchester Skull Base Unit for two years with Prof. Simon Lloyd and Mr.Simon Freeman, Otology-Skullbase surgeonswho had then succeeded Prof. Ramsden in Manchester.

​            During this period he was part of the higher surgical training program of Northwest England, under Training Program Director Prof. Nirmal Kumar, completed his FRCS (ORL-HNS) to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2016. Of note, he was the only overseas Indian doctor in his batch to pass this prestigious FRCS exam in the first attempt, which helped to uphold the regional UK record for a decade of 100% pass rates for FRCS trainees appearing from Northwest England.He also simultaneously pursued the RCSEng accredited MCh ENT course at Edge Hill University, Lancashire, UK during this period under Prof. Nirmal Kumar's supervision. He is the first international MCh student of Edge Hill University and upon graduation, he has now been appointed as an Overseas Faculty / Senior Lecturer of the MChcourse of Edge Hill University and coordinates with the University from India to select and guide prospective Indian ENT surgeons who wish to visit the UK for higher training in future.

​            Dr. Raghu subsequently got the prestigious International Neuro-Otology, Auditory Implants and Skull-Base Surgery Fellowship for 2016-2017 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospitals, Birmingham (the biggest hospital in UK and the largest Implantation and skull base center in UK) where he trained with Prof. Richard Irving, one of UK's eminent Otology-Skull Base surgeons and was also part of the West Midlands Hearing Implant Team for one year. He has now joined the elite Alumni Club of Birmingham Fellows who hail from different corners of the world including Great Britain, Ireland, Holland, South Africa, Oman, Malaysia and Australia.He continues to coordinate ongoing academic and research projects with the Faculty at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and scientists at the University of Birmingham.

            During his tenure in Birmingham he was elected as an International Member of the prestigious British Cochlear Implant Group (BCIG) for his contributions in the field of cochlear implantation which includes his PhD doctoral thesis, along with a series of International and National accolades for original research awarded in the APSCI 2011 (Korea), APCD 2012 (Singapore)and a hat-trick of medals at CIGICON from 2010 to 2012 in India. He is one of the very few Indian ENT surgeons to possess life time International Membership to BCIG and ENT UK associations with full voting rights apart from being an overseas Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. During his fellowship in Birmingham he also got the coveted UK National award at the British Skull Base Society Annual Conference, BSBS 2017 for his work on Lateral Skull Base Cancer Management - a unique honor for an overseas doctor working in the UK.

​            After successfully completing his higher surgical training Dr. Raghu rejoined MERF in 2017 as a Senior Consultant, and has been in-charge of the Dept of Otology, Auditory Implants & Skull base surgery at MERF. Under Prof. Mohan Kameswaran's guidance he has set up a state-of-the-art Skull-Base unit at MERF with multidisciplinary inputs from an experienced team of Neurosurgeons, Plastic Surgeons and Maxillofacial Surgeons, in order to provide comprehensive care for patients with complex skull-base pathology. He is also the Research Lead at MERF with keen interest in spearheading the ongoing and future research programs of the institution. Apart from his passion to succeed as a competent clinician and skilled surgeon, he dedicates his professional time to being a researcher, academic, medical leader, teacher and trainer for his peers and junior colleagues.

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MEDALS, AWARDS & HONOURS (International & National)

1. Awarded the Dr. R. P. Koppikar Memorial Prize endowed by Dr. D. V. Vibhakar of Mombasa, for the 'Best Out-going Student' in the First MBBS University Examinations held by Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) – Manipal, India, in February-March 1996.

2. Awarded the 'Dr. K. Krishnaswamy Gold Medal’ endowed by the Anatomy Club, Kasturba Medical College, for Standing First & for Proficiency in Anatomy, in the First MBBS University Examinations held by Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)-Manipal, India, in Feb-March 1996 ("Walking Gray's! Title for the year 1996").

3. Awarded 'Distinctions' for Proficiency in Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Forensic Medicine, Community Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynaecology in the MBBS University Examinations held by Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)-Manipal, India, during 1997 - 2000.

4. Awarded Second Prize - ‘Silver Medal’ for the scientific paper presented in K.U. Shah Senior Consultant Award Session, at the 61st National Conference of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India ‘AOICON 2009’ held at Jaipur, India, from 22nd to 25th January, 2009.

5. Awarded 'Second Prize' for the Oral Poster presented in the Audiology & Habilitation Session, at the 8th Annual Conference of “The Cochlear Implant Group of India” (CIGICON 2010), held at PGIMER, Chandigarh, India on 18th, 19th & 20th November, 2010.

6. Awarded the ‘Best Abstract Award’ for the scientific paper presented in the 8th Asia Pacific Symposium on Cochlear Implants and Related Sciences (APSCI-2011), held at EXCO Convention Centre, Daegu, Korea, from 25th to 28th October, 2011.

7. Awarded 'Second Prize' for the scientific paper presented in the Audiology Session, at the 9th Annual Conference of “The Cochlear Implant Group of India” (CIGICON 2011), held at Scientific Convention Centre, Lucknow, India from 25th to 27th November, 2011.

8. Awarded the ‘Best Poster Award’ for the scientific poster presented at the 11th Asia Pacific Congress on Deafness (APCD 2012), in conjunction with the 6th NUH-NUS ENT Head & Neck Surgery Conference, organized by the National University Hospital & Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, held at The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore, from 26th to 28th July, 2012.

9. Awarded the ‘First Prize’ for the Best Oral Paper Presentation, at the 10th National Conference of “The Cochlear Implant Group of India” (CIGICON 2012), held at The Courtyard Marriot Hotel, Ahmedabad, India on 23rd & 24th November, 2012.

(This completed a unique "Hat-Trick" of prizes in 3 consecutive CIGICONs of 2010, 2011 & 2012 for presentations based on my PhD doctoral thesis!)

10. Awarded the ‘First Prize’ for the Best Poster Presentation with a cash award, by Aesculap Academia, under the aegis of The British Skull Base Society & ENT UK, at the Annual British Skull Base Society Meeting (BSBS 2017) held at Mercure Holland Hotel & Spa, Cardiff, Wales on 26th & 27th January, 2017.

11. Awarded 'The Andrew Foster CBE International Gold Medal' by GTEC - Global Training and Education Centre, WWL NHS foundation Trust, for exemplary academic performance, with contribution to medical education and curriculum development as an Alumni and International Faculty of the MCh programme at the Post-Graduate Medical Institute, Edge Hill University, Lancashire, UK on 24th March, 2022.

12. Awarded a Citation and Scroll for delivering the prestigious 'Dr. Navaneethakrishnan Endowment Lecture' jointly presented by the Indian Medical Association and the Association of Otoloryngologitsts of India,  Thiruchirapalli Branch at IMA Hall, Trichy on 26th October, 2025.

13. Awarded the ‘Best Paper Award’ as a Co-author for the scientific paper made from the collaborative research work on cochlear duct length done by the Cochlear implant teams from MERF, Chennai and the ENT & Radiology Departments of the Univeristy of Dundee, presented at the ENT Scotland Winter Meeting held at the Sterling Court Hotel (University of Sterling), Scotland on 21st November, 2025.