Emma Stapleton

Emma has been Consultant Otolaryngologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary since 2018, in a full-time clinical role. She is Clinical Lead for the Manchester Cochlear Implant Programmes and Undergraduate Lead in ENT. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh and completed advanced fellowship training in complex otology, auditory implantation and skull base surgery in Glasgow, Manchester, Canada, Australia and the USA.

Emma has one of the largest auditory implant practices in the UK, performing more than 100 auditory implant procedures each year. In 2025 she performed the UK's first robotic cochlear implant surgeries and is internationally recognised for her pioneering work in local anaesthetic auditory implant surgery, demonstrating that this approach can enhance patient satisfaction, improve postoperative recovery and increase access to hearing implantation.

Her research spans clinical, translational and health services research, with a focus on improving access to hearing healthcare through surgical innovation, clinical outcomes research, patient-centred outcomes and responsible professional development. She has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and has secured competitive research and innovation funding to support projects in auditory implantation, hearing healthcare and medical education. She has recently been a Principal Investigator (PI) for the COACH Study, and Chief Investigator (CI) for the DETECT study. Her clinical research interests include auditory implantation, hearing loss, necrotising otitis externa, patient-centred outcomes, medical education and mentoring. She is currently undertaking a part-time PhD at the University of Manchester investigating the effects of Type 2 diabetes on audiovestibular function, and she also supervises research projects for medical students, MSc students and academic trainees in ENT.

Emma is an elected Council Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, where she oversees the RCSEd Trainees' Committee, the Surgical Specialty Board in Otolaryngology and the Regional Surgical Adviser Network in the Wessex region, and serves on the Membership, Engagement and Recognition Committee. She is Immediate Past President of the North of England Otolaryngology Society and Past Chair of Women in ENT UK (WENTS).

She is a Director, Trustee and Editorial Board member of the Journal of Laryngology & Otology, serves on the Editorial Boards of European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, and is a Trustee of both the TWJ Foundation and the British Cochlear Implant Group. She is regularly invited to lecture nationally and internationally on her areas of expertise.

Emma has extensive experience in medical education and professional mentoring. She has delivered more than 120 invited lectures in 18 countries over the past five years, is an experienced MRCS examiner in the UK and overseas, and leads the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh National Surgical and Dental Mentoring Scheme, including mentor development programmes and continuing support for mentors across the UK.

In addition to her clinical, academic and leadership roles, Emma has considerable editorial and communications experience, having served as Editor in Chief of the ENT UK Newsletter (2015–2022), Associate Editor of ENT & Audiology News (2015–2024), and Editor in Chief of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh's Surgeons' News (2024–2027).

Her recent achievements include being Guest of Honour at the American Otological Society Annual Meeting in 2024. She was awarded the 2023 Rowena Ryan Award for consultant-led research by ENT UK, the Gold Award for Research at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Research Conference, and the 2022 Hunter-Doig Medal by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, awarded biennially for excellence among the College's female membership. She has also received numerous national research awards, including the Hallpike Prize, George Seed Prize, Hunterian Society Prize, Philip Stell Prize, RSM Otology Prize and BACO Audiology Prize.

Emma has supervised numerous award-winning research projects by medical students, trainees and fellows. Her supervisees have received national awards from the Journal of Laryngology & Otology, ENT UK, the British Society of Otology and the Association of Otolaryngologists in Training.

University of Manchester silver award for teaching, 2022

Founder and Patron, Manchester Foundation Surgical Society

RCSEd Regional Surgical Advisor 2019-23