Plenary Speakers
Prof. Sebastian Cotofana, MD, PhD, PhD
Professor Cotofana is an adjoint Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA. He is also the CEO of Cotofana Anatomy, a company specialized in anatomic education. After studying medicine in Munich, Germany and conducting anatomic research as a senior post doc at the Institute of Anatomy at Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria, he earned one Ph.D. degree in Medical Sciences and one Ph.D. degree in Anatomy. In 2010, he began his residency in trauma surgery in Altoetting, Germany, and continued his academic career as an Associate Professor of Anatomy at Ross University in Dominica in 2015. In 2017, he joined Albany Medical College in Albany, New York, USA as Associate Professor of Anatomy, and received in 2023 his Full Professor of Anatomy from Mayo Clinic, Rochester (MN), USA. In 2023, he founded Cotofana Anatomy Corp, a company providing in-person and online anatomic education.
Professor Cotofana's scientific work focuses primarily on the clinical and applied anatomy of the face. His research has significantly improved the understanding of facial anatomy and has contributed to advances in plastic, maxillofacial, and aesthetic surgery by providing answers to important clinical questions. Through his unique approach of translational anatomy, he has successfully connected anatomical findings from cadaveric research with everyday clinical practice.
According to the Web of Science, SCOPUS and Google Scholar databases, Professor Cotofana is the author or co-author of more than 400 scientific articles. His publications have received more than 9,000 citations, resulting in a Hirsch index of 50. His academic profile is further strengthened by several highly regarded textbooks and monographs that have received international recognition. These include Facial and Nasal Anatomy (2022), Facial Anatomy - Layer by Layer (2025), Cotofana's Manual for Facial Anatomy Courses (2026), and The Anatomy of Beauty (2026). These books are based on exceptionally precise anatomical dissections and successfully combine detailed anatomical knowledge with practical applications in plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine.
Prof. Cotofana has received honorary professorships from Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom, from Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China, from the Medical University of Costa Rica (UCIMED), Costa Rica, and from Pirogov University in Moscow, Russia. He also holds visiting professorships at the University of Belgrade, Serbia and at Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Prof. Jason M. Organ, PhD, FAAA
Professor Organ is a Professor of Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Anatomical Sciences Education, the flagship education research journal of the American Association for Anatomy (AAA).
Professor Organ earned his BA and MA in Anthropology from the University of Missouri and his PhD in Functional Anatomy & Evolution from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is an evolutionary biologist, and science educator whose work spans skeletal biology, human and primate evolution, anatomy education, and scientific communication. A Fellow of AAA and former member of its Board of Directors, he has helped shape the association's educational, scholarly, and professional initiatives. He founded the AAA Science Communication Boot Camp, a professional development program that equips anatomists and biomedical scientists to engage effectively with the public, media, and policymakers, drawing on science advocacy frameworks developed by FASEB and communication training from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.
His research focuses on two primary areas: the relationship between muscle and bone structure in movement and feeding, and the communication of complex biomedical knowledge to public audiences. In the field of evolutionary biomechanics, Dr. Organ investigates how mammalian skeletal and muscular systems adapt to different locomotor behaviors, including bipedalism, quadrupedalism, knuckle-walking, and prehensile movement. His current work utilizes a mouse model of Osteogenesis Imperfecta to study structural and functional properties of bone and muscle. He also collaborates internationally with researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Sydney on projects related to science communication and public engagement.
Dr. Organ’s scholarship in teaching and learning emphasizes making anatomy and biomedical science more accessible to non-specialist audiences. His work explores inclusive and effective strategies for communicating scientific knowledge in educational and public contexts.
He is a member of several leading scientific organizations, including the American Association for Anatomy, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of Biological Anthropologists, Anatomical Society, Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists, Sigma Xi Research Society, and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Dr. Organ has received numerous awards recognizing excellence in teaching and research. In 2018, he was awarded the Basmajian Award by the American Association for Anatomy for outstanding contributions to anatomical education and biomedical research. He has also received multiple Trustees’ Teaching Awards from Indiana University and was inducted into the Faculty Academy for Excellence in Teaching (FACET). In 2024, he was named a Fellow of the American Association for Anatomy. He is also an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
