In Memoriam: Sid M. Khosla, 1962–2022

Sid (“Siddarth”) Khosla died unexpectedly in his sleep on December 13, 2022, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was 60 years old. Sid was nationally admired for his vocal fold and airway reconstruction expertise and was a dedicated mentor and respected leader in the voice research community. Sid was born in Roseville, Canada. His father was an oral surgeon, and his mother was an OB-GYN physician. Although his family knew he would follow in his parent's footsteps into the medical field, Sid decided to pursue his love for science first. He completed a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master's in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. His career in medicine began after receiving a medical degree in 1991 from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, followed by an otolaryngology residency and a fellowship in laryngology and voice disorders at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He joined the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine faculty in 2004 after 2 years with the Medical College of Ohio faculty in Toledo. As the first fellowship-trained laryngologist in the Cincinnati region, Sid grew the UC Health Performance and Professional Voice Center into a premier program. He treated and assisted people who use their voice professionally, including performers from the Cincinnati Opera, UC College-Conservatory of Music, the Cincinnati Symphony, and many performing artists traveling through the Cincinnati area. While at UC, Sid teamed with Ephraim Gutmark, PhD, an expert in jet noise and professor of aerospace engineering at the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science. Together, they founded the Laryngeal Biomechanics Lab to study how airflow affects the mechanism of vocal fold vibrations. Under his guidance, the lab was the first to measure flow distribution between the folds during phonation in a tissue model of the larynx. As a significant contribution to voice research, they showed that vortical structures (ie, vortices) form in the glottis during the closing phase. These intraglottal vortices augment the negative pressure near the superior aspect of the folds, hypothesized to act as a pulling (or suction) force. Sid's thesis proposed a new mechanism of voice production that was different from the conventional one and therefore was quite controversial. With NIH support, his tenacity, vision, and skills, Sid gained acceptance by the voice community, leading to the development of new clinical approaches. Sid was a rare individual for our times. He focused his intellectual curiosities on research, clinical care, and pedagogic activities. He also had passions for the arts, particularly opera, literature, and experimenting with various cuisines, which enabled him to break bread with a disparate and diverse group of friends. This humble, thoughtful, respectful, and gracious friend and colleague was a gift to the voice community. He will be missed by all who were fortunate to be touched by his time with us. Memorial Contributions will be used to establish the “Sid Khosla, MD Fund for Voice Sciences” to help continue his legacy of scientific advancement within the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati. Link to memorial contributions: https://foundation.uc.edu/Khosla. With acknowledgments to Ashok Khosla, Rebecca Howell, Ephraim Gutmark, and Myles Pensak for insight into Dr. Khosla's many contributions.