Triological Society’s 2025 Honorees and Thesis Award Winners: Celebrating remarkable surgeons at COSM 2025

At this year’s Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting in New Orleans, the Triological Society recognized Drs. Michael Hoa, Meredith Holcomb, and Peter A. Weisskopt with presidential citations. Dr. Cherie-Ann Nathan was chosen as the 2025 Ogura Lecturer, and Dr. Fred Telischi was Guest of Honor.

Michael Hoa, MD, earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine, completed his residency in otolaryngology at Wayne State University in Detroit, completed a neurotology fellowship at the House Ear Clinic in California, and trained under Neil Segil, PhD, in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32-funded Hearing and Communication Neurosciences Research Training Program at the University of Southern California. He later moved to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he has crafted a career as a surgeon-scientist, characterizing the role of the stria vascularis in hearing loss and adapting single-nucleus transcriptome approaches for the adult mouse and human inner ear.

Dr. Hoa’s clinical research program at the NIDCD has focused on developing a better understanding of Ménière’s disease and identifying novel and repurposable treatments for hearing loss in this setting. He has steadily risen to the rank of professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine in the department of otolaryngology, where he serves as both the director of the cochlear implant program and director of research, in addition to holding administrative roles and practicing the breadth and depth of neurotology/otology. Nationally, Dr. Hoa chairs the research committee for the American Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACIA) and that of the American Neurotology Society’s (ANS) diversity and inclusion committee, where he has organized and implemented an annual outreach event to high schoolers in the context of the national American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNSF) meeting starting in Nashville in 2023.

Meredith Holcomb, AuD, CCC-A, earned her AuD from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., and worked at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston before joining the University of Miami department of otolaryngology, where she is an associate professor and the director of the hearing implant program. She has two decades of experience as a cochlear implant audiologist, specializing in both pediatric and adult patients.

Dr. Holcomb is a current member of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing and a faculty member for the Institute for Cochlear Implant Training courses. She serves as a consultant for cochlear implant companies such as Cochlear Americas, Advanced Bionics, MED-EL, Akouos, and Hemideina. She is a past chair of the ACIA. Dr. Holcomb demonstrates a strong commitment to education, mentorship, and clinical research. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences on cochlear implantation candidacy, outcomes, and clinical efficiency.

Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD, earned her medical degree from the University of Bombay in Mumbai, India, completed her otolaryngology/head and neck surgery residency and head and neck fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she started her research career. Following her fellowship, she began her academic career at LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, where she is the Jack Pou Endowed Professor and chair of the department of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery. She is also director of head and neck oncologic surgery and research at the Feist–Weiller Cancer Center in Shreveport and has a gratis appointment in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology.

Dr. Nathan’s passion to improve outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer was the reason she moved from India. She is a surgeon-scientist who maintains a busy practice treating head and neck cancer, thyroid, parathyroid, salivary gland tumors, and skin cancer, and she also leads an active research team. The National Cancer Institute has funded her translational research since 2000, and her work focuses on targeted therapy for head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients. She is recognized internationally for her seminal work on the molecular analysis of surgical margins, has pioneered multi-institutional clinical trials using mTOR inhibitors in HNSCC patients, and has received NIH funding for chemoprevention of cancer with curcumin and has a patent for a curcumin chewing gum. Dr. Nathan has authored more than 270 articles for peer-reviewed journals, multiple textbooks, and encyclopedia chapters, and she’s been invited to present more than 240 national and international lectures.

Dr. Nathan is the immediate past president of the Association of Academic Departments of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery (AAD), the past president of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS), and the vice president-elect for the Southern Section of the Triological Society. She is a board member of the American Board of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery (ABO-HNS), AAO-HNSF,  and the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, a board of governors member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), a council member for the Society of University Otolaryngology (SUO), vice president of the U.S Collegium group, a committee member for Stand Up to Cancer, and has served on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) review committee, the steering committee for the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society-CDC HPV, and the Larynx Preservation Guideline Panel for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). She also chaired the ASTRO-ASCO-AHNS multidisciplinary meeting and was section editor for Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology.

Dr. Nathan has won numerous awards, including the 2024 Living Legends Hall of Distinction Award and the 2024 Women in Otolaryngology Helen F. Krause, MD Trailblazer Award from the AAO-HNSF, the 2020 Margaret Butler Outstanding Mentor of Women in Head and Neck Surgery Award from the AHNS, the Athena Award for community service from the Shreveport-Bossier Commerce Department, the Leonard Tow Humanism award from the Arnold Gold Foundation, and presidential citation and distinguished service awards from the AHNS, AAO-HNSF, and Western Section of the Triological Society. The Louisiana Board of Regents established two professorships initiated by grateful patients to honor her dedication and expertise—the Cherie-Ann Nathan Endowed Professorship in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and the Glass Nathan Endowed Professorship.

Fred Telischi, MD, MEE, earned his medical degree from the University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, completed his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, and completed his clinical neurotology fellowship at the House Ear Institute and Clinic in Los Angeles. Dr. Telischi has practiced academic neurotology for more than 30 years at the University of Miami Ear Institute. He joined the faculty at the University of Miami Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and helped to develop the comprehensive neurotology/lateral skull base/vestibular schwannoma surgery program with Dr. Thomas Balkany and colleagues.

Dr. Telischi has mentored residents, fellows, and Fulbright Scholars in otology/neurotology-related research. He was instrumental in establishing the nationally recognized UHealth Ear Institute’s Children’s Hearing Program. As chairman of the utilization management (UM) department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery for the last dozen years, Dr. Telischi has overseen the development and growth of the UM adult and pediatric auditory implantation program (cochlear and bone conduction), the genetic hearing loss research laboratories, a new U.S. auditory brainstem implantation site, inner ear drug delivery/cochlear preservation/auditory physiology laboratories, a biomedical engineering innovation laboratory, an auditory localization research booth, and the state-of-the-art microsurgical training facility.

He has also served as president of the ANS, chairman of the Implantable Auditory Devices Committee of the AAO-HNSF, board member of the ACIA, co-president of both the ACIA CI 2019 International Cochlear Implant Conference and the Osseo 2019 Biannual International Bone Conduction Scientific Symposium, and vice president of the Triological Society’s Southern Section.

Peter A. Weisskopf, MD, earned his medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine and completed an internship and flight surgeon training in the U.S. Navy. After an operational tour as a flight surgeon, he completed his residency in otolaryngology at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. He was then deployed overseas, serving as the department head of otolaryngology at the Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan. Following his tour in Japan, he entered his neurotology fellowship at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. He was in private practice in Phoenix, Ariz., working as the director of the neurotology section of the Barrow Neurological Institute. He recently left as chair of the otology division at Mayo Clinic Arizona and is serving as founder and director of EarVentures, a consulting and educational business focusing on ear and hearing technology as well as wilderness and austere medical care.

2025 Thesis Award Winners

Amal Isaiah, MD, PhD, received the Harris P. Mosher Award for his thesis, “Apolipoprotein E (APOE) Tenotype and Cognitive Outcomes of Sleep Disordered Breathing in a Large Cohort of Adolescents”. The award is given in recognition of the excellence of the candidate’s thesis in clinical research. This honor was created to perpetuate the ideals of the great teacher for whom it was named and to bestow upon a worthy recipient the responsibility of furthering the highest standards of perfection in the study, teaching, and practice of otolaryngology.

Lauren T. Roland, MD, MSCI, received the Edmund Prince Fowler Award for her thesis, “The Role of Proteases in Epithelial Dysregulation in Invasive Fungal Sinusitis.” The award is given in recognition of the excellence of the candidate’s thesis in basic research. This honor was created to perpetuate the ideals of the great teacher for whom it was named and to bestow upon a worthy recipient the responsibility of furthering the highest standards of perfection in the study, teaching, and practice of otolaryngology.

Deepa Shivnani, MD, MBBS, DNB, ENT, received the Maureen Hannley Award for her thesis, “Role of Pediatric Otolaryngologist in Pediatric Tracheostomy Code Blue Cases—A New Safety Initiative.” The award is given in recognition of the excellence of the candidate’s thesis in an alternative science category. This honor was created to honor Dr. Hannley’s contributions to and legacy in the Triological Society. She was the Society’s Thesis and Research Grants consultant from 2006 to 2015. Dr. Hannley worked with young researchers and mentored candidates for the Triological Fellowship, assisting them with the preparation of their theses.

Honorable Mention Clinical Science Research

Stephen R. Chorney, MD, MPH, for his thesis, “Cost-Utility Analysis of Intracapsular and Extracapsular Techniques for Pediatric Tonsillectomy”

Honorable Mention for Basic Science Research

Milan R. Amin, MD, for his thesis, “Chemoradiation Effects on Rat and Human Muscle Related to Swallowing”

With Distinction Awards

Mursalin M. Anis, MD, PhD, for his thesis “RNA Sequencing Provides Insight into Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis”

John Paul Giliberto, MD, for his thesis, “Gender and Academic Rank Disparities in Electronic Health Record Burden in Otolaryngologists from 46 Academic Institutions”

Denis C. Lafreniere, MD, MS, for his thesis, “Development of an Endotracheal Tube to Measure Posterior Laryngeal Pressure Related to Tube Size and Hypopharyngeal-Laryngeal Angle

Mirabelle B. Sajisevi, MD, for her thesis, “Practice Patterns in Management of Low to Intermediate Grade Salivary Gland Carcinoma: A Multi-Institutional, Multi-National Study”

Seckin O. Ulualp, MD, for his thesis, “Assessment of Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children Undergoing Adenotonsillectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea”

Thesis applications are due October 1 of each year. Visit Triological.org for information on the path to active fellowship.