and academia.
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March 2024Southern Section Guest of Honor: Jennifer R. Grandis, MD, San Francisco, Calif.
Dr. Grandis is interested in the impact of gender on career development in medicine and science. In her institutional roles at the University of Pittsburgh and since 2015, at UCSF, she has facilitated collaborations between clinicians and investigators with an emphasis of developing a robust research infrastructure to support clinical and translational cancer studies. Her cancer research is focused on elucidating and targeting key signaling pathways and genomic alterations in head and neck cancer with the goal of enabling precision medicine studies. Dr. Grandis is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the National Academy of Medicine.
Western Section Citation Awardees: Dinesh K. Chhetri, MD, Los Angeles, Calif.
Dr. Chhetri is professor of head and neck surgery and vice chair of the department of head and neck surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His academic practice is focused on laryngology and head and neck surgery. He currently serves as director of the UCLA Swallowing Disorders Program, Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship Program, and the Laryngology Fellowship Program. He’s also the current president of the American Laryngological Association and is the associate editor for laryngology for The Laryngoscope. Additionally, he is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Head and
Neck Society.
Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD, Shreveport, La.
Dr. Nathan is the Jack Pou Endowed Professor and chair of the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at LSU–Health. She is also director of Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and Research at the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. She maintains a busy practice treating head and neck cancer, thyroid, parathyroid, and salivary gland tumors, and skin cancer, and she leads an active research team. She is recognized nationally and internationally for her seminal work on molecular analysis of surgical margins. Dr. Nathan is the immediate past president of the Association of Academic Depts. of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, the past president of the American Head and Neck Society, and the current vice president of the Southern Section.
Western Section Guest of Honor/Recipient, 11th Annual Patrick E. Brookhouser, MD, Award of Excellence: Gerald S. Berke, MD, Los Angeles, Calif.
Currently professor and chair emeritus in the UCLA Department of Head and Neck Surgery and director of the UCLA Voice Center for Medicine and the Arts, which he founded, Dr. Berke is considered by his peers to be an international authority on laryngeal physiology. Dr. Berke has authored over 175 papers in print and 30 grants based on laryngeal physiology and voice disorders in addition to mentoring numerous research fellows. He was on the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council for six years. He performed the first functioning larynx transplant in animals and developed the only surgical treatment for adductor spasmodic dysphonia. He pioneered many of the techniques now used by laryngologists to treat patients in an office setting.
Middle Section Citation Awardees: Andrew Georgilis, Cincinnati, Ohio
Georgilis graduated from Indiana University with a BS degree in paleobotany. After working for over 20 years in medical sales, including pharmaceuticals, capital equipment, and medical devices, he founded his own company, Bryan Medical. He initially worked as a distributor, selling tracheostomy tubes, instruments, and otolaryngology furniture. In 2014 he designed his first medical device; a silicone tracheostomy tube followed by a balloon dilatation catheter for the airway. He has since developed several other niche products focusing on the head and neck.
Dana M. Thompson, MD, Chicago, Ill.
Dr. Thompson serves as the Lauren D. Holinger Professor and chair of pediatric otolaryngology at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Her clinical interests include infant apnea, airway and extraesophageal manifestations of GERD, aerodigestive manifestations of eosinophilic esophagitis, oropharyngeal swallowing, airway protection, neurolaryngology, and innovative care access and delivery models. She is considered one of the world’s authorities on the surgical and medical management of laryngomalacia. She received the Mosher Award from the Triological Society, currently serves as the society’s assistant executive vice president, and was the previous chair of the thesis committee and vice president of the Middle Section.
Middle Section Guest of Honor: Claire K. Miller, PhD, MHA, Cincinnati, Ohio
Dr. Miller is the senior clinical director of the division of speech–language pathology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She holds an adjunct assistant professor appointment in the department of communication sciences and disorders at the University of Cincinnati and as