Otolaryngology Resident and Fellowship Updates

High achievers earn new opportunities in research and clinical care

Innovations in Ear, Nose & Throat | Winter 2020

 Sarah Mowry, MD

The mission of the otolaryngology medical education program at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has remained steadfast: to train future leaders in the full spectrum of ENT clinical care, surgical management and academic research. During the past year, University Hospitals fellows, residents and medical students have embarked on exciting opportunities — matching to fellowships, accepting appointments and presenting transformational research findings.

“Our program produces physicians who not only provide excellent clinical care, but are also committed to scientific inquiry,” says Sarah Mowry, MD, Residency Program Director and Interim Director of the Division of Otology/Neurotology, UH Cleveland Medical Center, and Associate Professor, Otolaryngology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “I am extremely proud of this group of young ENT leaders and their accomplishments over the past year.”

ACADEMIC MEDICINE

 Arminé Kocharyan, MD

PGY4 resident Arminé Kocharyan, MD, is the recipient of a prestigious ANS Trainee Award (Basic Science), presented by the American Neurotology Society for her work in the lab of Kumar Alagramam, PhD, Director of Research, University Hospitals Ear, Nose & Throat Institute, and professor and Anthony J. Maniglia Chair for Research and Education, School of Medicine. Dr. Kocharyan focused on repurposing an approved drug to prevent deafness in Usher syndrome type 3A. She will present her research at the 2020 Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings (COSM) in Atlanta, Georgia.

PGY2 resident Benjamin Johnson, MD, was awarded a $20,000 grant from the American Hearing Research Foundation to apply to his PGY3 research block. Dr. Johnson is also working in the lab of Dr. Alagramam, studying antimalarial artesunate as a novel treatment to mitigate hearing loss associated with Usher syndrome type 3A. “This is quite an accomplishment for a resident because this grant is typically reserved for junior faculty or postdoctoral candidates,” says Dr. Mowry.

 Benjamin Johnson, MD

Additionally, a number of medical students and residents will be presenting at upcoming national-level scientific and clinical meetings this spring, including the American Cochlear Implant Alliance CI2020 International in Orlando, Florida, and COSM.

NEXT STEPS

John Garneau, MD, current fellow in head and neck and microvascular reconstructive surgery, has accepted a position with the head and neck faculty at the University of Virginia. Dr. Garneau is a graduate of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed a residency in otolaryngology at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.

After completing his final year of residency, Gary Huang, MD, will enter private practice with Summa Health, an Akron, Ohio-based health system with more than 30 locations. Dr. Huang is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois.

Clare Richardson, MD, has matched in a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Richardson is a graduate of Arizona State University and earned her medical degree at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California.

After completing her residency, Jeanie Sozansky Lujan, MD, will complete a fellowship in facial plastics under plastic surgeon Jose E. Barrera, MD. Dr. Sozansky Lujan is a graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, and earned her medical degree at Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio.

After completing his residency, Andrew Stein, MD, will pursue a laryngology fellowship at the University of Michigan. Dr. Stein is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and earned his medical degree at the University of Wisconsin.

FORMER RESIDENTS RETURN TO UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS

 Colby Brown, MD

 John Gerka-Stuyt, MD

 Akina Tamaki, MD

Nauman Manzoor, MD, will join the UH faculty this summer. He completed his residency in otolaryngology at UH and is currently a second-year Glasscock Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Last summer, all five graduating otolaryngology residents matched to prestigious one-year fellowships. Now, three of the five have elected to return to UH upon completion of their fellowships this summer. “We are thrilled to have three of our residents want to come back to join our faculty and extend the reach of our otolaryngology care into our communities,” says Dr. Mowry. “Their choice to return to UH speaks highly of the quality of our program and the depth of our clinical, surgical and research opportunities.”

W. Colby Brown, MD, will return to UH this summer to expand ENT and rhinology care at University Hospitals Parma Medical Center. He is currently completing a fellowship in rhinology and anterior skull base surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

John Gerka Stuyt, MD, will extend the reach of UH ENT and rhinology care into Akron, Ohio. He is currently completing a fellowship in rhinology and anterior skull base surgery at the University of California, Irvine.

Akina Tamaki, MD, will join UH after completing a fellowship in head and neck ablative and reconstructive surgery at The Ohio State University. Dr. Tamaki will see patients with head and neck cancer at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center.

LOOKING AHEAD

The incoming class of otolaryngology residents will match to UH in mid-March. “The quality of this year’s applicants was outstanding,” says Dr. Mowry. Of the 453 applicants for the residency program, 53 were granted interviews for the four positions available in 2020-2021.

Additionally, candidates for a position as the next microvascular fellow are being reviewed by Nicole Fowler, MD, Associate Program Director, Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Reconstruction, UH Cleveland Medical Center, and Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, and Rod Rezaee, MD, Director, Head and Neck Surgery, Director, Head and Neck Reconstructive Surgery, UH Cleveland Medical Center, and Associate Professor, Otolaryngology, School of Medicine. That position will match this coming July.

To contact Sarah Mowry regarding ENT Medical Education, call 216-868-8943.