The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1445Houston, TX 77030(713) 792-6924Ryan Goepfert, MD – Fellowship Director Amy Hessel, MD – Associate Fellowship Director Kelley Mikeska – Educational Coordinator
Program Email: [email protected]
Program Website |
Number of Fellowships: 4
Duration (in years) / Type: (1) 1-year clinical HNS (1) 1-year clinical HNS (international fellow) (1) 2-year research and clinical HNS (1) 2-year clinical HNS and PRS microvascular Faculty: Jeffrey N. Myers, MD, PhD (Chair) |
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Overview:
Our fellowship program is either one, two, or three years long. All of these programs are accredited by the Joint Council for Approval of Advanced Teaching in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology. The one-year fellowship is a pure clinical position that emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to the management of head and neck cancer. Surgical experience involves all aspects of head and neck surgical oncology, including skull base surgery, robotics, and other minimally invasive techniques. One of these 1-year positions is open to international fellow applicants outside of the US or Canada.
Another multi-year position provides one or two years of dedicated clinical, outcomes, basic science, and/or translational research and one year of clinical training. The research years are under the direct guidance of an appropriate mentor in the area of interest within the MDACC institution. In addition, the Randal S Weber Fellowship allows for a fully funded pursuit of a graduate degree such Master’s in Public Health or other health-service related field.
Lastly, there is a two-year fellowship combining a single year of head and neck surgical oncology with an additional year with the Plastic Surgery Department in microvascular reconstruction. This is a competitive and unique fellowship offering intensive training in each discipline, geared towards training leaders through an extremely high-volume and complex training in microvascular reconstruction.
The fellowship positions available in our department sometimes vary from year to year depending on which positions are held by the current fellows. Please e-mail Dr. Goepfert or Kelley Mikeska at [email protected] for further information regarding which positions are open for the upcoming fellowship year.
Objectives:
The goals and objectives of the MD Anderson Head and Neck Surgical Oncologic Fellowship are to train individuals to provide state of the art multidisciplinary care for patients with head and neck cancer, develop leaders in the field of head and neck oncologic surgery, and provide a rigorous academic experience in which fellows can participate in clinical, outcomes, translational, and/or basic science research under the guidance of a suitable mentor(s) with the proven goal of attaining support for future research endeavors upon the completion of training.
Strengths:
- Broad exposure to all head and neck cancer subsites with a wide variety of HNS faculty
- Strong focus on multidisciplinary evaluation, treatment and follow up including dedicated rotations with radiation and medical oncology
- Exposure and education related to ancillary services such as radiology, speech pathology, nutrition, dental oncology, and anaplastology
- Extensive exposure to surgical management of advanced upper aerodigestive, salivary gland, thyroid, skull base, skin and soft tissue malignancies including dedicated time with melanoma and sarcoma teams
- Full year of microvascular reconstructive surgical exposure with the 2-year combined HNS-PRS fellowship tract
- Classroom, cadaver, and simulator education for both TORS and endoscopic skull base
- Teaching and leadership opportunities with otolaryngology residents
- Comprehensive head and neck cancer Core and Didactic curriculum
Eligibility:
To be considered for a position, the candidate for the head and neck fellowship must have completed a residency program in Otolaryngology, General Surgery, or Plastic Surgery. Graduates of Oral Surgical Training who also have medical degrees (MD or equivalent) are also considered. The time frame must be equivalent to the requirement to become, at minimum, chief resident; and preferable, should have attained Board eligibility. Candidates must have completed at least PGY V level of surgical education. The candidates are selected through a process that involves review of a written application, including letters of reference from past mentors and program directors, followed by a personal interview.
All positions participate in the AHNS match unless otherwise posted. All interested US/Canadian or international fellowship applicants must be registered with the Match Program of the Advanced Training Council for Approval of Training in Head and Neck Oncology Surgery (sponsored by The American Head and Neck Society, AHNS) to be considered for a position. Any questions regarding eligibility for the AHNS match or fellowship should be directed to Kelley Mikeska and/or Ryan Goepfert.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Fellows’ Duties/Responsibilities:
For those fellows doing a 2- or 3-year fellowship, all time spent in non-clinical, research training is under the mentorship and supervision of faculty within the institution and associated with the Department of Head and Neck Surgery. During the clinical year, an HNS faculty mentor is assigned to every fellow for counseling and review of progress. The progress of every fellow is reviewed by the “Clinical Competency Committee” (CCC) biannually as recommended by the ACGME in addition to formal, quarterly meetings with the fellowship director using standardized evaluations. During the clinical year, the fellows’ primary responsibilities are in the field of patient care. The Department of Head and Neck Surgery faculty are divided into five clinical teams; each comprising of 4-5 surgeons. The fellows rotate through each of the teams twice throughout the year and have exposure to all faculty members equally during the 12 months of clinical fellowship. The fellows are leaders of the team and are expected to supervise residents as well as see new and follow-up patients in the clinic, manage the inpatient service including consultations for the clinical team. All of this management is supervised directly by faculty. While on each service, the fellow will have hands-on operative experience with each faculty in their areas of specialty or expertise. Fellows serve as first assistants or primary surgeons in the operating room with the faculty surgeon through a well-established system of graduated independence with structured feedback and constant supervision.
In addition to the hands-on experience in the operating room, clinic, and inpatient floor, the trainees are required to attend all educational activities of the week which include a Wednesday morning Didactic lecture and evening Core Curriculum lecture, and Friday morning teaching rounds. The subjects of the lectures and rounds are related to Head and Neck Oncology and related subspecialties and are meant to complement the practical learning. The theoretical instruction of the lecture series is well defined. The Didactic lectures are trainee-run grand round style lectures as well as literature reviews, clinic-radiologic-pathologic correlates, and morbidity/mortality conferences. The Core Curriculum lectures are given by faculty either from the MDACC staff or from guest lectures. The topics include a rotating two-year schedule of important topics for the Head and Neck oncology education. Furthermore, fellows are expected to participate in the weekly Head and Neck Oncology Planning Conference and encouraged to attend conference with faculty weekly or biweekly for melanoma, sarcoma, skull base, pediatrics, and endocrine. These all combine for an unparalleled, rich educational experience that leverages a large group of advanced practice providers (30+) spanning outpatient, inpatient, and overnight float to prioritize the high skill level of our fellows and their education over service needs whenever possible. Given that we prioritize education, “moonlighting” is not allowed.
Though the clinical year has no formal research expectation, these fellows are mentored according to their preference through any phase of clinical research that may be part of their future career. This frequently results in presentations at national meetings and several publications, though our hope and expectation are that fellows produce only a single, publishable manuscript. Research by fellows during clinical year(s) is largely up to the fellow but is heavily mentored and can also be a valuable opportunity if so desired by the fellow.
Research Opportunities:
The two-year position provides 1-2 years of dedicated clinical, outcomes, basic science, and/or translational research and one year of clinical training. The research years are under the direct guidance of an appropriate mentor in the area of interest within the MDACC institution. In addition, there are research tracts which allow for the pursuit of additional education such as a Master’s in Public Health. This is fully funded by the department with few exceptions through a large endowment as part of the Randal S. Weber Fellowship.
Supervision, Teaching & Call:
Each of the fellows will be exposed to and participate in the care of approximately 350-400 newly referred patients annually. The fellow will participate with the faculty in all decisions relative to the prescribed treatment. The fellow’s operative responsibility will be assigned commensurate with ability. Residents and medical students are also assigned to the team, giving the Head and Neck fellow the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and educational skills. Fellows are on call one week at a time every 5 weeks on average. Fellows are given autonomy to make their own call schedule and also to select weekly assignments in the clinic and operating room.
Vacation and Meetings: Fellows have 20 days of paid time off (PTO) to use at their discretion and are encouraged to take this time as it is a very busy clinical year. The department will support (i.e., pay for costs including flight, lodging, meeting registration) fellows to attend a single national meeting without requirement of fellow presentation in the meeting. Otherwise, we will support fellows to attend any national meeting (it could be multiple meetings) at which their MD Anderson research is accepted for presentation. Additionally, we support attendance of the annual TORS course provided by the AHNS and have also supported past fellows to attend skull base courses (sometimes in addition to the MD Anderson course) and thyroid courses. Lastly, in coordination with our colleagues in Toronto and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, we run an annual Current Concepts Course in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology that alternates between Houston, New York City, and Toronto. Our fellows are supported to attend this conference as well. Any time spent attending meetings or presenting research does not deduct from PTO. The department has a long history of broadly and generously supporting fellow participation and attendance to academic meetings, which is a truly unique aspect of the training.
PAST FELLOWS
1997-2000 Erich M. Sturgis, MD, MPH – Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
1998-2000 Paul M. Spring, MD – Otolaryngology-HNS, Metairie, LA
1998-2001 Amy Y. Chen, MD – Emory University, Atlanta, GA
1999-2000 Amy C. Hessel, MD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
1999-2001 Eric J. Lentsch, MD – Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
1999-2001 Mike Yao, MD – Mount Sinai, Scarsdale, NY
2001-2003 Hernan E. Gonzalez, MD, PhD – Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago Chile
2001-2003 Christopher Holsinger, MD – Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
2001-2003 Bryan Potter, MD – Island Hospital, Anacortes, WA
2002-2003 Christian Simon, MD – Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
2002-2004 Kristen B. Pytynia, MD, MPH – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2002-2004 Bradley A. Schiff, MD – Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
2003-2006 Seungwon Kim, MD – University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2003-2006 Thomas D. Shellenberger, MD – Banner Hospital, Phoenix, AZ
2004-2005 William J. Harb, MD – Cumberland Surgical Associates, Nashville, TN
2004-2005 Kenneth A. Newkirk, MD – Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC
2004-2006 Michael E. Kupferman, MD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2005-2007 – Fernando Gomez-Rivera, MD – UT Physicians, Houston, TX
2005-2008 Andrew Sikora, MD, PhD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2006-2007 Allison D. Lupinetti, MD – Otolaryngology-HNS, Albany, NY
2006-2009 Chad E. Galer, MD – VA Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN
2007-2008 Gabriel Calzada, MD – Kaiser Permanente, Downey, CA
2007-2008 Umamaheswar Duvvuri, MD – University of Pittsburg Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2008-2009 Yitzchak E. Weinstock, MD – Kelsey-Seybold, Houston, TX
2008-2010 Genevieve A. Andrews, MD – Temple University, Pittsburg, PA
2008-2010 Carol M. Lewis, MD, MPH – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2009-2010 David Grant, MD – Otolaryngology-HNS, Fort Smith, AR
2009-2011 Mihir K. Bhayani, MD – North Shore Medical Center, Chicago, IL
2009-2012 Thomas J. Ow, MD – Albert Einstein University, Bronx, NY
2010-2011 Charley E. Coffey, MD – University of California – San Diego, San Diego, CA
2010-2011 Mark E. Zafereo, MD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2010-2012 Rafael O. Toro-Serra, MD – University of Florida at Orlando, Orlando, FL
2011-2012 Shirley Y. Su, MBBS – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2011-2014 David M. Neskey, MD – Medical Univ. of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
2012-2013 Steve S. Chang, MD – Henry Ford University, Detroit, MI
2012-2013 Constance Teo, MD – Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
2012-2014 Marcus M. Monroe, MD – University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
2013-2014 Jonathan R. George, MD – University of California – San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
2013-2015 Rami Saad, MD – American University Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
2014-2015 Ming Yann Lim, MD – Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
2014-2015 Wojech K. Mydlarz, MD – Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD
2014-2016 Natalie L. Silver, MD – University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2015-2016 Harold Heah, MD – Otolaryngology-HNS, Singapore
2015-2016 Vlad C. Sandaluche, MD, PhD – Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
2015-2017 Ryan P. Goepfert, MD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2016-2017 Samantha Tam, MD, MPH – Henry Ford Cancer Center, Detriot, MI
2016-2017 Marietta Tan, MD – Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
2016-2018 Moran Amit, MD, PhD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2017-2018 Karen Choi, MD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2017-2018 Jennifer Wang, MD, PhD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2018-2019 Eugene Sansoni, MD – University of Tennessee-Memphis, Memphis, TN
2018-2020 Anastasios Maniakas, MD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2019-2020 Theresa Guo, MD – University of California, San Diego, CA
2019-2020 Kimberly Kiong, MD – Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
2020-2021 Tanner Fullmer, MD – Ascension Health-Columbia St. Mary’s, Milwaukee, WI
2020-2021 Jobran Mansour, MD – LSU Health, Shreveport, LA
2020-2021 Evan Walgama, MD – St. John’s Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, CA
2019-2022 Xiao Zhao, MD, PhD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2021-2022 Collin Mulcahy, MD – Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX
2021-2022 Jared Shenson, MD – Orlando Health, Orlando, FL
2021-2023 Dan Yaniv, MD – Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel
2022-2023 Mica Glaun, MD – Baptist Health, Boca Raton, FL
2022-2023 Albert Han, MD, PhD – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
2022-2023 Curtis Hanba, MD – University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
2023-2024 Ranim Alsharif, MBBS – King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2023-2024 Jessica Tang, MD – Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA
2023-2024 Jennifer Anderson, MD, PhD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2024-2025 Mira Innab, MD – East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom
2024-2025 Kenji Kobayashi, MD – Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2024-2025 Shorook Na’ara, MD, PhD – UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
2024-2026 Isabelle Fournier, MD – Anticipated graduation June 2026
2024-2026 Thomas Townes, MD – Anticipated graduation June 2026
2025-2026 Isobel O’Riordan, MB Bch – Anticipated graduation June 2026
2025-2026 Robert Saddowi-Konefka, MD – Anticipated graduation June 2026
2025-2027 Candace Edmond, MD – Anticipated graduation June 2027
2025-2027 Isabelle Jang, MD – Anticipated graduation June 2027
PAST FELLOWS HEAD AND NECK SURGICAL ONCOLOGY AND MICROVASCULAR RECONSTRUCTION:
2004-2006 Christopher Klem, MD – The Queen’s Medical Center, Honolulu, HI
2006-2009 Mauricio A. Moreno, MD – University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
2007-2010 Zvonimir Milas, MD – Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC
2012-2015 Andrew T. Huang, MD – Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
2014-2016 Steven B. Chinn, MD – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
2015-2017 Jamie A. Ku, MD – Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
2016-2018 Ashley Mays, MS – LSU Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, LA
2017-2019 Faisal Ahmad, MD – MD Anderson Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL
2018-2020 Christopher Yao, MD – Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
2019-2021 Yelda Jozaghi, MD – Continuing Training at University of Toronto
2020-2022 Laura Minhui Kim, MD – Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX
2021-2023 Kevin Contrera, MD – University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2022-2024 Alexandra Belcastro, MD – Duke University, Durham, NC
2023-2025 Thomas Townes, MD – Anticipated graduation date June 2026