Practice Contact Information
170 Manning Drive
CB #7070 Haupt Building – G125
Chapel Hill
North Carolina
27599-7070
United States
Phone: 919 843 7091
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: https://www.med.unc.edu/ent/
Areas of surgical specialization in Head and Neck Surgery
Endocrine Surgery, Head and Neck Research, Head and Neck Surgeon
Biography/Statement
Wendell (Dell) Yarbrough was born and grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina before attending the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar. After graduating with honors with a dual degree Chemistry and Zoology, he matriculated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine attaining an MD with honors and distinction.
Dr. Yarbrough’s training in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery was also at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine where he was named the Nathan A. Womack Scholar in recognition of being the outstanding senior house officer. After completion of residency, he obtained a fellowship in Surgical Oncology under the direction of Drs. Edison Liu and Yue Xiong, and in 1996 was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. At the turn of the millennium, he was awarded the Jefferson Pilot Fellowship recognizing promising junior faculty at UNC School of Medicine. In 2001, Dr. Yarbrough was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure, and in 2003, he relocated to Vanderbilt University as Director of the Barry Baker Laboratory for Head & Neck Oncology and was later named the Barry Baker Professor. While at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Yarbrough attended the Vanderbilt-Owens School of Management earning a Masters of Management in Healthcare (MMHC). In 2012, Dr. Yarbrough was appointed the Section Chief of Otolaryngology at Yale where he also served as the Director of the Head & Neck Disease Center in the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Co-Director of the Virus and Other Infection-associated Cancers (VOIC) Program at the Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Yarbrough served on the Smilow Leadership Council and executive committee for the Yale Cancer Center. In 2017, he was awarded the Yale honorary master’s degree, the M.A. Privatim. In September of 2018, Dr. Yarbrough returned to UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine as the Thomas J. Dark Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Yarbrough is a diplomat of the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery (ABO-HNS) where he serves on the Executive Council. He has served on the Council of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) and on the Board of the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance (HNCA) and currently serves on the steering committee for the National Clinical Trials Network of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and on the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Tobacco Products and Cancer Subcommittee. He has been an active Head & Neck Cancer Researcher for more than two decades with a current focus on human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Recent findings from the Yarbrough lab have been translated into clinical trials. His lab partners with Dr. Issaeva as founders of the Head & Neck Oncology Laboratory at UNC and are focused on prognostic biomarkers and developing new therapies.
Clinical Trials
LCCC 2044 : Prospective observational study to validate circulating HPVDNA and prognostic genomic biomarkers in HPV-associated OPSCC.
The purpose of the trial is to validate biomarkers for early detection of recurrent cancer and for determining which subset of patients with HPV-associated head and neck cancer have a better prognosis. This information will be used to treat recurrences earlier and to select patients appropriate for less intensive or de-escalated therapy.
Bibliography
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/collections/mybibliography/