American Head & Neck Society

Advancing Education, Research, and Quality of Care for the Head and Neck oncology patient.

Stanford University School of Medicine – Endocrine

Stanford University School of Medicine – Endocrine
Stanford University Medical Center
875 Blake Wilbur, CC-2225A
Stanford, CA 94305-6564
(650) 736-1680

Lisa Orloff, MD, FACS, FACE – Fellowship Director
Tausha Richardson – Coordinator

 

Program Website

 Number of Fellowships: 1
Duration (in years) / Type: 1 year / Clinical
Faculty:
Head and Neck Surgery:
Lisa A. Orloff, MD, FACS, FACE
Julia Noel, MD, FACS
John B. Sunwoo, MD
Chris Holsinger, MD
Fred Baik, MD
Vasu Divi, MD
Davud Sirjani, MD		 Speech Pathology: Heather Starmer, MA, SLP
Endocrinology: Chrysoula Dosiou, MD, Marina Basina, MD, Kanisha Desai, MD, Julie Chen, MD, Elizabeth McAninch, MD
Medical Oncology: Alexander D. Colevas, MD, Saad Khan, MD
Radiation Oncology: Quynh-Thu Li, MD, Beth Beadle, MD, Michael Gensheimer, MD
Radiology (Nuclear Medicine): Andrei Iagaru, MD, Carina Mari, MD, Benjamin Franc, MD
Radiology (Neuroradiology): Nancy Fischbein, MD
Pathology: Christina Kong, MD, Brittany Holmes, MD, Michael Ozawa, MD

 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Overview: Our endocrine-focused head and neck surgery fellowship (HNES) is distinct from but coordinated with our established head and neck oncologic surgery fellowship (HNOS) at Stanford. Because of a growing burden of disease, sophistication of treatment, and demand for expertise in endocrine head and neck surgical care, the Endocrine Head and Neck Surgery fellowship offers advanced training for candidates who wish to provide state of the art, comprehensive management of thyroid and parathyroid disease. The fellowship is centered around training in clinical decision-making, ultrasonography, thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy, central and lateral neck dissection, revision surgery, management of invasive malignancy, remote-access approaches and office-based procedures including radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This framework is complemented by exposure to the spectrum of head and neck surgical oncology and nonsurgical disciplines that provide diagnostic and therapeutic care of, as well as research and teaching in, endocrine and oncologic diseases  in the head and neck.

Objectives:

  • to provide comprehensive training of endocrine head and neck surgical fellows in the surgical, nonsurgical interventional and medical management of thyroid and parathyroid disease.
  • to foster a multidisciplinary approach to the care of endocrine diseases of the head and neck through collaboration with specialists in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, general surgery/endocrine surgery, endocrinology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology/nuclear medicine, pathology, thoracic surgery, and speech-language pathology.
  • to cultivate sound decision-making and technical expertise, encourage teaching, and develop a framework of scientific discovery through learning within the environment of a leading multidisciplinary NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Strengths:

  • mentorship by renowned specialists who form an expert multidisciplinary team within a world-class university
  • unique opportunity to learn office-based ultrasonography and ultrasound-guided procedures, including RFA and PEI of thyroid disease, from leaders in the field
  • high-volume, high-variety endocrine surgical experience that incorporates both tertiary care and community-based practices
  • collegial environment with passionate teachers
  • tremendous variety of clinical and translational research opportunities and resources
  • exposure beyond endocrine surgery to the full spectrum of head and neck surgery, both ablative and reconstructive
  • multidisciplinary tumor boards in head and neck, thyroid/parathyroid, skull base, and melanoma

Eligibility: Completion of training in an accredited residency program, in the United States or Canada, in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery or General Surgery. Equivalently trained international candidates who have passed the USMLE and hold a certificate from the ECFMG are also given strong consideration. A California state medical license is required before the start of fellowship.

Fellows’ Duties/Responsibilities: Clinical: The fellow will have attending privileges with an appointment as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. The fellow participates in all aspects of the management of patients with thyroid and parathyroid diseases, under faculty supervision and for their own clinic patients.  In addition to surgery and outpatient and inpatient care, activities include:

  • Extensive training and exposure to head and neck ultrasonography and ultrasound-guided procedures
  • Participation in weekly Head and Neck Tumor Board, biweekly Thyroid Tumor Board, and head and neck surgery-related didactic activities in the department
  • Structured rotations in Cytology and Pathology, Radiology (ultrasonography and nuclear medicine), Endocrinology, and Medical Oncology

The endocrine (HNES) fellow will have complimentary rotations with the head and neck oncologic surgery (HNOS) fellow at Stanford. For a total of 8 weeks, the two fellows will exchange roles relative to ablative surgical cases, while maintaining their routine recurring activities (their own clinics and tumor boards). This will ensure that the HNOS fellow has adequate exposure to endocrine surgery and that the HNES fellow benefits from increased exposure to the breadth of head and neck surgery and the respective faculty at Stanford.

Research: The fellow is expected to take primary responsibility for at least one clinical research project during fellowship, in collaboration with a head and neck surgery faculty mentor, with expected presentation at a national meeting and publication in a peer-reviewed journal.  Funds will be available for the fellow to attend the annual meetings of the American Head and Neck Society and the American Thyroid Association, including the Ridgway Trainees’ Conference.

Research Opportunities:  The home of six Nobel Prize Laureates in Medicine, Chemistry and Biology, the Stanford University School of Medicine provides an unparalleled opportunity for research. Head and Neck Surgery faculty research includes NIH-funded basic and translational research in cancer stem cell biology and cancer immunology; molecular imaging; national clinical trials including RTOG and ECOG trials; thyroid cancer epidemiology partnering with bioinformatics and population science experts; and constantly evolving and diverse clinical research. The Stanford Thyroid Tumor Program participates in the Thyroid Cancer Care Collaborative, and Stanford Medicine Research IT offers many tools and databases that enable conducting data driven clinical research, including STARR (Stanford Medicine Research Data Repository, formerly known as STRIDE, or Stanford Translational Research Integrated Database Environment), REDCap (NIH supported), Cohort Discovery Tool, and Stanford Bio-X.

Supervision, Teaching & Call:  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. The fellow is responsible for teaching and assisting residents and medical students during rounds, clinics, lectures and conferences, and in the operating room.

Call is typically a total of 2 one-week call assignments per year, in rotation with attending faculty in the Department of Otolaryngology. The fellow also serves as the daytime consult attending for one day of each week.

PAST FELLOWS

Kyle Hannabass, MD (incoming Fellow 2021-2022)
Cassandra Puccinelli, MD (2020-2021)
Julia Noel, MD (2018-2019) – Assistant Professor, Stanford University