Awards and Achievements
September 2020
Brooke Su-Velez (R5) will pursue her fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Stanford.
Kyle Hannabass (R5) will pursue his fellowship in AHNS Endocrine Surgery at Stanford.
August 2020
Albert Han (R4) was selected to receive a JCCC Research Fellowship Grant Award.
Brooke Su-Velez (R5) was selected as one of the top ten finalists for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2020 Resident Award for Exemplary Teaching.
Shabnam Ghazizadeh (R5) will pursue her fellowship in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery with the renowned Dr. Corey Maas.
June 2020
Thad Vickery (R3) was awarded the Cohen-Geller Award in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Thad Vickery was selected to receive the ARS Resident Research Grant,
Kristen Echanique (R2) has been selected to receive a 2019-2020 Excellence in Teaching with Humanism Residents and Fellows Award.
Albert Han (R3) was selected to receive the AHNS Alando J. Ballantyne Resident Research Pilot Grant for his proposal entitled Tumor immune microenvironment in HPV-related orophatyngeal cancer..
March 2020
Shabnam Ghazizadeh (R4) has received an AAO-HNS/F Resident Leadership Grant to attend the 2020 AAO-HNS/F Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting
October 2019
Ashley Kita (R5), Dr. Maie St. John, Dr. Daniel Kamei and Daniel Bradbury were awarded $50,000 for Innovations in Head & Neck Surgery as part of the UCLA Innovation Challenge.
June 2019
Brooke Su (R3) was awarded the Cohen-Geller Award in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
January 2019
Ashley Kita (R4) placed first and Dr. Hassan Nasser (R4) placed second at the 87th Midwinter Conference of the Research Study club. Both residents presented as part of the resident research segment of the weekend. Their talks were titled "Point-of-Care Detection of Cerebrospinal Fluid" and "Use of Sublingual Curcumin for Treatment of Head and Neck Carcinoma" respectively.
June 2018
Hassan Nasser (R3) was awarded the Cohen-Geller Award in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles
April 2018
Jose Alonso (R1), Thomas Heineman (R3), Albert Han (R1) and their teammates won the TRIO first place poster award.
Kathryn Noonan (House fellow) received the Neurotology Fellow Research Award from the American Neurotology Society at COSM in Washington DC. She conducted her research at the NIDCD National Temporal Bone Laboratory at UCLA using the archival human temporal bone specimens.
November 2017
Ashley Kita (R3), Floyd Buen (R3) and Kyle Hannabass (R2) were awareded the Consultants of the Semester Award by the UCLA Ronald Reagan Olive View Emergency Medicine Residency Program. The award is based on nominations from residents and faculty within the Emergency Medicine department.
March 2017
Ashley Kita (R2) was selected to share her work as part of the annual Longmire Day put on by the UCLA Longmire Society.
June 2016
Kelly Pettijohn (R3) was awarded the Cohen-Geller Award in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Ashley Kita (R1) was awarded a $10,000 Core grant by the AAO-HNSF for her project titled "Point of care CSF detection."
May 2016
Andrew Vahabzadeh-Hagh (R4) was awarded 2nd Place Poster Price at the Triological Society 2016 Combined Sections Meeting. He was recognized for his poster "Stem Cell therapy in a Model of dysphagia secondary to tongue fibrosis", which was coauthored with Dr. Alex Goal, Dr. Gerald Berke, and Dr. Jennifer Long.
Dr. Vahabzadeh-Hagh was also awarded the ALA Resident Research Award for his work "Changes in Three Dimensional Geometry of the Vocal Fold Medical Surface Resulting form Individual and Combined Intrinsic Laryngeal Muscle Activiation", coauthored with Dr. Zhaoyan Zhang and Dr. Dinesh Chhetri.
Sophie Shay (R4) was awarded Third Place for the ASPO Charles Ferguson Award for the best clinical research manuscript at COSM. The award recognizes her work "Pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis following intubation: national incidence and trends" and her team, including Dr. Nina Shapiro.
April 2016
Eduard Kuan (R4) received the Outstanding early career abstract award at the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery (ASLMS).
September 2015
Sophie Shay (R4) was awarded the Shirley Baron Resident Research Award and Triological Society Resident Travel Award at the Triological Society 2016 Combined Sections Meeting in Miami, FL. The Baron award was given for her paper titled "Pediatric otolaryngologic conditions: racial and socioeconomic disparities in the United States" which was coauthored with Dr. Nina Shapiro and Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya.
Edward Kuan (R4) was awarded top-rated poster in a collaborative poster with Dr. Maie St. John and Dr. Keith Blackwell titled "Total Glossectomy Characteristics and Outcomes: The UCLA Experience" at the AAO-HNS/F Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Dallas, TX.
June 2015
Joshua Au (R3) was awarded the Cohen-Geller Award in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
May 2015
Edward Kuan (R3) was elected as the Resident/Fellow board representative of the American Society for Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (ASLMS) for the 2015-17 term.
January 2015
Congratulations to residents Dr. Mallen-St. Clair (R4), Dr. Pesce (R4), and Dr. Kuan (R3) on being appointed AAO-HNS CORE Study Section Reviewers for 2015.
UCLA Head and Neck Surgery won first place in the Resident Bowl at the 2015 Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting, for an unprecedented 4th consecutive year! Congratulations to our resident team, Dr. Tajudeen, Dr. Peng, and Dr. Kuan.
October 2014
Soroush Zaghi (R5) won Best Research Poster in the Surgery, Sleep, and Breathing Poster Presentation and Competition. 6th International Surgery, Sleep & Breathing Symposium, Oct 2014.
August 2014
Ed Kuan (R3) was awarded a Resident Leadership Grant, 2014 Annual AAO-HNS/F Meeting
July 2014
Resident Publications from July 2013 - June 2014:
Caicedo-Granados E, Beswick DM, Christopoulos A, Cunningham DE, Razfar A, Ohr JP, Heron DE, Ferris RL. Oncologic and functional outcomes of partial laryngeal surgery for intermediate-stage laryngeal cancer. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Feb;148(2):235-42.
Camacho M, Zaghi S, Certal V, Abdullatif J, Means C, Acevedo J, Liu S, Brietzke SE, Kushida C, Capasso R. "Development and Validation of the Inferior Turbinate Classification System: Grades 1-4". Submitted to Laryngoscope. May 2014.
Certal V, Zaghi S, Riaz M, Guilleminault C, Capasso R, Camacho M. "Hypoglossal nerve stimulation in the treatment of OSA: a systematic review and meta-analysis". Submitted to Chest. April 2014.
Chhetri DK, Neubauer J, Bergeron JL, Sofer E, Peng KA, Jamal N. Effects of asymmetric superior laryngeal nerve stimulation on glottic posture, acoustics, vibration. Laryngoscope. 2013 Dec;123(12):3110-6.
Ching HH, Mendelsohn AH, Liu IY, Long J, Chhetri DK, Berke GS. A Comparative Study of Cricotracheal Resection and Staged Laryngotracheoplasty for Adult Subglottic Stenosis. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2014 Oct 14.
DeConde AS, Lee MK, Sidell D, Aghaloo T, Lee M, Tetradis S, Low K, Elashoff D, Grogan T, Sepahdari AR, St John M. Defining the critical-sized defect in a rat segmental mandibulectomy model. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014 Jan;140(1):58-65.
Deconde AS, Vira D, Thompson CF, Wang MB, Bergsneider M, Suh JD. Radiologic assessment of the paranasal sinuses after endoscopic skull base surgery. J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. 2013 Dec;74(6):351-7.
DeConde AS, Thompson CF, Wu EC, Suh JD. Systematic review and meta-analysis of total intravenous anesthesia and endoscopic sinus surgery. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2013 Oct;3(10):848-54.
Elbuluk O, Shiba T, Shapiro NL. Laryngomalacia presenting as recurrent croup in an infant. Case Rep Otolaryngol. 2013;2013:649203.
Fan J, Park H, Lee MK, Bezouglaia O, Fartash A, Kim J, Aghaloo T, Lee M. Adipose-derived stem cells and BMP-2 delivery in chitosan-based 3D constructs to enhance bone regeneration in a rat mandibular defect model. Tissue Eng Part A. 2014 Aug;20(15-16):2169-79.
Farahnik B, Zaghi S, Gopen Q. (2014) Rusty Green Stained Temporal Bone Associated with Exposure to Tetracycline: An Unusual Presentation of Black Bone Disease. Journal of Otology and Laryngology. Accepted April 2014.
Hendizadeh L, Zaghi S, Guzman C, Haydel D, Koempel, J. (2013). A rudimentary tragus in the nasopharynx: Case report, literature review, and discussion of embryologic development. International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 77(8), 1378-1380. August 2013.
Hendizadeh L, Zaghi S, Haydel D, Farnoosh S, Koempel J. (2014) Concurrent Thyroglossal Duct Cyst and Dermoid Cyst in a Pediatric Patient. Otology & Rhinology. January 2014.
Lee MK, DeConde AS, Lee M, Walthers CM, Sepahdari AR, Elashoff D, Grogan T, Bezouglaia O, Tetradis S, St John M, Aghaloo T. Biomimetic scaffolds facilitate healing of critical-sized segmental mandibular defects. Am J Otolaryngol. 2015 Jan-Feb;36(1):1-6.
Liu YF, Ahmed S, Bhuta S, Sercarz JA. Infarction of papillary thyroid carcinoma after fine-needle aspiration: case series and review of literature. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014 Jan;140(1):52-7.
Maccabi A, Arshi A, Garritano J, Saddik G, Kohanbash E, Tajudeen BA, St John M, Grundfest WS, Taylor ZD. Ultrasound-stimulated vibro-acoustography for high-resolution differentiation based on viscoelastic properties of tissue mimicking phantoms. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2014;196:262-4.
Mahboubi H, Salibian AA, Wu EC, Patel MS, Armstrong WB. Contributing factors to adoption of electronic medical records in otolaryngology offices. Laryngoscope. 2013 Nov;123(11):2658-63.
Muller PA, Dhamne SC, Vahabzadeh-Hagh AM, Pascual-Leone A, Jensen FE, Rotenberg A. Suppression of motor cortical excitability in anesthetized rats by low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 19;9(3):e91065.
Nguyen KD, Mowlds D, Lopez IA, Hosokawa S, Ishiyama A, Ishiyama G. Mu-opioid receptor (MOR) expression in the human spiral ganglia. Brain Res. 2014 Nov 24;1590:10-9. Epub 2014 Sep 30.
Peng KA, Feinstein AJ, Salinas JB, Chhetri DK. Utility of the Transnasal Esophagoscope in the Management of Chemoradiation-Induced Esophageal Stenosis. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2014 Sep 15.
Peng KA, Vorasubin N, Sepahdari AR, Ishiyama A. Metastatic Breast Cancer Presenting as a Jugular Foramen Mass. Otol Neurotol. 2014 Jun 9. Epub ahead of print.
Peng KA, Kita AE, Suh JD, Bhuta SM, Wang MB. Sinonasal lymphoma: case series and review of the literature. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2014 Aug;4(8):670-4.
Sanderson AR, Wu EC, Liaw LH, Garg R, Gangnes RA. The effect of topical anesthetic hydration on the depth of thermal injury from the plasma skin regeneration device. Lasers Surg Med. 2014 Feb;46(2):127-31.
Shay S, Shapiro NL, Bhattacharyya N. Revisit rates and diagnoses following pediatric tonsillectomy in a large multistate population. Laryngoscope. 2014 Jun 17.
Tajudeen BA, Fuller J, Lai C, Grogan T, Elashoff D, Abemayor E, St John M. Head and neck sarcomas: the UCLA experience. Am J Otolaryngol. 2014 Jul-Aug;35(4):476-81.
Thompson CF, Suh JD, Liu Y, Bergsneider M, Wang MB. Modifications to the endoscopic approach for anterior skull base lesions improve postoperative sinonasal symptoms. J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. 2014 Feb;75(1):65-72.
Thompson CF, Bhuta SM, Abemayor E. Solitary fibrous tumor of the hypopharynx: case report and literature review. Am J Otolaryngol. 2013 Sep-Oct;34(5):545-7.
Thompson CF, Kim BJ, Lai C, Grogan T, Elashoff D, St John MA, Wang MB. Sinonasal rhabdomyosarcoma: prognostic factors and treatment outcomes. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2013 Aug;3(8):678-83.
Vorasubin N, Vira D, Suh JD, Bhuta S, Wang MB. Schneiderian papillomas: comparative review of exophytic, oncocytic, and inverted types. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2013 Jul-Aug;27(4):287-92.
Vorasubin N, Vira D, Jamal N, Chhetri DK. Airway management and endoscopic treatment of subglottic and tracheal stenosis: the laryngeal mask airway technique. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2014 Apr;123(4):293-8.
Zaghi S, Danesh J, Hendizadeh L, Nabili V, Blackwell KE. (2013). Changing indications for maxillomandibular reconstruction with osseous free flaps: A 17-year experience with 620 consecutive cases at UCLA and the impact of osteoradionecrosis. The Laryngoscope. October 2013.
Zaghi S, Pouldar D, Lai C, Chhetri DK. (2013). Subglottic presentation of a rare tumor: primary or metastatic?. JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, 139(7), 739-740. July 2013.
June 2014
Travis Shiba (R3) was awarded an AAO-HNSF CORE Resident Research Award
Irene Kim, MD (R3) was awarded the Cohen-Geller Award for Best Resident Performance at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for the 2013-14 academic year.
May 2014
At the May 2014 American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO), Combined Otolaryngological Spring Meeting (COSM), Dr. Sophie Shay (R2) was awarded Third place for the Charles Ferguson Clinical Research Award for her paper titled, Revisit rates and diagnoses following pediatric tonsillectomy in a large, multistate population.
Dr. Sophie Shay (R2) was awarded Excellence in patient centered care at the Veteran's Affairs Hospital-West LA.
January 2014
UCLA won first place in the Resident Bowl at the 2014 Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting, for the third consecutive year! Congratulations to our resident team, Dr. Tajudeen, Dr. Peng, and Dr. Wu (pictured below).
"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."
-Coach John Wooden, UCLA.
Ed Kuan (R2) was awarded a Resident Travel Grant to attend the 2014 Combined Sections Meeting of the Triological Society.
October 2013
Congratulations to all of our Chief Residents (Class of 2014) for matching in the following fellowships:
- Sameer Ahmed, MD - Otology/Neurotology at University of Michigan
- Victor Duarte, MD - Pediatric Otolaryngology at Boston Children's, Harvard
- Matthew Lee, MD - Facial Plastic Surgery at Stanford University
- Christopher Thompson, MD - Rhinology at Northwestern University
- Bonnie Vorasubin, MD - Otology/Neurotology at University of California, San Diego
"Our mission at UCLA H&N Surgery is to further advance Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and create academic leaders. Some of the greatest proof of our purpose arrives when our peers recognize how academically driven our residents are." - Program Director, Vishad Nabili, MD, FACS
September 2013
Kevin Peng, MD (R4) completed an otology-focused global health elective at the Erebouni Medical Center, an institution affiliated with Yerevan State Medical University in Armenia. Otologic surgeries performed by Dr. Peng and faculty mentor, Akira Ishiyama, MD, included cochlear implantation and bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) surgery. By teaching physicians in Armenia how to perform BAHA surgery, Kevin played a key role in the mission and made an impact in advancing otologic care in the state of Armenia. A portion of his travel was funded by a travel grant award, issued by the AAO-HNSF Humanitarian Efforts Committee.
July 2013
Resident Publications from July 2012 - June 2013 :
Ahmed S, Vorasubin N, Lopez IA, Hosokawa S, Ishiyama G, Ishiyama A. The expression of glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST) within the human cochlea and its distribution in various patient populations. Brain Res. 2013 Sep 5;1529:134-42.
Bergeron JL, Long JL, Chhetri DK. Dysphagia characteristics in Zenker's diverticulum. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Feb;148(2):223-8.
Bergeron JL, Wilken R, Miller ME, Shapiro NL, Bhattacharyya N. Measurable progress in female authorship in otolaryngology. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012 Jul;147(1):40-3.
Chhetri DK, Neubauer J, Bergeron JL, Sofer E, Peng KA, Jamal N. Effects of asymmetric superior laryngeal nerve stimulation on glottic posture, acoustics, vibration. Laryngoscope. 2013 May 27. doi: 10.1002/lary.24209. [Epub ahead of print]
DeConde AS, Long JL, Armin BB, Berke GS. Functional reinnervation of vocal folds after selective laryngeal adductor denervation-reinnervation surgery for spasmodic dysphonia. J Voice. 2012 Sep;26(5):602-3.
DeConde A, Miller ME, Palla B, Lai C, Elashoff D, Chhetri D, St John MA. Squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa: a 40-year review. Am J Otolaryngol. 2012 Nov-Dec;33(6):673-7.
DeConde AS, Sidell D, Lee M, Bezouglaia O, Low K, Elashoff D, Grogan T, Tetradis S, Aghaloo T, St John M. Bone morphogenetic protein-2-impregnated biomimetic scaffolds successfully induce bone healing in a marginal mandibular defect. Laryngoscope. 2013 May;123(5):1149-55.
Elbuluk O, Shiba T, Shapiro NL. Laryngomalacia presenting as recurrent croup in an infant. Case Rep Otolaryngol. 2013;2013:649203. doi: 10.1155/2013/649203. Epub 2013 Jan 27.
Hendizadeh L, Zaghi S, Guzman C, Haydel D, Koempel J. A rudimentary tragus in the nasopharynx: case report, literature review, and discussion of embryologic development. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2013 Aug;77(8):1378-80.
Punthakee X, Zaghi S, Nabili V, Knott PD, Blackwell KE. Effects of salivary bypass tubes on fistula and stricture formation. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. 2013 May;15(3):219-25.
Razfar A, Sadr-Hosseini SM, Rosen CA, Snyderman CH, Gooding W, Abla AA, Ferris RL. Prevention and management of dysphonia during anterior cervical spine surgery. Laryngoscope. 2012 Oct;122(10):2179-83.
Thompson CF, Wang MB, Kim BJ, Bergsneider M, Suh JD. Incidence and management of epistaxis after endoscopic skull base surgery. ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec. 2012;74(6):315-9. doi: 10.1159/000345500. Epub 2012 Dec 20.
Thompson CF, DeConde AS, Chiu AG, Lee JM, Suh JD. Mini-nasoseptal flap for recalcitrant sphenoid sinusitis. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2013 Mar-Apr;27(2):144-7.
Thompson CF, Nabili V, Wang MB. Pathology quiz case 2. Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP). JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Feb;139(2):197-8.
Vira D, Basak SK, Veena MS, Wang MB, Batra RK, Srivatsan ES. Cancer stem cells, microRNAs, and therapeutic strategies including natural products. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2012 Dec;31(3-4):733-51.
Vira D, Pesce J, Glasgow BJ, Lai C, Elashoff D, Abemayor E, John MS. Parotidectomy and neck dissection in the management of conjunctival melanoma: are they necessary? Laryngoscope. 2012 Nov;122(11):2436-41.
Vorasubin N, Wu AW, Day C, Suh JD. Invasive sinonasal actinomycosis: case report and literature review. Laryngoscope. 2013 Feb;123(2):334-8.
Zaghi S, Danesh J, Hendizadeh L, Nabili V, Blackwell KE. Changing indications for maxillomandibular reconstruction with osseous free flaps: A 17-year experience with 620 consecutive cases at UCLA and the impact of osteoradionecrosis. Laryngoscope. 2013 Aug 14. doi: 10.1002/lary.24383. [Epub ahead of print]
Zaghi S, Pouldar D, Lai C, Chhetri DK. Subglottic presentation of a rare tumor: primary or metastatic? Primary mucosal melanoma of the subglottic larynx. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Jul;139(7):739-40.
April 2013
Congratulations to Dr. Bonnie Vorasubin (R4) for a Poster of Distinction at the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) section of COSM 2013. The paper was titled: "A Modular Polymer Platform Significantly Increases Tumor Sensitivity to Radiation Therapy." UCLA H&N co-authors were Dr. Maie St. John (PI), Dr. Matt Lee (R4) and Dr. Elliot Abemayor.
February 2013
Dr. Christopher Thompson won the award for "Best Resident Clinical Paper" at the recent North American Skull Base Meeting in Miami, FL, Feb. 15-17, 2013. His paper was entitled, "Modifications to the Endoscopic Approach for Anterior Skull Base Lesions Improve Postoperative Sinonasal Symptoms," with co-authors Jeffrey D. Suh, Yuan Liu, Marvin Bergsneider, and Marilene B. Wang.
January 2013
UCLA won first place in the Resident Bowl at the 2013 Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting, for the second consecutive year. Congratulations to our team (pictured below).
Dr. Sameer Ahmed (R4) and co-authors received the Second Place Shirley Baron Resident Research Award at the 2013 Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting for their paper on "Incremental Healthcare Utilization and Costs for Acute Otitis Media in Children."
Dr. Soroush Zaghi (R3) won the Best Research Presentation at the Head & Neck Surgery Section of the Southern California Chapter, American College of Surgeons Meeting. His presentation was titled: "Changing Indications for and Demographics of Maxillomandibular Reconstruction with Osseous Free Flaps: A 17-Year Experience with 601 Consecutive Cases and the Role of Osteoradionecrosis."
July 2012
Dr. Victor Duarte (R4) won a "Poster of Distinction" award at the 8th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer in Toronto on July 21- 25, 2012. There were over 900 posters at this meeting. His poster title was "Swallow Preservation Therapy During Chemoradiation Therapy Improves Patient Quality of Life and Maintains Swallow Function." Co-authors were: Dinesh K. Chhetri, MD, Andrew A. Erman, MA, and Marilene B. Wang, MD.
January 2012
UCLA won first place in the Resident Bowl at the 2012 Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting. Congratulations to our team Jennifer Bergeron (R4), Chris Thompson (R3), and Darshni Vira (R4).