Faculty and staff from the Department of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School gathered in the Meltzer Auditorium at Massachusetts Eye and Ear on Friday, June 22, to celebrate the 2018 graduating class of residents and fellows.
Four chief residents and 13 clinical fellows graduated from the program, which was led by Harvard Medical School Otolaryngology Residency Director Dr. Stacey Gray, Associate Residency Director Dr. Kevin Emerick, and Chair of Otolaryngology Dr. Brad Welling, among others.
“Graduation is not only a time to celebrate the accomplishments of our residents and fellows, but it’s also a time to cherish the relationships that have been built throughout their time with us,” said Dr. Gray. “We are proud to have this group represent our p
rogram throughout their careers, and even more proud to have them now a part of our otolaryngology family.”
Keynote speaker Dr. David Schuller, Director Emeritus of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, CEO Emeritus of The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, the Wolfe Chair in Cancer Research and Professor of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and Vice President of Medical Center Expansion an
d Outreach at The Wexner Medical Center, delivered this year’s graduation address. In his speech, Dr. Schuller spoke about change and how one’s reaction to it will determine the impact they have. He encouraged the graduates to be creators of change instead of victims of it.
At the end of the graduation ceremony Dr. Sid Puram was awarded the Chief Resident Teaching award and Dr. Joseph Zenga was awarded the Fellow Teaching Award. Faculty member Dr. Gregory Ota was given the William Montgomery Faculty Teaching Award and Dr. Gray was presented with the Harvard Otolaryngology Resident Well-Being Award.
Prior to the graduation ceremony, the day began with the Department’s sixth annual meeting, an event that brings together our faculty, residents, and fellows. The meeting featured Chief Resident Research Talks on topics from reimagining the auditory brainstem implant to improving septorhinoplasty outcomes. Dr. Puram was awarded the Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, PhD, Research Award for his talk on “Mapping tumor heterogeneity in head and neck cancer.”
These talks were followed by a poster session highlighting the work of all of our residents. Drs. Jennifer Fuller and Alisa Yamasaki tied for first place for their posters, with Dr. Rosh Sethi being awarded second place.
The annual meeting was concluded with faculty presentations by Drs. David Shaye and Ravindra Uppaluri.