MCW Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences Headlights Winter 2023 - Faculty Highlights

MCW School of Medicine (SOM) will roll out their newly designed curriculum, MCWfusion in the summer of 2023. To support the development and implementation of the new SOM curriculum, many new leadership positions were created. Congratulations to the following faculty who were selected to fill these important roles:

Jonathan Bock, MD '01 – Learning Community Navigator
Sophie Shay, MD – Learning Community Navigator
Joel Blumin, MD – Patient-Based Discussion Facilitator

Valerie Flanary, MD GME ’94 FEL ’95 has been selected as Vice President-elect of the Middle Section of The Triological Society. Additionally in January 2023, Dr. Flanary was awarded a Vice Presidential Citation from the Triological Society.

Sachin Pawar, MD ‘07, GME ‘12 was appointed Surgical Medical Informatics Officer for Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Cecille Sulman, MD was elected president-elect to the Society of Ear, Nose, and Throat Advancement in Children (SENTAC) in 2022.

David Poetker, MD GME ’06 and Jonathan Bock, MD '01 were elected to the Exam Council of the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Michael Harris, MD ’08 has been appointed Chief of the Division of Otology & Neurotologic Skull Base Surgery, effective July 1, 2022. In this role Dr. Harris also serves as Medical Director of the Koss Cochlear Implant Program. Dr. Harris succeeds David Friedland MD, PhD, who stepped down from the role to focus on a leadership role in the CTSI. 

Nikki Johnston, PhD is serving on the committee to organize the Pilot Center of Excellent Platform for the World Organization for Specialized Studies on Diseases of the Esophagus (OESO) – Stanford Esophageal Multidisciplinary Program in Innovation Research Excellent (SEMPIRE).  MCW is one of 25 Worldwide Pilot Centers for this program.

Joseph Zenga, MD is participating in a Precision Medicine Master of Science degree program offered at MCW. In addition, Dr. Zenga received a Clinical Concept Award from the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center for his research, A Phase 1 clinical trial of Hypofractionated Pre-operative Radiation for Head and Neck Cancer (HyPR-HN), 01/01/2022-12/31/2024.

Jennifer Bruening, MD is a participant in the two-year Institute Kinetic3 Teaching Academy.

Guilherme Garcia, PhD and John Rhee, MD, MPH ’04 received grant from the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering of Marquette University and MCW for their work, ‘development of software tool to quantify airway size based on endoscopy.’

Nikki Johnston, PhD received the Falk Medical Trust Transformational Award to support her research, Inhaled Fosamprenavir for the Treatment of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR), 11/30/2022-11/30/2023,

Sachin Pawar, MD ’07 GME ’12, Program Director of the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship, was selected to receive an AO CMF North America Fellowship Award for the 2022/23 academic year. This one-year award supports the direct cost of Dr. Pawar’s fellow.

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