April 2021 – The Academy is pleased to announce the selection of the following candidates for AAO-HNS/F leadership positions. A search committee was appointed for each position by President Carol R. Bradford, MD, MS. The committees made their recommendations to the Executive Committee (EC) and Board of Directors (BOD). The selections were endorsed by the EC on April 13, and subsequently approved by the BOD on April 18.
Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and OTO Open Editor in Chief-elect: Cecelia E. Schmalbach, MD, MSc
Cecelia E. Schmalbach, MD, MSc, is The David Myers, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, and the Director of the Temple Head & Neck Institute. She is also the AAO-HNSF Coordinator for Research and Quality, a position that she was appointed to in 2018. Prior to that she served Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and OTO Open as Deputy Editor from 2014-2018, Associate Editor of Head and Neck from 2011-2014, and as a multi-year star reviewer. Dr. Schmalbach is also an AAO-HNSF Cochrane Scholar and the recipient of the AAO-HNS Distinguished Service Award. She served in the United States Air Force Medical Corps from 1998 to 2013, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during her last recommission. Dr. Schmalbach completed her fellowship in head and neck, microvascular surgery and skull base surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and her residency at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Schmalbach’s term as Editor in Chief-elect will begin after the AAO-HNSF 2021 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience. Her term as Editor in Chief will begin October 1, 2022.
Coordinator-elect for Research and Quality: Vikas Mehta, MD, MPH
Vikas Mehta, MD, MPH is Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is also the Quality Officer for the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Committee. Dr. Mehta has participated in several AAO-HNSF committees and chaired the AAO-HNSF Outcomes Research and Evidence-based Medicine (OREBM) Committee for three years. He is currently Chair-elect for the Head and Neck Surgery Education Committee. He has participated in the CORE grants program and served as a panel member in the development of the Evaluation of Neck Mass in Adults clinical practice guideline. Dr. Mehta completed his fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and his residency training at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Dr. Mehta’s term as Coordinator-elect began April 19, 2021. His term as Coordinator will begin October 6, 2021.
Ethics Committee Chair-elect: Andrew G. Shuman, MD
Andrew G. Shuman, MD, is an Associate Professor, Division of Head and Neck Oncology, Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center and Co-chief, Clinical Ethics Service, Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine. He also is Chief of Otolaryngology for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. A former member of the AAO-HNS/F Ethics Committee, Dr. Shuman is Associate Editor for Head and Neck/Skull Base Surgery for Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, a Veterans Committee member, and a 2017 Honor Award recipient. At Michigan, he chairs the Adult Ethics Committee and is a practicing HEC-C certified faculty ethicist. Dr. Shuman completed fellowships in head and neck surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center and in medical ethics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and his residency at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Shuman’s term as Ethics Chair-elect will begin after the AAO-HNSF 2021 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience. His term as Ethics Chair will begin after the 2022 Annual Meeting.
