What has the American Head and Neck Society Accomplished?
Dr. Chris O’Brien Fund
Income generated through the Chris O’Brien will be used to support a lecture honoring Dr. O’Brien at the International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer held every four years and additionally will support the Chris O’Brien Traveling Scholar Award which allows for a young head and neck surgeon to visit the United States or Australia/New Zealand in order to further their education. In 2008, Dr. Carsten Palme was selected as the first recipient of this award. He will prepare to make his travels from Australia to the US in the winter of 2009.
Dr. Chris O'Brien played a key role not only in the field of head and neck cancer, but in the AHNS as well, being a member since the society's inception. One of Dr. O'Brien's many accomplishments includes founding the Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute in 2002. In 2007, Dr. O'Brien was diagnosed with a malignent brain tumor and in early summer of 2009, after a brave fight against the cancer, Dr. O'Brien passed away. If you would like to make a contribution to the Dr. Chris O'Brien International Lecture and Traveling Scholar Award in memory of Dr. O'Brien, please click here »
Jatin P. Shah Symposium
A special thank you goes to Dr. Jatin P. Shah, Chief of the Head and Neck Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, for his generous endowment of $100,000 to the AHNS Research and Education Foundation.
In direct response to this endowment, the AHNS Foundation awarded the Jatin P. Shah Symposium on Clinical Controversies in Head and Neck Surgery in 2006. Since then, the symposium has been a much anticipated and well-regarded panel at every annual meeting. The focus of the symposium follows along the lines of clinical controversies.
Previous Jatin P. Shah Symposia:
2006 • Management of Complex Issues in Thyroid Cancer
2007 • How Much is Too Much? Recurrent Thyroid Cancer with Minimal Tumor Burden
2008 • The Role of the Surgeon in Multidisciplinary Care of Head & Neck Cancer
2009 • Endoscopic Resection versus Open Craniofacial Resection for Skull Base Malignancy
Research Grants
In 2003 we provided grants totaling $70,000 to support basic research in Head and Neck Cancer. In 2004 we provided grants totaling $60,000 to support basic research in Head and Neck Cancer. In 2005 we intend to provide grants totaling $85,000 to support basic research in Head and Neck Cancer.
- Research has been supported at such prestigious institutions as Harvard
University, the University of Virginia, the University of Alabama, and
the University of Kentucky.
- The results of research supported by the Foundation have
been published in highly respected scientific journals.
- Funds provided by the Foundation are used to support grants
awarded jointly by the AHNS and the American College of
Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head
and Neck Surgery.
Read the most up to date research reports here.
1. Young Investigator Award (with AAOHNS): Open to fellows and assistant professors. Must be an AHNS member (may be candidate member). Goal is to support research in neoplastic disease of the head and neck. This is a $10,000 award per year for up to two years. One award is available per year.
Previous Award Winners
2003: Eben Rosenthal, MD
2004: Jeffrey Wolf, MD
2005: Steven J. Wang, MD
2006: Michael Kupferman, MD, PhD
2007: Andrew Sokora, MD, PhD
2007: Mihir Patel, MD
2008: Brandon Bentz, MD
2008: Mark Jameson, MD, PhD
2. Surgeon Scientist Career Development Award (with AAOHNS): Open to surgeons beginning a clinician-scientist career track to support research in the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of head and neck neoplastic disease. This is a $70,000 award (maximum total costs) for two years, payable as $35,000 per year. One award is available per year.
Previous Award Winners
2005: Jeffrey Moyer, MD
2007: Maie St. John, MD, PhD
3. Pilot Research Grant: Open for residents, fellows, junior faculty for pilot research in head and neck related topics. This is a $10,000 award (maximum total costs) for one year, and it is non-renewable. One award is available per year.
Previous Award Winners
2004: Kepal Patel, MD
2005: Emiro Caicedo-Granados, MD
2006: Christine G. Gourin, MD
2007: Andres Lopez-Albaitero, MD
2008: Daniel Schneider, MD
2008: Christopher Towe, MD
4. Ballantyne Resident Research Grant: For the best grant application by a resident, this award utilizes the same forms and guidelines as the Pilot Grant (above). This is a $10,000 award (maximum total costs) for one year, and it is non-renewable. One award is available per year.
Previous Award Winners
2003: Mark Jameson, MD, PhD
2004: Douglas Reh, MD
2005: Seungwon Kim, MD
2006: Chad Galer, MD, PhD
2007: Vivian Wu, MD
2008: Rolando Rosas, MD, MSc
5.AHNS-ACS Career Development Award: NOT AVAILABLE. This is a two-year faculty career development award to head and neck surgeons. Applicants must be member or candidate member of both ACS and AHNS. Applicants must be within 5 years of completion of training, and be full-time faculty member. The award is to support clinical, basic science, or translational research in the study of neoplastic disease of the head and neck. The award is $40,000 per year for two years to support the research and is not renewable thereafter.
Previous Award Winners
2004: Richard Wong, MD
2006: Stephen Y. Lai, MD, PhD
6.Synthes Request for Applications: Head and Neck Reconstruction: NOT AVAILABLE. Open to medical students, residents, fellows, and fulltime faculty at rank of Assistant Professor to conduct research related to reconstruction following ablative cancer surgery. This is a $15,000 award (maximum total costs) for one year, with a competitive renewal option for a second year. One award is available per year.
Previous Award Winners
2001: Joseph Scharph, MD
2002: Matthew Rontal, MD
2003: Daniel Deschler, MD
2005: Douglas B. Chepeha, MD
