About the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences
About
Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences (ear, nose, and throat) houses nationally recognized clinical faculty who provide care for patients with various disorders managed by the seven subspecialty areas of otolaryngology.
Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences website for the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Our mission is to provide outstanding and innovative surgical and medical care for our patients, excellent education to our learners, conduct impactful clinical translational and basic research, and serve the community.
The department, which was founded in 2016, continues to grow and expand in all its core missions. Nationally recognized clinical faculty provide care for patients with various disorders managed by the seven subspecialty areas of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery: comprehensive otolaryngology; facial plastic and reconstructive surgery; head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstructive surgery; laryngology and professional voice; otology and neurotologic skull base surgery; pediatric otolaryngology; and rhinology and anterior skull base surgery.
We currently have three practice sites across the Southern Region of the RWJBarnabas Health system. Our primary practice site is located on two floors of 10 Plum Street in New Brunswick; however, construction is underway for a 28,000 square foot practice site for us divided between two floors in the new 15 story 30 Plum Street practice building. This space will have state-of-the-art integrated space with patient-focused otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, audiology and speech-language-pathology care. We also have a pediatric-focused practice site in Eatontown, New Jersey and a comprehensive otolaryngology site in Toms River.
The New Brunswick campus is the Academic Medical Center for RWJBarnabas Health and is comprised of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital, Children’s Specialized Hospital and the soon to be opened 100-bed Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center. The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is the only NCI Designated Cancer Center in New Jersey. RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s second largest private employer – with more than 32,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents and interns – and routinely captures national awards for its outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health is the most comprehensive health care delivery system in New Jersey, caring for over 3 million patients a year.
The residency program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick is expected to begin in July 2024. In addition to the full-time faculty, the Department's educational program is enhanced by volunteer faculty who contribute to the education of medical students and residents.
The Department's research activities continue to expand. Physician-scientists and basic scientists conduct NIH funded research primarily in the area of auditory neuroscience. We also have faculty working in the area of olfactory neuroscience. These translational research programs are located on the Piscataway campus. Several undergraduate, predoctoral PhD and MD/PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows are trained in our departmental laboratories. Our faculty are also engaged in outcomes research and clinical trials. Clinical trials make new technologies available much earlier than otherwise possible so that our patients can benefit from these advances.
The Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery continues to serve the community by participating in physician education and patient education programs at the local, regional, national and international levels.
I hope that you will take the time to learn more about the services we offer, our faculty, and our educational and research activities.
P. Ashley Wackym, MD, FACS, FAAP
Professor and Chair
Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Chancellor Scholar, Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences
Senior Member, Rutgers Brian Health Institute
Contact Us
The following divisions are located at:
10 Plum St., 5th Floor
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
- Otology, Neurotology, Lateral Skull Base Surgery
- Laryngology and Professional Voice
- Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Head and Neck Surgical Oncology
- Rhinology and Anterior Skull Base Surgery
_____________________________________________________
The Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology is located at:
10 Plum Street, 8th Floor
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
200 Wycoff Rd, 4th Floor
Eatontown, NJ 07724
______________________________________________________
The Comprehensive Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences is located at:
953 Fischer Boulevard, Suite 2
Toms River, NJ 08753
To schedule an appointment call: 732-235-5530
Residency Program
The residency program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick is expected to begin in July 2024.
Mentorship for Underrepresented Students
The objective of the Mentorship Program for Underrepresented Students is to expand representation of underrepresented groups in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery by increasing awareness of the field, research opportunities, and mentorship throughout their medical training.
Jonathan P. Kuriakose MD, MS, a graduate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, founded this program in early 2023 to expand access to Otolaryngology to students of underrepresented backgrounds.
- 1-2 current or graduating RWJMS M4s will head the program each year
- Upcoming leaders – Camille Reeves and Sharwani Kota
Accordion Content
-
- Newly matched PGY 1 residents will provide guidance to rising M2/M3 students to form a longitudinal relationship that will continue throughout training
- OHNS attendings from across the nation will provide monthly 1-on-1 virtual mentorship to their assigned students
- The Northwestern OHNS department will provide a lecture/journal club series to students in this program
- Students within this program will have access to research opportunities as offered by their resident and attending mentors
- The program begins in June and ends in May of the following year
- Students should request to join the program via the Sign-Ups page
-
Underrepresented groups include, but is not limited to, medical students who self-identify as:
- Black
- Hispanic
- Native American
- Women
- LGBTQ
- Low-income
- First-generation college students
- Students without a home program
-
- P. Ashley Wackym, MD, FACS, FAAP – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Earl Harley Jr., MD,FACS,FAAP. – Georgetown University SOM
- Brian McKinnon, MD, MBA, MPH, FACS - University of Texas – Medical Branch (Galveston)
- Myles Pensak, MD, FACS - University of Cincinnati COM
- Maithilee Menezes, MD – Washington University SOM
- Sarah Mowry, MD – Case Western Reserve University SOM
- Howard Francis, MD, MBA – Duke University SOM
- Troy Woodward, MD – Cleveland Clinic COM
- Lilun Li, MD – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Maie St. John, MD, PhD – UCLA SOM
- David Brown, MD – University of Michigan Med School
- Konstantina Stankovic, MD, PhD, FACS – Stanford University SOM
- Christina Fang, MD – Albert Einstein COM
- Vanessa Stubbs – Rush University Medical College
- Ravi Samy, MD – Lehigh Valley University SOM
- Sarah Rapoport, MD – Georgetown University SOM
-
- Bakare, Ajibola; Lee, Young; Hong, Jhuree; Richter, Clause-Peter; Kuriakose, Jonathan P. Evaluation of ChatGPT as a Tool for Conducting Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Systematic Literature Reviews. Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting 2024; West Palm Beach, FL.
- Kota, Sharwani; Reeves, Camille; Stubbs, Vanessa; Kuriakose, Jonathan P. Impact of Diversity and Disparities Conversations in Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting 2024; West Palm Beach, FL.
- Kuriakose, Jonathan P; Khan, Najm; Lee, Young; Chen, Kaiwen; Rajasekaran, Karthik. Appraisal of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Salivary Gland Cancer management. Poster presentation at: American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery; October 2, 2023; Nashville, TN.
- Khan, Najm; Kuriakose, Jonathan P; Shave, Samantha; Alegun, Josephine; Wackym, P. Ashley; Shapiro, Scott. Evaluating Clinical Practice Guidelines for treating and managing Vestibular Schwannoma. Poster presentation at: American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery; October 2, 2023; Nashville, TN.
*Members' names are bolded
-
Sign-ups for the 2024-2025 class will begin in February 2024.
Follow us on Twitter/X @RutgersOHNS_DEI
Life at Rutgers
Envision Yourself Here
Rutgers is located in central New Jersey in the city of New Brunswick and across the Raritan River in Piscataway. Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon counties rank fourth in per capita income nationwide. It is a manufacturing center, agricultural center, high-tech corporate center, and small-town America rolled into one.
Who We Are
Our faculty specialize in the seven areas of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery: comprehensive otolaryngology; facial plastic and reconstructive surgery; head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstructive surgery; laryngology and professional voice; otology and neurotologic skull base surgery; pediatric otolaryngology; and rhinology and anterior skull base surgery.
Jhocelyn Mesias, PA
Peggy Su-Genyk, MD
Kiley Trott, MD
Clinical Services
The Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences treats patients with disorders of the ear, nose, throat, and related surrounding structures in the head and neck. Our physicians concentrate on problems in the larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, neck, and face.
The practice provides excellent patient care with physicians who have fellowship training in otolaryngology specialties, including:
- Cochlear implantation
- Head and neck cancer surgery
- Head and neck surgical oncology
- Minimally invasive techniques for cancer removal with transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and translaryngeal microsurgery (TLM)
- Otology/neurotology
- Rhinology
- Skull base surgery
Our Divisions
Divisions
Our department is made up of 8 divisions, each focusing on a subspecialty area of otolaryngology.