DUKE UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTION & ADDRESS

Duke University
40 Duke Medicine Circle
Durham, NC, 27710
Tel (919) 613-6407
Fax (919) 681 6881

SF MATCH PROGRAM ID#

5310

FELLOWSHIP DIRECTOR

David Jang, MD
Ralph Abi Hachem, MD

ADDITIONAL FACULTY

Bradley Goldstein, MD, PhD, FACS

DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT

Duke Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences is committed to excellence in meeting the health care needs of the people we serve, improving community health, and fostering the best medical education and research.

OVERVIEW OF FELLOWSHIP

The Duke University Rhinology and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery fellowship is a one-year program that provides comprehensive training in basic and advanced rhinology, endoscopic skull base/orbital surgery, and sinonasal oncology. It also provides opportunities to participate in basic, translational, and clinical research. Fellows are encouraged to tailor their training to meet their career goals.

Our program is currently composed of two fellowship trained rhinologist/skull base surgeons, one physician scientist, and an additional fellowship trained rhinologist joining our division in 2026. The fellow will be exposed to a busy tertiary rhinology practice with regional and national referrals, and will participate in 300-350 operative cases throughout the year. These will include primary and revision sinus surgery, endoscopic skull base and orbital
surgery, sinonasal reconstruction, and office-based procedures.

Our program’s strengths lie in our clinical and research collaborations with the Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, the Duke Asthma, Allergy, and Airway Center, and the Duke Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Transplant Centers. The Duke Skull Base Center is spread across two hospital campuses and is well-supported by ancillary staff.

FELLOWSHIP DESCRIPTION

Clinical Rotations:

On average, the fellow will spend two days a week in the OR, two days a week in the clinic, and one day a week for research and administrative duties. The schedule is adjusted on a weekly basis in order to optimize the fellow's surgical experience. Eligible fellows will have an independent half-day clinic each week.

Weekly Schedule:

  Monday    Tuesday    Wednesday    Thursday    Friday    
AM Fellow clinic/OR  Clinic/OR Clinic OR OR
PM Academic/OR Clinic Clinic OR OR

Research Responsibilities:

The rhinology fellow is encouraged to participate in basic science, translational, or clinical research projects available within the department and throughout the university. Clinical research opportunities are available with support from the department’s clinical research unit and biostatistics staff. There are several ongoing rhinology trials funded internally and through industry. There is also an option to enroll in didactic courses offered through the Duke Clinical Research Training Program. Other opportunities include work in computational fluid dynamics with Dr. Dennis Frank-Ito. A sinus/skull base endoscopic cadaver dissection laboratory is available, in addition to two formal dissection courses throughout the year.

Basic science and translational research opportunities are available within the olfactory research program run by Dr. Brad Goldstein. Dr. Goldstein’s NIH-funded laboratory uses mouse models, cell cultures, and human nasal tissue specimens to identify mechanisms regulating adult basal stem and progenitor cells in the olfactory epithelium. Another goal is to develop in vitro and in vivo models for olfactory neuroblastoma in order to elucidate tumor
biology and develop new treatments.

Diversity of Cases:

The fellow will participate in 300 to 350 cases throughout the year. These include nasal airway surgery, primary and revision sinus surgery, reconstructive surgery including septal perforation and oronasal fistula repair, endoscopic orbital surgery and endoscopic skull base surgery. Endoscopic skull base cases include anterior skull base, sellar, parasellar, petroclival, middle cranial fossa, and other extended approaches for neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions. Inflammatory cases include recurrent polyposis, allergic fungal sinusitis, aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease, and cystic fibrosis. Orbital cases include endoscopic DCR, endoscopic orbital and optic nerve decompression, and resection of orbital tumors.

2021-2022 Fellow's Case Log

Call Schedule:

The fellow is expected to cover 6 weeks of attending call throughout the academic year (no pediatric or trauma call).

Resident Education:

Fellows are expected to actively participate in resident education in the clinic and operating room. The fellow will also participate in our monthly rhinology case conferences and annual cadaveric dissection course. Fellows will be responsible for one formal grand rounds presentation during the year.

Additional Information:

Fellows will be appointed as a clinical instructor with full admitting and operating privileges at Duke University Hospital. Salary and benefits will be provided at the PGY-6 level.

International applicants who meet eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply.

CURRENT AND PAST FELLOWS

  • Ryan Thorpe, MD: 2025-2027: University of Iowa, Iowa city, IA, USA
  • Anthony Ghanem, MD: 2024-2025: University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Saad Al Shammari, MBBS: 2023-2024: Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Al Khobar, KSA
  • Viraj Patel, MD: 2022-2023: Triangle Sinus Center, Raleigh, NC, USA
  • Anna Lazutkin, MD: 2021-2022: Hadassah University, Jerusalem, Israel
  • Feras Ackall, MD: 2020-2021: Austin ENT clinic, Austin, TX, USA
  • Jordan Teitelbaum, DO: 2019- 2020: ENT specialists of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA
  • Lyndon Chan, MBBS: 2018-2019: University of Wollongong, Australia
  • Kevin Choi, MD: 2017-2018: private practice in Los Angeles, USA

REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENT

Applicants must be:

  1. Enrolled in or have completed an approved North American OHNS residency,
  2. BE/BC
  3. eligible for a North Carolina medical license

* International graduates are required to have completed USMLE step 1; 2; 2CS and 3 and be ECFMG certified.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Applications are processed through the San Francisco match website, and should be submitted through www.sfmatch.org.  Interviews will be conducted in winter-spring in accordance with SF match guidelines. Feel free to contact the program directors if you have any additional questions.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Sylvia V Garrett 
Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences
Duke University Medical Center
40 Duke Medicine Circle
4082A Yellow Zone
DUMC 2824
Durham, NC 27710
919-681-7388
Email: [email protected]