Faculty Profiles in Excellence

Stanford Medicine faculty are at the cutting edge of patient care, research, and education.
Who are these amazing individuals and what do they do at Stanford?

My students are from all walks of life and all around the world, and I learn from them. Because of this, at Stanford, our environment is extremely conducive to fostering a diverse community. We have students and researchers of all races, ethnicities, and genders, in addition to diversity of discipline—it’s important to blend all cultures in our work.

Alan Cheng, MD

Otolaryngology and Pediatrics

I spend time seeing patients with ear conditions and run a stem cell lab to study the development and regeneration of the inner ear. I discovered in medical school that I was fascinated by surgery’s ability to cure disease. Otolaryngolgoy is fascinating because in such a small anatomic region (the ear, nose, and throat) there are an abundance of important anatomic structures.

My patients are very diverse. I see young children with ear infections and elderly folks with tongue cancer. I enjoy being able to treat a number of clinical concerns in my field.  At the same time, research allows me to question the status quo and formulate hypotheses. The advances we see in healthcare are often based on discoveries researchers make in the lab, so I hope that I will be able to have a broader impact through my research.

Stanford is the mecca of research. The sky is truly the limit the here—you are only limited by time. In addition, you get to work with very talented students. My students are from all walks of life and all around the world, and I learn from them. Because of this, at Stanford, our environment is extremely conducive to fostering a diverse community. We have students and researchers of all races, ethnicities, and genders, in addition to diversity of discipline—it’s important to blend all cultures in our work.