Care Team

Dr. Damrose graduated from Yale University in 1991 cum laude, earning a BS in Biology. He attended the UCLA School of Medicine, earning his MD in 1995 and completing a doctoral thesis on laryngeal biomechanics. He remained at UCLA for training in general surgery from 1995 to 1997, was nominated "Physician of the Year" by the UCLA staff, and completed his residency in Otolaryngology — Head & Neck surgery in 2001. He remained with UCLA from 2001 to 2003, serving as Clinical Instructor in Laryngeal Surgery and completing a two-year clinical and research fellowship in laryngology/bronchoesophagology. Dr. Damrose joined the Stanford faculty in 2003 and currently serves as Professor of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery and, by courtesy, of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine; Chief of the Division of Laryngology; Director of the Stanford Voice & Swallowing Center and the Fellowship Program in Laryngology; Immediate Past Chief of Staff/Stanford Health Care and Medical Director for Professionalism/Stanford Health Care. He also serves as Chair of the Department Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Program and leads the Improvement Capability Development Program. He is a member of the Stanford Cancer Center, a fellow of the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement, and serves as preceptor for the Stanford University Early Clinical Engagement Program and the Stanford School of Medicine Immersion in Medicine Program. Dr. Damrose is a member of the Society for Head and Neck Anesthesia; The Triological Society (for whom he has served as a panelist, moderator, and member of its Program Committee); the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (for whom he has served on its Program Committee); the American Laryngological Association (for whom he has served as a member of its Education and Awards Committees); the American Bronchoesophagological Association (for whom he has served as Program Chair, Councilor at Large, and Clinical Practice Guidelines Chair); the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery (for whom he has served as a member of the Credentials and Membership, Medical Devices and Drugs, and History and Archives Committees); the American College of Surgeons, and the American Head and Neck Society( for whom he has served a member of the Program, Quality of Care, History, and Ethics and Professionalism Service Committees). He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Voice, and served as a Guest Editor for Operative Techniques in Otolaryngology. From 2010 to 2014, he served as Medical Director of the International Association of Laryngectomees, and from 2010 to 2022 as Medical Advisor to the Foundation for Voice Restoration. Dr. Damrose serves as a Captain in the United States Navy Reserve. He has held numerous leadership positions in the Navy, including that of Otolaryngology Specialty Leader in which he served in an advisory capacity to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery on otolaryngologic matters. In 2020 he mobilized to Guam to support the 7th Fleet during the Navy's response to the COVID 19 pandemic. He is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), the Meritorious Unit Commendation, and various other service medals. His clinical interests include complex airway reconstruction; surgical treatment of spasmodic dysphonia; surgical treatment of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer; laryngeal framework surgery; and the surgical treatment of hypopharyngeal and esophageal diverticula. He has pioneered novel approaches in the treatment of laryngeal chondrosarcoma and endoscopic resection of Zenker’s diverticula. His research interests include elucidating the pathogenesis of idiopathic subglottic stenosis and the development of technologies to restore voice in patients with vocal cord paralysis and laryngeal cancer.

Dr. Elizabeth DiRenzo is a clinician scientist with a subspecialty interest in the behavioral assessment and treatment of laryngological disorders. She completed her undergraduate and clinical graduate degrees at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana specializing in speech-language pathology. Following her clinical degrees, she remained at Purdue and earned a PhD in laryngeal physiology. She then completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying vocal fold biology. Clinically, Dr. DiRenzo is a practicing speech-language pathologist in the Stanford Voice and Swallowing Center. Her specific interests include the behavioral evaluation and treatment of patients with voice, resonance, upper airway, and swallowing disorders. In conjunction with her physician colleagues, Dr. DiRenzo has has implemented a team-based patient assessment approach between laryngologists and speech-language pathologists and standardized multidimensional evaluation procedures to characterize normal and pathological voices for clinical and research purposes. Dr. DiRenzo's research goal is to advance patient care and improve treatment outcomes through study of both normal laryngeal function and the pathophysiology of voice disorders. To achieve this overarching objective, Dr. DiRenzo’s laboratory utilizes a highly collaborative, multifaceted approach consisting of basic science and clinical research techniques. Outside of work, she prioritizes spending time outdoors enjoying the beautiful California terrain with her husband Dan and their children Lucas and Clara.

Brian Nuyen, MD, is a board-certified otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon and fellowship trained laryngologist who developed a keen interest and passion for head and neck gender affirmation for transgender/gender-nonconforming communities during his residency at Stanford Medicine. He completed his James Thomas, MD Voice Surgery Fellowship 2021-2022 in Portland, Oregon subspecializing in gender-affirming voice medicine and surgery. He was a visiting Fellow in Summer 2022 with Dr. Hyung-Tae Kim at the Yeson Voice Center in Seoul, South Korea with a focus on international perspectives on gender-affirming endoscopic vocal surgical innovation. Dr. Nuyen is a clinical assistant professor with the Stanford School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Nuyen specializes in managing vocal fold disorders, with a particular interest in gender affirmation voice surgery. Dr. Nuyen completed two fellowship programs focused on gender affirmation voice surgery. He obtained his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Nuyen completed his residency at Stanford School of Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Nuyen is a prolific author and researcher in his field. Multiple peer-reviewed journals have published his work and he has authored several textbook chapters. His recent articles focus on gender affirmation voice surgery. He also peer-reviews research manuscripts for the Journal of Voice. He has presented his insights and research at various medical conferences. Dr. Nuyen speaks Spanish fluently. In his free time, he is an avid instrumental musician, singer, and swing dancer.

Ann Kearney, CScD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S has her Clinical Science Doctorate degree in speech pathology. She received her Master's degree from the University of Iowa. She completed her Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) at North Coast Rehab Center in Santa Rosa, CA. After her CFY, she moved to San Francisco and became the Director of the Speech Pathology Department at San Francisco General Hospital, an affiliate of UCSF. It was during this time that she became interested in post laryngectomy speech rehabilitation and trained with Mark Singer, MD. From there, she moved to Boston and spent time at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a training hospital for Harvard Medical School.

She was a member of the Voice and Swallowing department and worked with Kitty Verdolini, PhD and Marvin Freed, MD. After several years at the BWH, she moved to Tufts/New England Medical Center where she was the voice specialist for the Department of Otolaryngology and worked directly with the Chair of the Dept., Stanley Shapshay, MD.

Ann has been with the Department of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery since 2003. She has presented at numerous national meetings. She is the program coordinator for CEU courses offered through the Department, such as Stanford's TEP course and Advanced FEES courses. Additionally, she is the co-founder for the head and neck cancer support group at the Cancer Center. Her interests include post laryngectomy rehabilitation, voice therapy in the professional voice user, swallowing disorders, exercise induced paradoxical vocal fold movement disorder (EI-PVFM), chronic cough, and obstructive sleep apnea. She is Board Certified in Swallowing Disorders, has been on the faculty for the IAL/Voice Institute, trained in Buteyko Breathing (level 1) and is Myofascial Release certified for the head and neck. Ann works in the Laryngology and Sleep Surgery divisions within the Department.

Betsy Stickels, MS CCC-SLP (she/her), is a voice specialized speech language pathologist. She earned her Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from the Loyola University of Maryland. Previously, Betsy worked for Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Voice and Swallow Program until 2023 when she joined the Stanford Voice and Swallow Center, expanding services to Emeryville, Ca. At Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Betsy started their Gender Affirming Voice Care program.

Betsy’s particular clinical interests include gender-affirming voice care and voice therapy for professional voice users and singers. As part of Stanford Voice and Swallow Center, Betsy sees voice, swallow, and upper airway patients. She also joins Dr. Brian Nuyen to provide multidisciplinary gender-affirming voice care initial evaluations.  Betsy provides follow-up therapy as well as runs a free group for gender-diverse patients and community members looking for extra support and practice while working on their voice transition. 

Outside of the clinic, Betsy is an avid singer and voice teacher. She also enjoys reading, live music, and a good cup of coffee.  

Xueying Cao, MS, BSN, PA-C, graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 2016 from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, USA, where she was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Honors Society of Nursing. After working as an RN for 2 years in cardiothoracic surgery, Xueying went to Stanford University in Stanford, CA, USA, earned her Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies and became a Board-Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C) in 2022.

Xueying joined Stanford Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery Department in 2022 after graduating from her PA program. Clinically, she specializes in laryngology, rhinology, and sleep surgery divisions. Xueying is passionate about providing high-quality evidence-based care to her patients. She is competent in performing ENT related procedures and seeing patients with complaints of nose, throat and sleep issues.

In addition to patient care, Xueying is interested in teaching, medical innovation, clinical research, and leadership focusing on healthcare administration.

Adam Fry, MM, MA CCC-SLP, is a voice specialized speech language pathologist. He earned his Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining Stanford, he completed his clinical fellowship at the Lakeshore Professional Voice Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Prior to his career in Speech Pathology, he received his Master of Music from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati followed by a 10 year career as an opera singer singing with companies such as Pittsburgh Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Dayton Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Erie Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, Cincinnati May Festival and Annapolis Opera.

Adam’s particular clinical interests include voice care for singers and professional voice users, respiratory retraining for chronic cough and upper airway disorders, and dysphagia therapy for swallowing disorders. Adam performs Modified Barium Swallow Studies and FEES (Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallow) and combined voice and swallow evaluations with Dr. Brian Nuyen.

Outside of the clinic, Adam continues to keep his ties to the opera world helping singers in distress. He also enjoys exploring the California coast, craft breweries and looking for the next best donut.