Spotlight
Summer 2024 Newsletter
Dear Colleagues, Family Members, and Friends,
It is with deep gratitude and joy that I welcome you to this year's graduation festivities. Your unwavering support and presence here today are a testament to the strong bonds we share and the collective pride we have in our graduating residents and fellows.
Dear Graduating Residents and Fellows,
Today, we gather to celebrate you and your exceptional accomplishments. This day signifies a key milestone in your journey as you step into the esteemed ranks of otolaryngologists—head and neck surgeons. You have faced and overcome numerous challenges, both professionally and personally– the pandemic, political turmoil, wars, division, and grief. Yet, you have emerged even stronger than when you entered your training, well prepared to serve the communities you'll be a part of and lead the healthcare systems where you'll practice. Your resilience is a beacon of hope for all of us.
On behalf of all present here today, and all who are cheering for you from afar, I want to tell you that you fill us with an overwhelming sense of pride and honor.
Your professional journey – your past, present, and future – is well captured in the Stanford Medicine coat of arms, which is steeped in a rich heraldic tradition. Each of the three parts of the coat of arms tells your story.
First, on the right side, look at the staff of Aesculapius with the entwined golden snake signifying the medical profession. Ever since you first dreamt of becoming a physician, and throughout your career as a practicing one, this is an emblem of your path. Aesculapius was a deity of healing and medicine. The staff, traditionally a cypress tree, represents not only your strength and growth but the impenetrability of a physician’s ethic. The snake symbolizes renewal and rejuvenation through the shedding of skin; the dual role of the snake’s venom, as a poison and curative therapy, captures the physician’s navigating of life and death, sickness, and health.
Like this symbol, you have been steadfast in your determination to grow and evolve, to discover and cure. Your patients come to you to prevent and alleviate diseases that often impact what it means for them to be human – how they look, speak, hear, smell, or taste. With this profound influence on their lives comes a great responsibility to prioritize the best interests of your patients above all else.
Second, look at the top left corner, the triple redwood frond with its terminal catkins. It has triple symbolism. Number one: location, namely Palo Alto, which means “high tree.” This tree is also in our university’s logo. Number two: the three essential functions of the university: the generation, organization, and transmission of knowledge. Number three: the tripartite character of the university community—students, faculty with staff, and alumni.
For us, the frond also symbolizes the tripartite mission of our Department:
to deliver exceptional, innovative care in otolaryngology — head & neck surgery;
to advance frontiers of knowledge;
to educate patients, clinicians, and researchers who will serve and inspire the global community to expand what is possible in medicine.
We believe that you, our graduating residents and fellows, epitomize this mission and are equipped to go into the world and become servant-leaders. We expect you to lead with kindness, empathy, and unwavering support for the vulnerable, fostering a culture of inclusivity and compassion.
Finally, look at the bottom left of our coat of arms. It is an abstract image of a design repeated throughout the masonry at the School of Medicine and is considered a masterpiece of Edward Stone, its architect. Legend has it that the design is derived from a Native American symbol of eternal life. Another interpretation is that the shifted boxes represent the interdisciplinary nature of medicine, emphasizing the collaboration and interconnectedness of various fields within medicine. It also showcases the importance of diverse perspectives and collaboration in the advancement of healthcare.
For us, the interconnected boxes also symbolize our closely knit departmental family, with you as critical members of that family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. The doors of this department will always be open to you. Please stop by whenever you have a chance and share with us the wisdom (and jokes!) you acquired while at The Farm. Like any good sibling, please stay in touch and take care of those coming after you.
I also hope that the shifted boxes remind you to think out of the box, which is a defining feature of the Stanford family members. Your ability to think creatively and envision possibilities beyond the constraints of the mundane will bring healing to your patients, health to your communities, and hope to our broken world.
David Viscott, a psychiatrist and a pioneering radio talk show host around the time you were born said:
The purpose of life is to discover your gift.
The work of life is to develop it.
The meaning of life is to give your gift away.
Let’s go back to the redwood frond once more to point out that the catkins in it release pollen, which fertilizes many flowers and produces seeds that give rise to new trees. May your efforts give rise to forests of kindness, compassion, and hope, spreading their protective shade far and wide to nurture and inspire all who seek refuge beneath their branches. Remember to give your gift away. Joyfully. Generously. Humbly.
Dear graduating residents and fellows, congratulations again, and cheers to a future of incredible feats, endless opportunities, and relentless pursuit of excellence and compassion!
Konstantina Stankovic, MD, PhD, FACS
Beraterlli Foundation Professor and Chair
Dr. Nausheen Jamal, MD, Chair of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Department of Otolaryngology, was the guest of honor at our residency and fellowship graduation. She specializes in laryngology and the treatment of voice, swallowing, and airway disorders.
Highlights from Graduation 2024
Alanna Coughran, MD
Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
Javier Howard, MD, MPH
Private Practice
University of Michigan Health West
Grand Rapids, MI
George Liu, MD
Neurotology Fellowship
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
Tina Munjal, MD
Neurotology Fellowship
Mass Eye & Ear
Boston, MA
Zipei Feng, MD, PhD
The Oregon Clinic,
Physician
Zechariah Franks, MD, MPH
Mayo Clinic, Florida,
Senior Associate Consultant
Pedro Martins Gomes de Oliveira, MD
Stanford Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery
Sleep Surgery Division,
Clinical Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery
Christina NG, MBBS, MM, MRCS
Consultant at Sengkang Hospital, Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School,
Singapore
Jason Zhen Qian, MD
University of California, San Diego & Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego,
Assistant Professor
Julianna Rodin, MD
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, the University of Pennsylvania,
Assistant Professor
Monica Rossi Meyer, MD
Vanderbilt University, Assistant Professor
Peter Kullar, MBBChir, MA, PhD
Manchester University, Otology/Skull base fellow
Vikram Padhye, MD, PhD
Royal Adelaide Hospital, Consultant
Alanna Coughran, MD
Resident of the Year
For excellence during residency program
George Liu, MD
Resident Team Player of the Year
& Symposium Award
Runner-up in content
Karthik Balakrishnan, MD, MPH
Faculty
Teacher of the Year
For excellence in teaching
Julia Noel, MD
Affiliated Faculty
Teacher of the Year
For excellence in teaching
Zipei Feng, MD, PhD
Clinical Instructor
Teacher of the Year
For excellence in teaching
Peter Hwang, MD
Faculty
Mentor of the Year
For excellence in mentorship
Julien Azimzadeh, MD, PhD
Resident
Research Symposium Award Grand Prize
Best presentation
Maxwell Lee, MD, MS
Resident
Peter Koltai Award
For excellence in the Pediatric Division
Lacey Nelson, MD, MS
Resident
Peter Koltai Award
For excellence in the Pediatric Division
Mohamed Diop MD, MS
Resident
Resident In-Training Award
Patrick Kiessling, MD
Resident
Resident In-Training Award