Current Research and Scholarly Interests
With more than 160 published articles and chapters, Lloyd Minor, MD, is an expert in balance and inner ear disorders. Through neurophysiological investigations of eye movements and neuronal pathways, his work has identified adaptive mechanisms responsible for compensation to vestibular injury in a model system for studies of motor learning (the vestibulo-ocular reflex). The synergies between this basic research and clinical studies have led to improved methods for diagnosing and treating balance disorders.
Dr. Minor is perhaps best known for discovering superior canal dehiscence syndrome, a debilitating disorder characterized by sound- or pressure-induced dizziness. In 1998, Dr. Minor and colleagues published a description of the clinical manifestations of the syndrome and related its cause to an opening (dehiscence) in the bone covering of the superior canal. He subsequently developed a surgical procedure that corrects the problem and alleviates symptoms.
In 2003, 10 years after joining the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine faculty, Dr. Minor was appointed director (chair) of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and otolaryngologist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Among other accomplishments, Dr. Minor expanded annual research funding 50% and clinical activity 30%. In September 2009, Dr. Minor became provost of Johns Hopkins University, where he enhanced teaching innovation, strengthened education on the doctoral level, and led countless other university-wide initiatives.
In December 2012, Dr. Minor was appointed Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of Stanford University School of Medicine. Under his leadership, Stanford Medicine has developed an Integrated Strategic Plan to cultivate greater synergy among the institution’s entities (Stanford Health Care, Stanford Children’s Health, and Stanford School of Medicine). He also established a strategic vision to lead the biomedical revolution in Precision Health. His book, “Discovering Precision Health” highlights how biomedical advances are enabling a fundamental shift to proactive and personalized health care.
In 2021, Dr. Minor articulated and began realizing a bold vision for transforming the future of life sciences at Stanford University, in the Bay Area, and beyond. This multi-decade journey will leverage the region’s unique strengths in information sciences, technology, and biology and biomedicine to establish a biomedical innovation hub that through collaboration enhances fundamental understanding of biology and translates promising discoveries into transformative leaps that promote human and planetary well-being.
In 2012, Dr. Minor was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
