Dr. Alan Workman Presented Norman Knight Award

Alan D. Workman, MD, MTR, a fellowship-trained sinus surgeon at Mass Eye and Ear, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Norman Knight Leadership Development Award. The award was endowed by the late Norman Knight, a self-made broadcast pioneer and media mogul who was a passionate champion of Mass Eye and Ear for more than 25 years.

Recipients are selected for their exceptional promise as future leaders within their specialty in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Mass Eye and Ear. Thanks to Mr. Knight’s generosity, the award provides junior faculty members with funding to help them establish a career in academic medicine during the early years of their practice. Awardees may use the funds for research, equipment or for any other approved career development purposes.

Dr. Workman, an Assistant Professor in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School, is an expert in complex sinus surgery and endoscopic treatment of sinus tumors, cerebrospinal fluid leaks and skull base lesions. He is extremely passionate about improving quality of life for patients with disorders of the nose and sinuses through effective medical and surgical treatments. 

Dr. Workman completed his residency in the Harvard Medical School Otolaryngology training program. He subsequently spent one year at the University of Pennsylvania completing his fellowship in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery, before returning to Mass Eye and Ear and joining the Division of Rhinology. 

His current research focuses on the effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on the upper airway, and how these ubiquitous environmental contaminants can incite and sustain inflammation. This is an emerging area of concern that has significant public health ramifications yet remains underexplored, particularly in the context of the nasal epithelium and sinuses. The Norman Knight Leadership Development Award was accompanied by a grant that will help fund ongoing studies in his laboratory focusing on the downstream inflammation and epigenetic changes that are caused by these plastics in nasal epithelial cells.

Mark A. Varvares, MD, FACS, William W. Montgomery and John W. Merriam Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Chair of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital, presented this year’s award to Dr. Workman on May 29 at the Spring Meeting of the Trustees and Medical Staff at Mass Eye and Ear.

“It’s been a privilege to watch Dr. Workman grow as both a surgeon and a researcher since he joined us as a resident in 2018,” said Dr. Varvares. “He is at the forefront of uncovering the causes of airway inflammation, an important step in understanding how environmental factors affect respiratory health. We’re excited to see the impact his research will have.”