Dr. Daniel Lee Promoted to Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
Daniel J. Lee, MD, FACS, the inaugural Ansin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at Mass Eye and Ear, has been promoted to Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Lee is an internationally recognized pediatric and adult otologist, neurotologist, and lateral skull base surgeon. He serves in several leadership roles at Mass Eye and Ear, including Director of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology, Director of the Helene and Grant Wilson Auditory Brainstem Implant Program, Program Director of the Harvard Neurotology Fellowship, and Director of International Patient Services.
Dual board certified in neurotology and otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, Dr. Lee specializes in the care of children and adults with complex ear disorders, including congenital and acquired deafness, otosclerosis, cholesteatoma, superior canal dehiscence syndrome, temporal lobe encephaloceles, vestibular schwannoma, and NF2-related schwannomatosis.
Since joining Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lee has helped advance minimally invasive approaches to ear and lateral skull base surgery. He is an international leader in transcanal endoscopic ear surgery for children and adults with cholesteatoma and chronic ear disease. He has also established a nationally and internationally recognized program for the diagnosis and surgical management of superior canal dehiscence syndrome.
Dr. Lee’s federally funded basic and translational research group seeks to answer fundamental questions about central auditory processing and to improve auditory brainstem implant outcomes for patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 2. As founding director of the Wilson Auditory Brainstem Implant Program, he has spent nearly two decades advancing clinical care and translational research for deaf children and adults with NF2-related schwannomatosis, severe inner ear malformations, auditory nerve deficiencies, or other conditions that preclude cochlear implantation. In collaboration with colleagues at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Dr. Lee is developing next-generation auditory brainstem implant technologies, including soft, conformable electrode arrays and novel stimulation strategies designed to improve hearing outcomes and quality of life for patients with NF2.
Dr. Lee has contributed to translational innovation through close collaboration with biotechnology partners developing novel therapies for hearing loss, including hair cell regeneration strategies and pediatric gene therapy clinical trials for congenital hearing loss.
He has also made major contributions to education and mentorship. He is a recipient of the William Montgomery Excellence in Teaching Award, given by the Harvard Otolaryngology residents. He directs the Harvard ACGME-accredited Neurotology Fellowship, has trained numerous residents, fellows, medical students, and postdoctoral researchers, and has helped lead national and international courses in endoscopic ear surgery, cochlear and auditory brainstem implantation, and lateral skull base surgery.
Dr. Lee received his BA from Columbia College and earned his medical degree, completed residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, and completed fellowship training in otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has been a member of the Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery for nearly two decades.
Congratulations to Dr. Lee on this well-deserved appointment and important academic milestone.