Faculty and staff from the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School (HMS) celebrated the 2021 graduating class of residents and fellows on Friday, June 11.
Graduating residents and their immediate families were honored inside the Meltzer Auditorium at Mass Eye and Ear, while faculty, staff, and fellows joined the celebration remotely. Five chief residents graduated from the program, which is led by HMS Otolaryngology Residency Director Stacey T. Gray, MD, Associate Residency Director Kevin S. Emerick, MD, Associate Residency Director Alice Z. Maxfield, MD, and interim Chair of Otolaryngology Mark A. Varvares, MD, FACS. Twelve fellows graduated from the program; eight clinical fellows at Mass Eye and Ear, three clinical fellows at Boston Children’s Hospital, and one clinical fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Dr. Gray acknowledged the immense success of this year’s graduating class in her address to residents. While the 2021 graduating class collectively published over 175 peer-reviewed articles during their time in the program, Dr. Gray said she will remember the graduating class most for the resilience and grace each resident demonstrated amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Their response to the past year shows me that they’re capable of accomplishing anything,” Dr. Gray said. “They’ve taken the challenges of a year full of adversity and have responded with tremendous grace and strength. They’ve grown as trainees, led with incredible ease, and flourished together as friends.”
James Rocco, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, delivered this year’s Joseph B. Nadol, MD, Graduation Lectureship. Dr. Rocco, who also serves as the Mary E. and John W. Alford Research Chair in Head and Neck Cancer and the Director of Head and Neck Disease Specific Research Group at the James Cancer Hospital and the Solove Research Institute, formerly served as the director of Head and Neck Cancer Research at Mass Eye and Ear and as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School for 15 years.
In his speech, Dr. Rocco spoke candidly about how each graduating residents and trainee can learn from his or her mistakes over the course of their careers. He reminded each resident and fellow to identify adverse outcomes, use prior experiences to modify behavior, and to understand the power behind saying “yes.”
“Most of us spend life carefully analyzing and overanalyzing choices, even those that may seem simple,” Dr. Rocco said. “But almost every time I said ‘no’ to something, it was a mistake. More opportunities will arise as a result of saying yes.”
At the end of the graduation ceremony Shekhar K. Gadkaree, MD was awarded the Chief Resident Teaching award and Matthew P. Partain, MD was awarded the Fellow Teaching Award. Faculty member Jeremy D. Richmon, MD received the William Montgomery Faculty Teaching Award and Julianne Richards, PA-C was presented with the Harvard Otolaryngology Resident Well-Being Award.
Prior to graduation, residents met virtually on Thursday to present their Chief Resident Research Talks. Topics of the research talks ranged from gene expression in head and neck cancers to an array of public health issues. Vivek V. Kanumuri was awarded the Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, PhD, Research Award for his talk on “Development of a Novel Flexible Auditory Brainstem Implant.”