June 2026
OTO’s First Single-Port Transoral Robotic Surgery Case
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery had its first single-port (SP) Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) case in early June. The case actually involved some great Departmental teamwork.
Read about the SP TORS surgery
Cranial Base Surgery: The Story So Far...and What's Next
At the beginning of the Eye & Ear Foundation’s January 21st webinar, “Cranial Base Surgery: The Story So Far…and What’s Next,” Pittsburgh native Garret Choby, MD, said he is thrilled to be back in Pittsburgh. The Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery with a dual appointment in Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was recruited to UPMC in 2023, where he specializes in sinus and skull base surgery. His goal for the webinar was to provide insight into the Cranial Base Surgery Center.
Read about the cranial base surgery webinar
Pitt Researchers are Putting Mixed Reality at the Fingertips of Surgeons
A modern operating room contains a collection of cutting-edge equipment, a phalanx of digital screens, and more doctors, nurses, and technicians than the Pitt Panthers put on the football field.
Learn how surgeons are using mixed reality
Gene Therapies for Hearing Loss
Christopher L. Cunningham, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Neurobiology and faculty member in the Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center (PHRC) is continually amazed at how common hearing loss is. He spoke about his work at the Eye & Ear Foundation’s June 25th webinar, “Gene Therapies for Hearing Loss: Treating Defective Genes and Beyond.”
Read about gene therapies for hearing loss
Faculty News
Garret Choby, MD received a Medical Student Research Mentoring Merit Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He was promoted to Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
He was also elected to the Board of Directors of the American Rhinologic Society for a three-year term beginning in October 2026.
Dr. Choby has been named President-Elect of the International Network for Sinonasal Cancer Research (INSICA), with his term set for 2029–2030. As part of this role, he will host an international sinonasal cancer meeting in Pittsburgh in 2030—an exciting opportunity to showcase both departmental expertise and the city’s growing presence in global research collaboration.
At the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery held in Indianapolis from October 11-14, 2025, Dr. Choby's article, "Pathologic Dural Invasion is Associated with Regional Recurrence in Olfactory Neuroblastoma: A MultiInstitutional Study," was selected as one of the most impactful “game changing” publications in the field of otolaryngology. This article was also awarded the Top Viewed Article by the journal, International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology.
Carl Snyderman, MD, MBA, spent the season representing the University of Pittsburgh Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery on an international stage — delivering invited lectures in Geneva, Switzerland and Rome, Italy, and presenting alongside Dr. Eric Wang at the Congress of European ORL–Head & Neck Surgery in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Their presentations covered some of the most pressing topics in the field: the evolving limits of endoscopic skull base surgery, advances in juvenile angiofibroma treatment, management of complications in endoscopic sinus and skull base surgery, treatment for osteoradionecrosis, and innovative simulation protocols for ICA injury management.
Dr. Snyderman was also inducted as a Corresponding Member of the German Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Society at their annual meeting held in Ulm, Germany from May 13-16. He presented an invited lecture entitled, “Controversies in Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery of the Skull Base” and Co-Chaired an International Skull Base Session, where he presented a lecture on “Angiofibroma.”
Allison Tobey, MD has been promoted to Associate Professor of Otolaryngology in the Clinician-Educator Pathway (Appointment Stream) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr Tobey joined the Department as a faculty member in the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology in 2016. She currently serves as the Director of the Pediatric Aerodigestive Center and has helped develop the Pediatric Aerodigestive Center into a well-respected regional and national referral center for children with complex aerodigestive disorders.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Grants and Awards
2026 CORE Grant Awards:
Joshua Smith, MD: AHNS/AAO-HNSF Translational Innovator Combined Award for his proposal, titled Deciphering the Immunosuppressive Role of Tobacco in HPV+ Oropharynx Cancer
Chelsea Gelboin-Burkhart, MD: AHNS Trainee Research Pilot Grant for her proposal, titled Evaluating nerve-immune interactions in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Maryanna Owoc, MD, PhD: AAO-HNSF Resident Research Grant for her proposal, titled Disparities in hearing healthcare access in children with single sided deafness
Sandra Stinnett, MD: American Laryngological Association American Laryngological Voice and Research Education (ALVRE) Fund Grant for her project, titled Voiceload: The Impact of Neighborhood Deprivation and Allostatic Load on Voice Handicap in Muscle Tension Dysphonia
NIH Grants:
Christopher Cunningham, PhD: R01, Critical Proteins for Hair Cell Protein Trafficking and Auditory Function
Hari Bharadwaj, PhD: R01, Physiological Determinants of Suprathreshold Deficits in Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Catherine V. Palmer, PhD: R25, TRANSLATES: Translational Auditory Neuroscience LabBased Training for Empowered Self-Efficacy
Additional Grants and Awards:
Christopher Cunningham, PhD, and Adele Moatti, PhD: RNID Translational Award, Using a porcine model for advanced preclinical development of a novel hair cell-specific gene therapy for TOMT-linked hearing loss
Christopher Cunningham, PhD: PA Lions Award, Mechanisms of BiP-mediated prevention of cellular stress-induced hair cell death and hearing loss
Patrick Cody, PhD: Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) Emerging Research Grants, Comprehensive hearing recovery evaluation of novel targeting sequences for cell-typespecific gene therapy for hearing loss
Patrick Cody, PhD: Pennsylvania Lions Hearing Research Foundation, Molecular Characterization of Cortical inhibitory Circuits Following Cochlear Gene Therapy of Congenital Deafness
Lazar Vujanovic, PhD, who is co-PI with Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD: 2026 Innovation Award from the ASTRO Foundation for their proposal, titled Deciphering the Impact of RT/ICI Sequencing on Immune Dynamics & Response
Cell Type Specific Gene Therapy to Treat Hearing Loss
Join July's installment of the 2026 SVC Lecture Series with Christopher Cunningham, PhD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, happening Friday, July 17, from noon-1 p.m.
Click here to join this virtual lecture
