Leadership

Dr. Zevallos became Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology in August 2022. He was previously Division Chief of Head and Neck Surgery and the Joseph B. Kimbrough Endowed Professor of Head and Neck Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.

He has a special interest in transoral robotic surgery for HPV+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. He also has a strong interest in head and neck cancer epidemiology and population sciences. He runs a translational research lab that focuses on HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer genomics and biomarker development.

Dr. Zevallos has published over 120 peer-reviewed research articles and is a highly sought-after speaker at national and international conferences on head and neck cancer. He is a member of the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium, American Head and Neck Society, American Thyroid Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the Triological Society. He is a Fellow, American College of Surgeons. He is on the Editorial Boards of Oral Oncology and Cancer Medicine, and Associate Editor of Head & Neck.

Dr. Zevallos is also the founder and chair of the board of a molecular diagnostics start-up company, Droplet Biosciences, based in Cambridge, MA.

After 42 years at the University of Pittsburgh, 16 of which were as Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology, Dr. Johnson stepped down. He helps run the UPMC Head & Neck Cancer Survivorship Clinic -- which he co-founded -- where he aims to raise awareness and understanding about survivorship among his colleagues and treat patient side effects more effectively.

Dr. Johnson's legacy includes a career spent on the care of people with head and neck tumors, a rank of Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and joint appointments in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and Department of Communication Science and Disorders in the School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences. He is also a Past President of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (2003), the American Head and Neck Society (2004), and the Triologic Society (2014).

Dr. Myers was the first full-time academic faculty member in the Department and served as Chair for 33 years, building an internationally recognized Department.

During his tenure, Dr. Myers increased the Department’s size and quality. He collaborated with Dr. Joseph Maroon to employ a then-new Cranial Facial Approach technique. Based on their early success Dr. Myers led efforts to establish a Center for Cranial Base Surgery, the first of its kind in North America. A significant contribution in his career was the concept of extracapsular spread (ECS) of cancer in the cervical lymph nodes.

Dr. Myers is author or co-author of leading texts in the field of head and neck cancer and has had leadership roles in most of the professional and scientific societies in the field of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

Eighty individuals who were residents or fellows in the Department during Dr. Myers’ 33 years as Chair are now professors at universities around the world. Thirty of them are Department Chairmen.

A prominent otologic surgeon who practiced with Dr. Kenneth Day Sr. and Dr. Kenneth Day Jr., Dr. Jordan became Chairman of the Department after Dr. McCullough’s retirement. He later resigned to become Executive Director of the American Council of Otolaryngology.

Severely deaf, Dr. Kenneth Day is credited with founding the first acoustical laboratory in a U.S. medical center.

Under Dr. McCullough’s leadership, the American Board of Otolaryngology bestowed full accreditation on the residency training program in otolaryngology.