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.
Dr. Zevallos’ clinical interests include the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, salivary gland tumors, thyroid and parathyroid conditions, and benign tumors of the head and neck. 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.
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. He continues to be actively engaged in entrepreneurship and in the development of responsible academic-industry collaborations across otolaryngology.
- Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Reconstruction Fellowship
- Baylor College of Medicine, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Residency
- Baylor College of Medicine, General Surgery Internship
- Rutgers University, MD
- Middlebury College, BA, Biology
Education & Training
Association between Locoregional Failure and NFE2L2/KEAP1/CUL3 Mutations in NRG/RTOG 9512: A Randomized Trial of Radiation Fractionation in T2N0 Glottic Cancer. Guan L, Torres-Saavedra PA, Zhao X, Major MB, Holmes BJ, Nguyen NK, Kumaravelu P, Hodge T, Diehn M, Zevallos JP, Holsinger FC, Emami B, Jordan RC, Hayward MC, Sagar SM, Morrison W, Schultz C, Caudell JJ, Jones CU, Bratman SV, Galloway TJ, Ma DJ, Yom SS, Kudrimoti M, Kim HE, Harris J, Le QT, Hayes DN. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Dec 10. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-24-2334.
CD8+ Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Head and Neck Cancer: A Review. Contrera KJ, Spector ME, Pantanowitz L, Abukhiran IM, Vujanovic L, Whiteside TL, Mowery YM, Zandberg DP, Sriharan SS, Kim S, Wilke C, Skinner HD, Zevallos JP, Ferris RL. JCO Precis Oncol. 2024 Oct;8:e2400183. doi: 10.1200/PO.24.00183. Epub 2024 Nov 20.
Comparison of surgical margins and adjuvant therapy for head and neck cancer by hospital type. Farquhar DR, Lenze NR, Tasoulas J, Sheth S, Zevallos JP, Lumley C, Blumberg J, Patel S, Hackman T, Weissler MC, Yarbrough WG, Olshan AF, Zanation AM. Transl Cancer Res. 2024 Sep 30;13(9):5050-5063. doi: 10.21037/tcr-23-2047. Epub 2024 Sep 27.
Association of Patient and Tumor Characteristics With Outcomes in Young Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients. Hsieh RW, Gooding WE, Nilsen M, Kubik M, Kelly Z, Sridharan S, Skinner H, Iheagwara U, Zevallos JP, Duvvuri U, Kim S, Ferris RL, Zandberg DP. Clin Otolaryngol. 2025 Jan;50(1):15-21. doi: 10.1111/coa.14215. Epub 2024 Aug 22.
Association of prealbumin with complications after total laryngectomy with free flap reconstruction. Tang A, Dang S, Lao I, Pandya S, Solari MG, Maxwell J, Contrera KJ, Zevallos JP, Ferris R, Kim S, Sridharan S, Spector ME. Am J Otolaryngol. 2024 Nov-Dec;45(6):104451. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2024.104451. Epub 2024 Jul 31.
Dr. Zevallos runs a translational research lab that focuses on HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer genomics and biomarker development and has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Head and Neck Society, the Veterans Affairs research program, and many others.
He is currently Principal Investigator on four grants: A Four-class, Molecular Subtyping Diagnostic for HPV-Negative Head and Neck Cancer; Phase II trial of surgery followed by risk-directed post-operative adjuvant therapy for HPV (+) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: The Minimalist 2 Trial; HPV genomic structural subtypes in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma; and Postdoctoral Training in Head and Neck Oncology.
He is co-investigator of: A saliva-based test using methylated microRNAs for recurrence of head and neck cancer.