Skull Base Fellowship Registry

• Rhinology/Endonasal

Amber Luong, MD, PhD
William Yao, MD

• Otolaryngology

Ideally, foreign medical graduates will be eligible for a full Texas medical license.

H1B visa is preferred; J1 visa holders will be considered.

All foreign medical graduates should apply through the SF Match application process.

• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3

Dr. Luong leads a translational research effort focused on the mechanisms of CRS, especially CRSwNP and AFRS.

2023-2024: Shuhui Xu, MMBS (current fellow)
2022-2023: Ali Jafar, MBBS (facial plastics fellow, UTHealth McGovern)
2021-2022: Andy Chua, MBBS, (consultant [equivalent of assistant professor], Seng Kang General Hospital, Singapore)
2020-2021: J. Paul Radabaugh, MD (private practice, Jacksonville, FL)
2019-2020: Issaac Schmale, MD Assistant Professor University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
2018-2019: Jason Talmadge, MD, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center(Houston, TX)
2017-2018:  Alok Saini, MD Assistant professor, University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)
2016-2017:  Michael Marino, MD Mayo Clinic (Phoenix, AZ)
2015-2016:  Kent Lam, MD Assistant professor, Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk,VA)
2014-2015:  Abib Agbetoba, MD Private practice (Houston, TX)
2013-2014:  Drew Plonk, MD Assistant professor, Wake Forest Baptist Health (Winston-Salem, NC)
2012-2013:  Michael Chater, MD Private practice (Canton, NY)
2011-2012: Paul Lee, MD Private practice (Panorama City, CA)
2010-2011:  Li Man, MD Associate professor, University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
2009-2010: Seth Isaacs, MD Private practice (Cincinnati, OH)

Overview of Fellowship
Our goal is to offer the highest quality 1-year rhinology training program. Through our fellowship training, we will help establish leaders who will provide state-of-the-art clinical care, improve patient care standards, educate others, and perform research. The fellowship provides an intensive rhinologic experience in a tertiary-care academic environment. Emphasis is placed upon management of paranasal sinus inflammatory disorders, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, revision sinus surgery, inhalant allergy, complex frontal sinus disease, revision sinus surgery, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, encephaloceles, minimally invasive approaches to the paranasal sinuses and skull base for resection of benign and malignant sinonasal neoplasms. The fellowship features a robust clinical experience (3 attending rhinologists) and research experiences (translational science program, postdoc and research coordinator). In addition, fellowship directors will provide mentorship to help define and achieve career goals.

Important Update: We have received provisional recognition as a Neurorhinology-Advanced Rhinology Fellowship from the American Rhinologic Society.

Fellowship Description
Clinical Rotations

The fellow works closely with all 3 attending rhinologists in the clinic and operating room. There are no set clinical rotations; however, set assignments assure that the fellow's time is shared among all 3 rhinologists. The fellow assignments are prioritized for participation in more complex revision and skull base cases. Moreover, the assignments will be dynamic to allow fulfillment of the fellow’s clinical interests.

Weekly Schedule

The weekly schedule mirrors the schedule of the attending rhinologists. On average, there are 1.5-2.5 days of OR and approximately 2.0 days of clinic. The remainder of the time is devoted to administration and research.

Research Responsibilities

The fellow participates in the monthly rhinology administrative meeting. In that meeting, research projects, and other administrative issues are actively managed. It is expected that the fellow will develop at least one clinical project and complete most of the work during the course of the fellowship year. Prior fellows have typically developed multiple projects, some which are completed after the fellowship year concludes. Opportunities for bench-top research are present, but the short fellowship precludes active participation at the benchtop.

Diversity of Cases

The fellowship is based in a clinically-integrated academic medical center, and as such, the case complexity is mostly at the tertiary-quaternary level (revision sinus surgery, frontal sinus surgery, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, CSF leak, benign and malignant tumors). The patients are primarily from the greater Houston area and southeast Texas; patients from other states and countries also seek treatment at TSI/TSBP. Exposure to general ENT and primary/secondary level rhinology is relatively limited.

Call Schedule

The fellow participates in the faculty call schedule; currently, the call requirement is approximately 3 days per month. A senior resident and a junior resident are always on call as well. The faculty covers call at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital.

Administrative Responsibilities

The fellow is an active participant in the monthly rhinology planning meeting, which coordinates efforts of the faculty members, the fellow and residents in research and educational endeavors as well as practice administration (including reimbursement, marketing, reimbursement, et al.).

Additional Information

The fellow participates in the routine academic activities of the department, including grand rounds, teaching conferences, CME courses, etc. All department members attend grand rounds; participation in the other activities is more selective.

• American Rhinologic Society

We participate in the SF Match application process.