The UC San Francisco Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery is sponsoring the UCSF Otolaryngology Update 2021, taking place November 11 to 13, 2021. UCSF Medical Center has been recognized as Best in the West and No. 5 in the nation for ear, nose and throat in the 2021-2022 Best Hospitals survey by U.S. News & World Report. Otolaryngologist Andrew H. Murr, MD, is chair of the UCSF Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. In this interview, he discusses the upcoming event and some of the innovative research and treatments taking place at UCSF.
Q: What are the latest options for treating chronic rhinosinusitis?
A: Corticosteroids work well, but they are rather indiscriminate and can have unwanted side effects. Studies have been done in the last decade on the inflammation pathways that underlie sinus disease and asthma. These studies have led to refined concepts of the causes of inflammation and drug development to target those causes. We're very fortunate that UCSF’s Dr. Lauren Roland is a lead author on the consensus statement paper that describes the pharmaceutical biologics that are now available to patients. Some of these biologic treatments are FDA-approved for asthma and some for sinus-related issues, including polyps. Dr. Roland is a national expert on this topic. She’ll be presenting at the UCSF Otolaryngology Update 2021.
Q: What are some of the other UCSF Otolaryngology Update 2021 presentations?
A: Dr. Edward Chang, chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at UCSF, will give a keynote lecture on a breakthrough speech neuroprosthesis. He and his team were able to put a sensor on a portion of the cortical brain and retro-engineer speech in a person who was aphasic. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.
Dr. Jennifer Grandis, the Robert K. Werbe Distinguished Professor in Head and Neck Cancer at UCSF, will present on STAT3 inhibitors for the treatment of head and neck cancer. She’s what I’d call an elite scientist and has done a lot of work on signal processing in cancer.
Dr. Carole Fakhry, director of the Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Cancer Center, will give a keynote lecture on the impact of human papillomavirus vaccination on oropharyngeal cancer.
We’ll also get an analysis of the latest data on the COVID-19 pandemic from Dr. George Rutherford, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and director of the Prevention and Public Health Group at UCSF. Many other outstanding speakers will discuss current evidence-based practice.
Q: Can you highlight some of the latest research and treatments taking place at UCSF?
A: What stands out is that patients who come here for complicated care and surgery have very good outcomes and high survival rates. UCSF provides excellent care and ideal placement for patients who need rehabilitation after they leave the hospital. Much of this success is a testament to the Head and Neck Surgery Cancer Clinic and the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic.
The UCSF Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery is ranked fourth in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. We have quietly awesome people here who are doing very high-quality research with impactful lines of investigation. Some of our research areas include central auditory processing, cochlear physiology, cancer signaling, immunology, stem cells, biological tissue engineering and nanoparticle technology.
We offer exceptional translational research and do great work for our patients. We're able to determine the right procedure for each patient, get them through that procedure and make sure they are cared for extremely effectively.
UCSF Otolaryngology Update 2021
Click here to register for this state-of-the-art symposium, which will emphasize new diagnostic
and treatment methods, new technologies, and new surgical strategies for the contemporary
practice of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery.
When: November 11-13, 2021
Where: The Westin St. Francis | 335 Powell St., San Francisco, CA 94102
To learn more:
UCSF Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Phone: (800) 444-2559 | Fax: (414) 353-4395
