Newswise — LOS ANGELES — The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) has named John S. Oghalai, MD, FACS, the new chair of the Tina and Rick Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, effective Aug. 1, 2017. He joins the Keck School from Stanford University School of Medicine, where he serves as professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, director of the Stanford Children’s Hearing Center and director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded Clinician-Scientist Training Program in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Oghalai specializes in treating patients with diseases of the ear and skull base and has designed and led team-based multidisciplinary programs to provide care for children with complex hearing loss.

Oghalai’s current NIH-funded research includes a prospective clinical trial in pediatric cochlear implant recipients; translational research in imaging of the cochlea and auditory cortex in human subjects; and basic science research in the fundamental mechanisms of cochlear physiology.

He has a long history of research funding through the NIH, the Department of Defense and private foundations and has published in top journals, including Science, PNAS, Nature Communications and the Journal of Neuroscience.

“We look forward to Dr. Oghalai’s arrival in August and have great expectations for him to continue the department’s ascending trajectory in quality clinical care, resident and fellow education, and research,” said Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and director of the USC Gayle and Edward Roski Eye Institute.

“The clinical and research faculty and the trainees at the Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Keck School of Medicine are incredibly enthusiastic and dedicated,” Oghalai said. “I look forward to working with the team to make fundamental biological discoveries and to develop innovative strategies to improve patient care.”

Oghalai received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also received his medical degree. He then completed an internship in general surgery and residency training in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. During that time, he took two years off of clinical activities for a basic science research postdoctoral fellowship. He completed his medical training with a subspecialty fellowship in neurotology and skull base surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.

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ABOUT THE KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OF USCFounded in 1885, the Keck School of Medicine of USC is among the nation’s leaders in innovative patient care, scientific discovery, education, and community service. It is part of Keck Medicine of USC, the University of Southern California's medical enterprise, one of only two university-owned academic medical centers in the Los Angeles area. This includes the Keck Medical Center of USC, composed of the Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The two world-class, USC-owned hospitals are staffed by more than 500 physicians who are faculty at the Keck School. The school today has approximately 1,650 full-time faculty members and voluntary faculty of more than 2,400 physicians. These faculty direct the education of approximately 700 medical students and 1,000 students pursuing graduate and post-graduate degrees. The school trains more than 900 resident physicians in more than 50 specialty or subspecialty programs and is the largest educator of physicians practicing in Southern California. Together, the school's faculty and residents serve more than 1.5 million patients each year at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as USC-affiliated hospitals Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Keck School faculty also conduct research and teach at several research centers and institutes, including the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at USC, the USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, the USC Roski Eye Institute and the USC Institute of Urology. In 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked Keck School of Medicine among the Top 40 medical schools in the country. For more information, go to keck.usc.edu.