Otolaryngologists Gather for 2015 Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting

Brookhouser Award

Robert Miller, MD, MBA, received the 2015 Patrick E. Brookhouser Award, which honors otolaryngologists for significant service and scientific contributions.

Dr. Miller, the physician editor of ENTtoday, is executive director of the American Board of Otolaryngology and previously served as executive secretary and treasurer of the Triological Society, in addition to many other leadership roles within the specialty. “Dr. Miller has contributed to otolaryngology as a thought leader,” said Jonas Johnson, MD, immediate past president of the Triological Society, in introducing Dr. Miller, who has published more than 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed literature, as well as 30 book chapters.

Dr. Miller joked that receiving the award “means that I’ve realized that status of being old. But it’s also lovely to receive this award.”

He said that when he got the call that he was the award recipient, he grew teary-eyed, even as he rushed to catch a plane. “Part of the tears was related to obviously receiving this award,” he said. “Part of it was because of Pat Brookhouser. He was a dear friend, colleague, confidant. I learned a lot from Pat, and I think we all did.”

Two Trio Theses Win Honorable Mention

Andrew Scott, MD

Andrew Scott, MD, a pediatric otolaryngologist/pediatric facial plastic surgeon and assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, presented research that used Kids Inpatient Databases to find that, in 2006 and 2009, the estimated birth prevalence of isolated Pierre Robin sequence was 1.8 per 10,000 live births—1.4 per 10,000 live births for syndromic Pierre Robin sequence—rates that might be higher than previously described. He and his colleagues also found different treatment strategies in different parts of the United States—tongue-lip adhesion and neonatal mandibular distraction osteogenesis were favored in the northeast. The overall cost of a tongue-lip adhesion admission was lower than a mandibular distraction osteogenesis or tracheostomy admission, the researchers found.

Kenneth Lee, MD, PhD

The second presentation was from Kenneth Lee, MD, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. He and his colleagues concluded that the ephrin (EPH) A2 receptor may be involved in guiding ganglion cells to hair cells in chicks. They also found that disruption of the signaling of EPH receptors and ephrin ligands resulted in abnormal innervation and hearing loss, suggesting a role for these proteins in normal innervation patterns in the cochlea of mice.