R25 Research Training and Education Program

Our R25 program provides NIH-funded (R25)intensive research training and education to five residents annually in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and to medical students (one per year). We have created an environment that supports the systematic refinement of a physician trainee’s analytical and research skills, and facilitates the potential for a productive research-oriented career in academic medicine. This is accomplished by:

• Selecting individuals with previously demonstrated commitment to biomedical research. For our residents, this includes a commitment to extend their residency training one year beyond the five-year norm. For our medical students, this entails taking a full year away from medical school, usually after MS2 or MS3.
• Sustaining and expanding a departmental culture in which research is an integral part of the mission among the otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (Oto-HNS) faculty, residents and staff.
• Exposing and facilitating research involvement throughout the residency period.
• Teaching teamwork and acceptance of critical and supportive input from peers and mentors.
• Exposing trainees to successful junior faculty and established senior scientist mentors.
• Providing exposure to issues and methodologies at the cutting edge of biomedical fields related to Oto-HNS and communication disorders.
• Instilling concepts of biomedical ethics and the excitement of lifelong questioning as a source for personal growth and career satisfaction.

We also recognize that this is an ongoing process through which we must continually refine the program based on immediate needs and an ongoing evaluation.

Only US citizens or permanent residents are eligible for R25 funding.

Residents: All residents are automatically enrolled in R25-supported research for one year followed by 3 months of institution-supported research.

Medical Students: All medical students interested in the R25 program must complete this intake survey. Upon receipt of your survey response, our staff or program directors will respond to discuss your interests and potential opportunities. Please reply to the survey well in advance of the March 1 application deadline. **Applications for the 2026-27 year are now closed.**

Jenny Stone, PhD  stoner@uw.edu
Jay Rubinstein, MD, PhD rubinj@uw.edu
David Horn, MD, Msc dlhorn@uw.edu

PROGRAM CO-DIRECTORS:

Jennifer Stone, PhD, is a research professor of Oto-HNS and the department’s director of research. Dr. Stone was the program director of the T32-funded Clinician Scientist Research Training Program and retained a leadership role with the transition to the NIDCD R25 Research Training in Otolaryngology in 2024. Dr. Stone studies regeneration of vestibular hair cells and recovery of vestibular function in adult. She has received funding from the NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Hearing Health Foundation, and Decibel Therapeutics. Dr. Stone has served as preceptor for resident trainees Drs. Justin Golub, Gi Soo Lee, Emmanuel Jáuregui, and Rahilla Tarfa; predoctoral medical student trainees Kelli Hicks and Hendrik Dorssers; three additional predoctoral trainees; and one postdoctoral PhD trainee. 

Jay T. Rubinstein, MD, PhD, is a professor of Oto-HNS and Bioengineering. He is the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Chair of Clinical Hearing Science, and center director of the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Professor Hearing Research Center. He serves as MPI of the NIDCD R25 Research Training in Otolaryngology program, following the transition from the T32 in 2024. Dr. Rubinstein’s laboratory conducts computational, physiologic, and behavioral studies of cochlear and vestibular implants, as well as investigations of inner ear genetic mutations. He has maintained continuous NIDCD funding since 1995 as PI, Co-PI, or Co-Investigator on numerous NIH, federal, foundation, and industry grants. Dr. Rubinstein has mentored clinicians, scientists, and clinician–scientists at all career stages. He co-mentored two successful K23 awardees (Drs. David Horn and Neel Bhatt), and trainees on our T32 (Drs. Justin Golub and Ryan Carlson). 

David Horn, MD, MS, is an associate professor of Oto-HNS, with an adjunct appointment in Speech and Hearing Sciences. He is a member of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Horn is the program co-director on the OtoHNS Research Training in Otolaryngology NIDCD R25 grant. His Prosthetic Auditory Development Lab studies auditory development in infants with cochlear implants. David has served as preceptor to multiple trainees, including Drs. Dudley Walker, Anisha Noble, and Sherise Epstein. He is one of few pediatric otolaryngologists to achieve a successful K-to-R transition. 

PRECEPTORS (with faculty appointments in Oto-HNS):

Waleed Abuzeid, MD, is an associate professor in Oto-HNS (rhinology/skull-base surgery specialist). His research in real-time surgical navigation and AI-supported clinical decision-making facilitates close working relationships with researchers in UW engineering and the tech industry. He is a new preceptor for our current medical student, Graham Harris, and project mentor for Dr. Jeremy Ruthberg. Both projects use computer vision techniques for improving endoscopic sinus surgery.  

Yoshiko Kojima, PhD, is a research assistant professor in Oto-HNS. who studies compensatory saccades, a part of a central vestibular rehabilitation process that improves visual acuity and suppresses oscillopsia, in non-human primates under support of NIH grants. She is a new preceptor in our program.

Bonnie Lau, PhD, is a research assistant professor in Oto-HNS who studies auditory brain and perceptual development, with a focus on deaf and hard of hearing and autistic children with NIH funding. She is a new preceptor in our Program. She has mentored two post-doctoral fellows but none of our trainees at this point. 

David Perkel, PhD,  is a professor in Biology and Oto-HNS. He co-directs the UW Auditory Neuroscience Training Program T32 Program for PhD predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. Dr. Perkel studies the cellular mechanisms underlying learning and production of vocal signals, with the goal of linking cellular and synaptic events with behavior, supported by NIH grants. He also studies mechanisms of bipedal upright posture in birds. He served as preceptor to two resident trainees, Drs. Probhat Bhama and Zaroug Jaleel. He is currently preceptor for resident trainees, Drs. Stephen Leong and Kris Patterson.

Jonathan A. Perkins, DO, is a professor of Oto-HNS at UW and an investigator at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Clinical and Translational Research. He studies molecular genetics of vascular and lymphatic anomaly diagnosis and pathophysiology, which impact communication. Dr. Perkins is a co-mentor for Oto-HNS resident trainee, Dr. Solomon Johnson, with Dr. James Bennett. He mentored prior trainees (Drs. Karthik Balikrishnan, Graham Strub, Kaitlyn Zenner, and Kelsey Loy). Dr. Perkins is Co-PI on a R01 and a PI on two industry-sponsored projects. 

James O. Phillips, PhD, is a research professor of Oto-HNS and affiliate of the VMBHRC, National Primate Research Center, and Institute on Human Development and Disability. Dr. Phillips’ laboratory studies development and adaptation of vestibular and oculomotor function and development of vestibular implants, with NIH support. He was preceptor for resident trainee Dr. Sarah Akkina (with Drs. Rubinstein and Kris Moe), and Dr. Lingga Adidharma (with Drs. David Horn) and a mentor for resident trainee Dr. Golub (with Drs. Rubinstein and Stone).

David W. Raible, PhD, is the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Chair of Basic Hearing Science, and professor of Oto-HNS and Neurobiology and Physiology. He studies hair cell death and regeneration in the zebrafish lateral line system, using genetics, small molecule screening and live imaging techniques. He has served as preceptor to several resident trainees (Drs. Alan Cheng, Felipe Santos, Lynn Chiu, Henry Ou, Jo Bellairs, and Kevin Yu) and two predoctoral medical student trainees (Drs. Eric Thomas and Kris Patterson). His work is funded by the NIDCD and the Hearing Health Foundation. 

Kathy Sie, MD, is a professor of Oto-HNS, director of Seattle Children’s Pediatric Communications Disorders Center, and a member of Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Clinical and Translational Research. She conducts research on NIDCD-relevant pediatric disorders. She has been a project mentor for many resident trainees (e.g., Drs. Erin Kirkham, Ryan Stern, Patricia Purcell, and Angelique Berens) and is preceptor for Dr. Rishi Modi’s project using 3D imaging for microtia reconstruction. 

Edward M. Weaver, MD, MPH, is a professor of Oto-HNS, director of the Otolaryngology Outcomes Research Group, and co-director of the UW Sleep Center. His research focuses on clinical epidemiology, health services research, and outcomes research, with a focus on obstructive sleep apnea. His research has been funded by NHLBI, NIDCR, multiple foundations, and private gifts. Dr. Weaver has served as preceptor to several residents (Drs. Derek Lam, Karthik Balakrishnan, Jonathan Skirko, Corinna Levine, Erin Kirkham, Malaka Atmakuri, Sebastian Jara, and Alison Ikeda).

Mark E. Whipple, MD, MS, is an associate professor of Oto-HNS and Bioinformatics and Assistant Dean for Curriculum in the School of Medicine. Dr. Whipple studies probabilistic models and uses machine learning techniques and big data to study various topics, including use of recorded voice data to enhance the diagnosis of laryngeal disorders. He has served as preceptor for several residents (Drs. Elisabeth Wick, Anthony Law, and Grace Wandell). 

PRECEPTORS (with faculty appointments outside of Oto-HNS):

Alberto Aliseda, PhD, is a professor in Mechanical Engineering who studies the role of fluid mechanics in human physiology and disease. He was a preceptor for clinical fellow Dr. Emily Robinson and resident trainees Drs. Amin and Konanur, studying airway disease in children. He is currently the preceptor for Dr. Hannah Case on the characterization and diagnosis of tracheomalacia utilizing computational fluid dynamic techniques. Dr. Seth Friedman is also a co-mentor on this project.

James T. Bennett, MD, PhD, is an associate professor of Pediatrics, Division of Genetic Medicine, and investigator at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine. His lab studies mosaic mutations in pediatric vascular malformations, which can impact communication. He is PI on R01 and P01 grants to discover somatic mutations, working collaboratively with Dr. Perkins. He was a co-mentor to residents, Drs. Zenner and Loy and is a preceptior to current research trainee Dr. Solomon Johnson, with co-mentor Dr. Jonathan Perkins.

Slobodan Beronja, PhD, is an associate professor at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and an affiliate assistant professor in the UW departments of Oral Health Sciences, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, and Biochemistry. He studies how stem cell renewal and differentiation contribute to cutaneous and head and neck squamous cell cancer using patient-derived xenografts and mouse models, with NIH R01 funding. He was a preceptor for a former resident trainee in our program, Dr. Zhou; with Dr. Barber as project mentor.

Sarah Benki-Nugent, PhD, MS, is a clinical assistant professor in Global Health who studies the impact of infectious pathogens and environmental exposures on neurodevelopmental outcomes in children in resource limited settings, considering impacts on hearing. Her research is supported by NIH R01 funding. She is a preceptor for a resident trainee Dr. Ali, with Dr. Gallagher as a Project Mentor, studying hearing care in Kenya.

Andrew Brown, PhD, is an associate professor in Speech and Hearing Sciences whose research addresses binaural hearing in normal and hard of hearing listeners, including those with cochlear implants. He has had R-level funding from the NIDCD and is seeking new funding. Dr. Brown is a new preceptor in our program. He has mentored PhD graduate students but none of our trainees, yet.

Seth Friedman, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Respiratory Biology and Therapeutics and manager of Innovation Imaging and Simulation Modeling in the Continuous Improvement and Innovative Department. Current studies are investigating congenital airway narrowing, characterizing abnormal tissue features in tracheomalacia and 3D printing for surgical planning. Dr. Friedman is a new preceptor working with Dr. Anna Clements on optimization of airway models for advanced surgical planning and otolaryngology education. Dr. Friedman will continue his preceptor role with incoming research resident, Dr. Sharon Feng.

Shyam Gollakota, PhD, is a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at UW. He works across machine learning, signal processing and hardware to build intelligent systems to address important medical conditions. His group has created computing tools for ear infection testing using smartphones and newborn hearing screening using earbuds. Dr. Gollakota was a preceptor to two resident trainees, Dr. Sharat Raju and Dr. Arun Raghavan.

Holly Harris, MPH, ScD, is an associateprofessor in Epidemiology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Dr. Harris is a cancer and nutritional epidemiologist conducting analyses on dietary risk factors for oral cancer in collaboration with head and neck surgeon Dr. Brittany Barber in Oto-HNS. Dr. Harris is a preceptor for Dr. Hosam Alkhatib. Dr. Alkhatib is examining the association between dietary glycemic index and processed food intake with incidence of oral cavity cancer in young patients. Dr. Barber is project mentor. Drs. Harris and Barber will mentor incoming resident Dr. Luis Cortina.

Carrie L Heike, MD, MS, is a professor of Pediatrics and pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Heike is a member of the Research Institute Center for Clinical and Translational Research. Dr. Heinke’s clinical and research focus is providing care to children with craniofacial differences, including clinical outcomes, informatics, population health and quality improvement. Dr. Heinke is a new preceptor and will be the preceptor for incoming research trainee Dr. Estephania Candelo Gomez. Dr. Juliana Bonilla-Velez will be the project mentor on this research.

Mary-Claire King, PhD, is a professor of Genome Sciences and an affiliate of the VMBHRC. Dr. King discovers and characterizes genes responsible for complex human conditions. Since 1991, she has carried out NIH-supported research to define genes responsible for human hearing loss. She is active in graduate education in the Department of Genome Sciences and as associate director of the Medical Sciences Training Program. She was a preceptor for medical student trainee Ryan Carlson, along with Dr. Rubinstein.

Paul Phillips, PhD, is a professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Pharmacology who investigates the role of dopamine transmission in normal and pathological mental function under support from the NIH. He was a preceptor for resident trainee Dr. Champaloux, studied the functional interaction between olfactory stimuli and the dopamine system. Dr. Champaloux went on to become a fellow at UW after her residency.

Stanley Riddell, MD, is a professor of Translational Science and Therapeutics Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. He is a world leader in developing immunotherapies. He is a preceptor for resident trainee Dr. Sina Dadafarin, who is characterizing the repertoire of HPV-specific CD4 T cells in OPSCC and isolate T cell receptors (TCRs) and perform pre-clinical testing for their candidacy in therapeutic adoptive T cell transfer.

Cristina (Tina) Rodriguez, MD, is a professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology. She is a principal investigator for National Clinical Trials Network studies and industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated studies. Her interests involve novel therapeutics in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and rare head and neck cancers. She was a preceptor for resident trainee Dr. Cassie Pan with Dr. Barber as project mentor.

Eric Seibel, PhD, is a research professor in Mechanical Engineering with expertise in conceiving and managing novel endoscope development projects. His work is funded by the NSF and NIH. He is preceptor for resident trainee Dr. Ruthberg’s project with Dr. Bly (Project Mentor) on image guidance in sinus surgery. This team will also mentor incoming resident trainee, Dr. Yashes Srinivasan.

Joshua Veatch, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Clinical Research Division of Fred Hutch Cancer Center. He studies how T-cells respond to solid tumors and how to improve responses. Dr. Veach is a new preceptor working alongside Dr. Riddell with resident Sina Dadafarin.

Ruikang Wang, PhD, is a professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington with a joint appointment in Ophthalmology. He has a long research history in designing and implementing OCT systems for biomedical applications in the brain, eye, ear, and skin. Dr. Wang has extensive mentoring experience. He served as preceptor for a resident trainee in our program (Dr. Aishwarya Shukla), with project mentor, Dr. Nina Lu.

Richard Wright, PhD, is a professor and chair of Linguistics and director of the Linguistic Phonetics Laboratory. His primary research interest is in understanding sources of systematic variation in the production and perception of language. Dr. Wright is a new preceptor who worked with predoctoral medical student, Kayla Aikens, investigating how background noise and subtitle accuracy affect speech comprehension, listening effort, and visual attention in individuals with normal hearing.  

PROJECT MENTORS

Project mentors are important contributors to our research education program. Though they do not meet preceptor criteria, they collaborate on clinically oriented research projects and teach in the structured research education series. Our project mentors are as follows (see Letters of Support):

Micheal Barbour, PhD, is an affiliate assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering and senior scientist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Raspatory Biology and Therapeutics. Dr. Barbour’s research focuses on improving patient care and outcomes through the development of innovative technologies and engineering-driven diagnostic tools. Dr. Barbour is a new project mentor who is working with two residents, Drs. Jeremy Ruthberg and Hannah Case, on 3D reconstructions speech and hearing anatomy.

Brittany Barber, MD, MSc, FRCSC, is an assistant professor in Oto-HNS and affiliate at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. She studies oral microbiome and immune microenvironment in squamous cell carcinoma. She mentors residents (Drs. Zhou, Brady), and mentored medical student Ms. Robinson, with preceptors Drs. Beronja & Harris. Currently Dr. Barber is a project mentor for current research trainees, Drs. Dadafarin, Alkhatib, and Luis Cortina.  

Michael Bindschadler, PhD, is a senior research rcientist, at Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Respiratory Biology and Therapeutics. His work focuses on developing new visualization, processing, and quantitative analysis tools for medical imaging. Dr. Bindschadler is a new project mentor who is working alongside preceptor Dr. Alberto Aliseda with resident Dr. Hannah Case. 

Neel K. Bhatt, MD, is an assistant professor in Oto-HNS and laryngologist. He was awarded the Triological Society Career Development award (2021) and has a pending K08 award. His primary area of research is understanding the neurophysiology of the aging larynx. Dr. Bhatt served as project mentor for Dr. Jaleel, with preceptor Dr. Perkel, and they continue this partnership mentoring research trainees Drs. Stephen Leong and Kris Patterson.

Randy Bly, MD, is an associate professor of OtoHNS, a pediatric otolaryngologist at Seattle Children’s, and a member of the Research Institute Center for Respiratory Biology and Therapeutics. He applies computer engineering methods to improve surgical planning for organs of smell, taste, hearing, and skull base. He has been project mentor to residents Drs. Raju, Konuthula, Pulido, Adidharma. 

Juliana Bonilla-Vélez, MD, is an assistant professor of Oto-HNS and a pediatric otolaryngologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Bonilla-Vélez is also a member of the Research Institute Center for Clinical and Translational Research. She is a project mentor for incoming research trainee Dr. Estephania Candelo Gomez. 

Emily Gallagher, MD, MPH, is an aassociate professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Craniofacial Medicine. She studies deficits in outcomes for children with craniofacial conditions, working with others to build hearing assessment tools. She is project mentor for resident trainee, Dr. Ali (preceptor Benki-Nugent).

Kaalan Johnson, MD, is an associate professor of Oto-HNS and pediatric otolaryngologist at Seattle Children's Hospital. He is a director of the Aerodigestive Program and member of Seattle Children’s  Research Institute Center for Respiratory Biology and Therapeutics. He studies surgical simulation and training, hoping to improve vocal cord function, ear tube placement, and sinus surgery. He served as project mentor for resident trainees (Drs. Wick, Harbison, Bly).

Gavriel Kohlberg, MD, is an assistant professor of Oto-HNS. He has an AOS Career Development Award and has a pending K award application. He is developing novel communication devices to improve speech perception in noise. He is project mentor for resident Dr. Raghavan with preceptor Dr. Gollakota. 

G. Nina Lu, MD, is an assistant professor of Oto-HNS specializing in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Her research focuses on treatment of facial paralysis and facial reconstructive surgery. She is a project mentor for resident trainee Dr. Shukla, with Dr. Wang as preceptor. 

A. Murat Maga, PhD, is an assistant professor of Pediatrics and a member of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine. His research focus on craniofacial development has made him a sought-after project mentor for resident trainee Dr. Rishi Modi and incoming resident research trainee Dr. Estephania Candelo Gomez. 

Tanya Meyer, MD, is a professor of Oto-HNS (Laryngology) and the Oto-HNS residency program director. She studies work productivity outcomes in voice disorders. She seDrs. Weaver and Whipple.

Kris Moe, MD, is a professor of Oto-HNS (Facial Plastics & Reconstructive Surgery) at Harborview Medical Center. He studies novel surgical approaches and devices relevant to organs of smell, taste, hearing, and the skull base. He was project mentor for several resident trainees (Drs. Bly, Berens, Harbison, Pullido, Akkina). 

Sanjay Parikh, MD, is a professor of Pediatric OtoHNS. He studies sleep endoscopy, with a focus on sleep-state laryngeal dysfunction. He was project mentor for resident trainees (Drs. Kirkham, Purcell, Miller).

Martin Prlic, PhD, is a professor in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and UW affiliate professor of Immunology. He is affiliated with the UW Department of Global Health, as well as the Pathobiology and Molecular and Cellular Biology Programs. The Prlic Lab primarily studies T cell and innate-like T cell responses in mucosal tissues. Dr. Prlic has been a project mentor for Dr. Alkhatib.

Maya Sardesai, MD, MEd, is an associate professor of Oto-HNS treating disorders of the airways of the nose and throat, including voice and swallowing issues, facial trauma, surgery for sleep apnea, and surgery for thyroid and parathyroid disease. She has research interests in clinical outcomes and medical education. Dr. Sardesai is a project mentor for Dr. Anna Clements’ project involving otolaryngology education using advanced surgical planning techniques.