We share the story of a 16-year-old patient with vocal cord dysfunction, who sought care at Duke after a traumatic experience and learned how to overcome the limitations of her condition. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, we report on care for geriatric patients through the Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health program—or POSH—and how the program empowers patients to become more effective communication partners with providers and hospital staff in their own care. 

While our clinicians care for patients today, our research efforts open doors for better care tomorrow. This year, we’ve strengthened our research portfolio through new faculty recruits and a wider scope of scientific investigation. Hear from Steven Eliades, a new faculty member from the University of Pennsylvania, who is continuing his research in vocal communication and neurophysiology at Duke. We also share a new collaborative investigation that explores the cause of long-term olfactory loss from COVID-19, which may allow for treatment options in the future. This issue also highlights recent research on the connection between hearing loss and poorer clinical outcomes, a correlation that researchers at Duke—myself included—are now working to better understand. 

In our education section, we are excited to announce the formation of the Otolaryngology Surgeon–Scientist Career Path, a program supported by an R25 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health. We are proud to be among a very small group of departments with such a program. The goal of this program is to increase the number of academic surgeon–scientists whose careers successfully integrate research and clinical care ensuring a vibrant future of discovery and innovation in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, audiology, and speech pathology.

Lastly, in our community section, we highlight several of our initiatives this year to connect with our community, including engaging with the future generation of clinicians and scientists through the FEMMES+ program. This program connects Duke with young female students and their allies to encourage them to pursue STEM careers. This work is among several initiatives that cultivate greater gender, racial, and ethnic diversity in our workforce, thereby addressing persistent health disparities in the broader population. A lasting impact of this magnitude requires that we build a diverse team in which everyone can bring their authentic and best selves to problem solving and true innovation. Our commitment to integrating these principles into everything that we do has led to our appointment of Dr. Trinitia Cannon as our first Associate Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

I hope you enjoy this brief look at the past year in Duke HNS&CS, and I thank you for maintaining your connection with us.