Otolaryngology Alumni Symposium

34th Annual Alumni Symposium

The Alumni Symposium is designed to highlight both clinical and research activities of the faculty, residents, fellows and alumni of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. This program is directed to practicing otolaryngologists, residents, fellows, physician assistants, audiologists, speech pathologists and nurses.

Symposium

8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Friday, June 26
The Grand Event Center
820 Goodale Blvd. | Columbus, OH 43212

Graduation Banquet

7 to 10:30 p.m. | Friday, June 26
The Grand Event Center
820 Goodale Blvd. | Columbus, OH 43212
Registration: $100/person 

Golf Outing

8am shot gun start | Saturday, June 27
The Golf Club of Dublin
5805 Eiterman Rd | Dublin, OH 43016

Please contact Niki Corrigan at Niki.Corrigan@osumc.edu with questions.

Keynote speakers

Marie St. John, MD, PhD

David E. Schuller Lecturer

A highly renowned surgeon, scientist and educator, Dr. St. John is Andelot Professor and Director of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Otolaryngologist-in-Chief, Johns Hopkins Medicine. She is the immediate past Professor and Chair of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Professor of Bioengineering at UCLA where she held the Thomas C. Calcaterra, M.D., Chair in Head and Neck Surgery and Co-Director of the UCLA Head and Neck Cancer Program. Under her leadership the Department of Head & Neck Surgery at UCLA rose to #1 nationally by USNWR. Dr. St. John’s laboratory studies the mechanisms of tumor progression and metastasis, incorporating the results of their laboratory-based research into the development of novel therapeutics. She is an outstanding educator who has provided mentorship to numerous trainees, and serves as a member of several prestigious organizations including the Executive Council of the AHNS, Triological Society, ACS Board of Governors Advisory Council, and the American Laryngological Association. She is a senior examiner for the ABOto and a reviewer for the AAO-HNS CORE grants, and NIH/NIDCR, NCI and NIBIB study sections. She has been the recipient of multiple awards for teaching and research.

Dr. St. John received her B.S. from Stanford and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale. She completed residency and postdoctoral training at UCLA. Dr. St. John’s clinical expertise is in intraoperative tumor margin delineation in the resection of head and neck cancers to allow for precision surgery. Her efforts have helped in the development of strong interdepartmental research programs in Head & Neck Surgery and Bioengineering. This work has led to clinical trials and patent applications, and has been consistently funded by the NIH, charitable foundations, and industry.

In addition to maintaining a busy surgical practice, Dr. St. John is active in clinical research and is closely involved in training young physician-scientists. She is a prolific author and a sought-after lecturer internationally.

David Melon, MD, FACS

David R. Kelly Lecturer in Medical Economics

David E. Melon, MD, FACS, is President of Carolina ENT – Sinus & Allergy Center, a physician-led, regional specialty practice he has led since 2017. He previously served as Chairman of the Board at Viewmont Surgery Center, where he led the formation of a strategic joint-venture partnership between two competing health systems, significantly expanding access to high-quality, cost-effective ambulatory surgery for patients across North Carolina. At the national level, Dr. Melon currently serves as an At-Large Director on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and, in 2023, was elected Inaugural Chair of the Academy’s newly formed Otolaryngology Private Practice Section and OTOFORUM24, where his work focuses on leadership development, practice management, recruitment, and the long-term sustainability of physician-led practices.

Dr. Melon earned his undergraduate degree in cognitive science from the University of Virginia, received his medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and completed residency training in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at THE Ohio State University Medical Center in 2012. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Triological Society and the American Thyroid Association and is an active member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. His scholarly work centers on value-based specialty care and patient journey design, including authorship of A Surgeon’s Field Guide to Value-Based Specialty Care (2025), his Triological Thesis Otolaryngic Allergy Patient Journey Mapping: A Framework for Allergy Immunotherapy Adherence (2024), and The Patient Experience: A Starting Point for Better Healthcare, in Essential Healthcare Economics (2022).

In addition to his national leadership roles, Dr. Melon has been deeply engaged in advocacy and organized medicine at the state and local levels, having served as President of the North Carolina Society of Otolaryngology, and member of the North Carolina Medical Society’s Legislative Cabinet, where he continues to advocate for surgeons, patients, and sustainable healthcare delivery models.

Class of 2018 panelists

 

Laura Matrka, MD

moderator

 

Christian Francom, MD

panelist

 

Scott Smith, MD

panelist

 

Nolan Seim, MD, MBA

panelist

 

Yin Yiu, MD

panelist