About the Program

The Laryngology Fellowship is a one-year program with the UAB Voice Center under the UAB Department of Otolaryngology. The fellowship program was launched by Dr. Blake Simpson in 2020 after he ran a successful fellowship program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio from 2008-2019.

The program provides the Fellow with comprehensive exposure to open laryngeal framework surgery including medialization laryngoplasty, arytenoid adduction, and micro laryngeal surgery. There is a strong emphasis on office-based procedures, including vocal fold injection augmentation, per-oral and EMG-guided Botox, and pulsed-KTP laser treatment of laryngeal lesions. Extensive experience in endoscopic and open-airway surgery is also provided, including collaborative work with our colleagues in Interventional Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery. Management of pre-malignant and malignant laryngeal disease, including transoral laser microsurgery for early laryngeal cancer is also a strength of the program. The caseload for cricopharyngeal surgery, both open and endoscopic Zenker's, is very robust as well. The referral base at UAB includes the entire state of Alabama, eastern Georgia, Mississippi, and the Florida panhandle – a catchment area population of roughly 15 million.

The co-directors of the UAB Voice Center, Dr. C. Blake Simpson, and Dr. Edie Hapner have developed successful mentorship programs for residents and fellows at the University of Texas Voice Center (1995-2019), Emory Voice Center (2003-2015), and University of Southern California Voice Center (2016-2019). Both have a strong commitment to education and lifetime mentorship.

Our newest faculty member is Dr. Bharat Panuganti, who finished a laryngology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital with Dr. Steven Zeitels in 2022. He joined our faculty in September of 2022 and brings a new skill set to the division. Dr. Panuganti has a specific clinical interest and expertise in transoral laser microsurgery for early laryngeal cancer, and is the only laryngologist in the region performing ultra-narrow margin, endoscopic laryngeal cancer surgery. He has a research interest in molecular determinants of outcomes in laryngeal cancer, and is actively exploring both intraoperative imaging modalities to improve tumor margin assessment in endoscopic laryngeal cancer surgery, and, in conjunction with the Head and Neck team, robotic surgery in laryngology.

The Fellow works closely with our Speech and Language Pathology (SLP) team in a collaborative role to augment their educational experience. The team is led by Dr. Edie Hapner and includes five other speech pathologists with expertise in dysphagia, voice, airway (PVFMD) as well as singing voice therapy. All new patients are seen with the speech pathologist in an interdisciplinary model. This collaborative approach strengthens the Fellow’s experience. The SLP team is particularly valuable in providing additional training in swallowing evaluation and treatment, including FEES (functional endoscopic evaluation of swallowing), and modified barium swallow exams. 

Additional faculty in the Voice Center are Dr. Hari Jeyarajan and Dr. Kirk Withrow. Dr. Hari Jeyarajan is a head and neck/skull base surgeon with an interest in endoscopic and open airway reconstruction. Dr. Jeyarajan spent time observing internationally-renowned airway surgeon Guri Sandhu at the London Clinic and brings an innovative approach to the comprehensive management of complicated airway stenosis. The fellow spends two days per month working with Dr. Jeyarajan in the operating room, where Dr. Jeyarajan and a multidisciplinary team of interventional pulmonologists and CT surgeons collaborate on difficult airway cases. This is an extremely valuable part of the fellowship and allows the fellow exposure to alternate and innovative approaches for difficult airway cases. Dr. Kirk Withrow is a comprehensive otolaryngologist with multiple niche interests in ENT, including cricopharyngeal and Zenker’s diverticulum surgery. Dr. Withrow has one of the largest Zenker’s practices in the region and uses both endoscopic and open approaches. The Fellow has multiple opportunities to participate in Drs. Jeyarajan’s and Withrow’s cases to learn an additional skill set for airway and dysphagia surgery.

A dedicated laryngology PA, Amalee Smith, rounds out the voice center staff and is an incredibly valuable member of the team. Amalee has ten years of experience working in laryngology and is a highly-skilled clinician and endoscopist. She is an integral part of our interprofessional voice, airway, and procedural clinics, and in addition, runs her own practice one to two days per week.

Collaborators also include Dr. Jim Callaway, a Gastroenterologist with a dedicated interest in esophageal disease and reflux, as well as a strong team of Interventional Pulmonologists as mentioned above.

The Fellow’s private clinic is two days per month and also follows the multidisciplinary collaboration model with a member of our SLP team so that the care mirrors that of our UAB Voice Center clinic.

The caseload that comes from the Fellow’s own clinic is almost exclusively laryngology and is a good way to experience the process of developing a voice practice, before beginning an academic or private practice career. The residents are involved in the surgical cases, and this is an excellent way to allow the fellow to hone their teaching skills for an academic career.

In addition, the Fellow runs an inpatient bedside injection augmentation service with the consult residents at UAB. The clinical load of vocal fold paralysis at UAB is very high, so there is extensive experience in office-based injection augmentation, medialization laryngoplasty, and arytenoid adduction.

Medical Campus

The UAB Campus occupies 100 square city blocks, and the UAB Medical System is the largest employer in Alabama. UAB Hospital is the eighth-largest hospital in the nation and is highly respected in the southeast region. The fellowship is limited to three locations: The Kirklin Clinic, UAB Main OR, and UAB Highlands Hospital. In addition, a centrally located academic office is on the 11th floor of the Faculty Office Tower (FOT). The parking deck and FOT occupy the same footprint (i.e. parking deck is the first six floors and floors 7-12 are FOT). The clinic and the main hospital are accessible from FOT through a second-floor walkway and are a three-minute walk from the academic offices. Our facility for minor OR cases, UAB Highlands, is a six-minute drive from the main campus. The academic offices were opened at FOT in 2019 and overlook downtown Birmingham from the 11th floor. Our voice center clinic, located in the Kirklin Clinic, has been recently renovated and includes five stroboscopy towers, three voice therapy rooms, acoustic/aerodynamic testing, EMG, and a pulsed-KTP laser. The equipment is state-of-the-art, all high-definition, and is updated regularly to maintain high-quality imaging.

Fellowship Salary/Call Schedule

Fellowship salary is at the PGY 6 level for the UAB system. The Fellow takes call as faculty, which is a week at a time and generally every 2.5 to 3 months. No pediatric call is taken, as there is a separate call group for this.

Fellowship Clinical Schedule 

Although the majority of the fellowship is spent with Dr. Simpson, operative experiences with Dr. Panuganti, especially transoral laryngeal microsurgery for early glottic cancer, are prioritized over other clinical duties with Dr. Simpson when these opportunities arise. The overarching goal of our fellowship is to maximize opportunities for diverse procedural and operative experiences while ensuring ample time to gain experience working in an interdisciplinary clinic model.

Research

The Department of Otolaryngology at UAB has excellent resources for the support of clinical trials, statistics/data analysis, and generous funding for research studies. Our team of laryngologists and speech pathologists is extensively published in the literature with over 200 combined peer-reviewed articles and multiple textbooks. The research team, which includes a research coordinator dedicated to our division, has IRB approval for both prospective studies and observational cohort studies that are currently underway.

Education

Dr. Simpson’s book, “Operative Techniques in Laryngology,” is used as a guide for the fellow for learning operative laryngology. A second edition of the book with multiple updated and newly illustrated chapters is due to be published in 2023 and encompasses the vast majority of cases performed by laryngologists.

Additional training includes a laryngeal dissection station in the temporal bone lab to practice micro flap and endolaryngeal suturing techniques.

Regular meetings include monthly “Voice Rounds” with the residents, bi-monthly “Complex Airway” with the Interventional Pulmonary and Cardiothoracic teams, and bi-monthly “Esophageal Disorders” with Dr. Callaway from the GI department. Lastly, “Journal Club” rounds out the educational experience.

Fellowship History

Dr. Simpson started a laryngology fellowship program in San Antonio in 2008 and has trained twelve fellows. We have graduated seven fellows that have gone into academic practice around the country. We are proud of our graduates and have continued to mentor them through their careers. Lifetime mentorship has always been a key part of this fellowship and will continue in the coming years.

Former Fellows

Current and Future Fellows

How to Apply

All interested applicants must submit a letter of intent, a CV, along with three letters of recommendation from the faculty in their residency program. 

*International Laryngology Applicants Not Qualified*

Thank you very much for your interest in The University of Alabama at Birmingham Laryngology Fellowship Program. This is a one-year fellowship that requires you to graduate from a U.S. Medical Graduate School, obtain Alabama licensure, and bill independently. If you are an international applicant, we regret to inform you that you do not meet the specified qualifications. We wish you the very best with your continued education and career path.

Contact Information

Blake Simpson, M.D.

Program Director
Professor
Co-Director, UAB Voice Center
blakesimpson@uabmc.edu