This year, October 2025 will mark the UAB Department of Otolaryngology’s 10th anniversary as a department. To celebrate, the department will be featuring alumni throughout the year. To kick off the series, we are featuring the first graduates of the residency program after the establishment of UAB Otolaryngology as a department: Geoffrey Paul Aaron, M.D., Erin Jayne Buczek, M.D., and Brian Patrick Sullivan, M.D., the class of 2016. Catch up with the alumni with these quick questions!
Geoffrey Paul Aaron, M.D.
When were you involved with the UAB Department of Otolaryngology, and what was your role there?
Aaron: I was an otolaryngology resident from 2011 to 2016 at UAB. I then completed a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology from 2016 to 2017 at Children's of Alabama.
What type of work did you do during your time in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology?
Aaron: The majority of my time was spent training, but the things that stick out to me the most are the courses we were able to participate in. We had many great courses in the department (facial trauma, skull base, Peds airway, Botox), but also many courses we were able to attend across the country. I had the chance to attend several advanced ear courses that were very beneficial to my training. I was also able to assist in several research studies with many of our attendings, which led to representing the UAB Department of Otolaryngology with presentations at national meetings.
What did you enjoy most about working in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology?
Aaron: One of the things that attracted me to the UAB program was how close the residents were. Some of my closest friends still today were my co-residents. I also appreciated that our attendings treated us like colleagues as residents; I always felt comfortable approaching them as a resident when I had questions. Now, out on my own, I will still reach out to them about complex situations to get their opinions. Additionally, we had some of the best support staff to help guide us, from surgical techs and nurse first assists, to nursing staff and advanced practice providers—they were all a very integral part of the experience.
What are you doing now in your career?
Aaron: I am currently a complex pediatric otolaryngologist with the Wellstar Medical Group in the Atlanta metro area.
How do you think your time in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology prepared you for where you are today?
Aaron: I think UAB had a great mix of hands-on experiences along with educational opportunities. The staff pushed each of us hard enough to build our confidence and grow our skills.
Anything else you would like to share?
Aaron: I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to come back to UAB and participate in Residents' Research Day. It’s been amazing to see the growth of the department, and the event has allowed me to remain connected to the department and my old co-residents.
Erin Jayne Buczek, M.D.
When were you involved with the UAB Department of Otolaryngology, and what was your role there?
Buczek: I did residency from 2011 to 2016, head and neck fellowship from 2016 to 2017, and then was an attending as an assistant professor from 2017 to 2022.
What type of work did you do during your time in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology?
Buczek: It was mostly clinical work during training and then as an attending. I did do some clinical research both during residency and as an assistant professor. As an assistant professor, I was in the Head and Neck Division with a focus on thyroid/parathyroid surgery.
What did you enjoy most about working in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology?
Buczek: I loved the people more than anything else. During my residency, I cherished the comradery and support I had with my co-residents and the lifelong friendships I made with some of the best colleagues in our profession. Similarly, as a faculty member, working with the great faculty, staff, and residents at UAB was always a pleasure.
What are you doing now in your career?
Buczek: I am now an associate professor and the residency program director at the University of Kansas in Kansas City. My clinical practice is solely thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
How do you think your time in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology prepared you for where you are today?
Buczek: The outstanding training I received at UAB has allowed me to grow and flourish both clinically and as a leader. As a faculty member, I was supported to continue my professional development to become a better head and neck surgeon both in and out of the operating room.
Anything else you would like to share?
Buczek: I am deeply grateful for the opportunities given to me over my time at UAB and to the patients who allowed me to take care of them. The friendships forged there are lifelong, and I feel blessed to be able to work with so many amazing people. Thank you!
Brian Patrick Sullivan, M.D.
When were you involved with the UAB Department of Otolaryngology, and what was your role there?
Sullivan: I was a resident in training with the department from 2011 to 2016.
What type of work did you do during your time in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology?
Sullivan: I participated in all areas of the department as a resident in training. This included clinical and surgical patient care as well as research projects.
What did you enjoy most about working in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology?
Sullivan: Beyond the clinical and academic environment, my fondest memories at UAB come from the people that make up the department and the personal interactions with all of them. There is an old idiom that during residency your work colleagues become your family because you probably spend more time at work than at home. I could not have asked for a better family to have gone through residency with. Most importantly, my co-residents in my class, Geoffrey Aaron and Erin Buczek. I think we leaned on each other a lot to maintain our sanity during those years. Obviously, all of the faculty who mentored us, and also truly cared about not just our professional lives, but our personal lives. Certainly, I could not go without remembering the administrative and clinical staff who kept us all in line. I cannot express enough how much each of those individuals meant to my time at UAB and the impact they made in my life that continues to this day!
What are you doing now in your career?
Sullivan: I'm currently a member of a private practice otolaryngology group in Mobile, Alabama, practicing general otolaryngology.
How do you think your time in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology prepared you for where you are today?
Sullivan: The training within the UAB Department of Otolaryngology is truly second to none. The expertise and vast breadth of knowledge within the field of otolaryngology from all of the faculty allowed me to learn as much as I possibly could. I also was given the opportunity to see and help treat a limitless amount of pathology during my training, which equipped me to manage essentially any patient that walks into my practice currently.
Stay tuned throughout the year for more alumni features!