Rhinology Fellowship

Departmental Mission Statement

The aim of the fellowship is to offer a high-quality one-year subspecialty training program in Rhinology. The fellowship experience will include exposure to all aspects of medical and surgical rhinology and related disciplines, in adults and children, including endoscopic sinus surgery, treatment of olfactory disorders, functional nasal surgery & treatment of nasal obstruction, cosmetic nasal surgery, approaches to the pituitary, and removal of paranasal sinus neoplasms. The fellowship may also provide opportunities for clinical research in Rhinology. At the present time, our research program is focused topical therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis (Gel-Rhinotopic therapy), balloon sinuplasty and chitosan treatment for recalcitrant epistaxis.

Overview of Fellowship

  • One fellow per year for one year, with a tentative start date of July 1 of each year.
  • Applicants must have completed residency training in otolaryngology (US or international).
  • The fellow’s training will be focused on symptoms or diseases referable to the nose and paranasal sinuses, although there will also be the opportunity for exposure to a broad variety of ENT diseases.
  • The fellow will share the call schedule with one of the supervising attending physicians. He/she will be in the operating room at least two half days per week and in the clinic the remaining days. The fellow will have a chance to participate in supervision and teaching of residents and medical students at the Union Memorial Hospital and Sinai Hospital. These teaching institutions have a residency program in General surgery and in Internal Medicine. There are no otolaryngology residents at these hospitals who could potentially compete for ENT cases with the fellow.
  • The fellow will see clinic patients with the attending and will participate in supervision and teaching of residents and medical students at the Union Memorial Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Sinai Hospital. These hospitals are teaching institutions with a residency program in general surgery and internal medicine. There are no ENT residents in these hospitals.
  • The fellow’s training will be focused on symptoms or diseases referable to the nose and paranasal sinuses, although there will also be the opportunity for exposure to a broad variety of ENT diseases and surgeries.
  • The fellow will be in the operating room at least two half days per week and in the clinic the remaining days. Our ENT clinic is set up as an office-base surgery center and the fellow will have a chance to assist and/or perform different office based procedures (including in-office balloon sinuplasty, minimally invasive endoscopic sinus surgery, endoscopic septoplasty, coblation procedures, etc.).
  • There will be two weeks’ vacation per year and one additional week for an educational meeting.
  • Salary and benefits will be commensurate with the number of years of prior training in otolaryngology.
  • The fellow will have the opportunity and will be encouraged and to:
    • Attend local rhinology conferences and grand rounds at the Johns Hopkins, and Greater Baltimore Medical Center departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, when possible.
    • Attend one national meeting or rhinology course during his/ her training year, when possible.
    • Submit one abstract to a major national meeting, if possible.
    • Submit one paper to a major journal on research generated during his/her training, if possible.
  • Applications are accepted any time within the Academic year that precedes the beginning of the fellowship on July 1 of the subsequent year. Interviews and recommendations are required and may be arranged during a visit to Baltimore, during the fall American Rhinologic Society Meeting or if travel is not possible a Skype interview may be arranged. Deadline for interviews are the last week of May within the Academic year that precedes the beginning of the fellowship on July 1 of the subsequent year.

Fellowship Description

Clinical Rotations: The fellow’s rotations will cover two MedStar institutions in Baltimore (Union Memorial Hospital and the Good Samaritan Hospital) and one LifeBridge institution (Sinai Hospital), and they also spend time in the Maryland Nose & Sinus Center in Lutherville.

Weekly Schedule: The fellow’s responsibility is to attend the ENT clinic at least three days per week, where he/she will do, under the supervision of the ENT attending staff, thorough evaluation and complete examination of patients, perform ENT and rhinology office procedures under local anesthesia (including in-office sinuplasty, minor endoscopic sinus surgery, coblation of inferior turbinates, nasal endoscopy, laryngoscopy, endoscopic nasal biopsy, etc.), provide treatment and appropriate follow up, as indicated and under supervision of the attending physician. The fellow will also scrub in the OR with the attending physician two half-days a week.

Research Responsibilities: The fellowship will also provide opportunities for clinical research in Rhinology, covering different aspects of nasal/sinus/airway diseases. Our current clinical research program revolves around novel techniques in sinus surgery (such as balloon sinuplasty), topical therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis.

Diversity of Cases: The fellow surgical duties will include accompanying the attending physician in the operating room at least two days per week, and performing surgery and/or assisting in surgical procedures as indicated, and under supervision of the attending physician. By graduation, the fellow should have knowledge and proficiency in most of the following nasal surgical procedures:

The fellow is required to keep an operating room log of his cases in the form of a spreadsheet with condensed summary of cases/ CPT codes. There is an opportunity for the UMH and Sinai Surgical residents and medical students to assist with interesting ENT cases and an opportunity for the rhinology fellow to teach them.

Call Schedule: The Rhinology fellow takes call covering Union Memorial, Good Samaritan and Sinai emergency room and floor consultations. The call’s duration is one week at a time, and rotates every other week (always in tandem with one of the ENT attending physicians).

Additional Responsibilities: Rhinology fellows, in accordance with the Institutional vacation policy, receive a maximum of three weeks off work per year.  Two weeks are a guaranteed vacation time and the other week is to be used for meetings and conferences. All vacation time must be logged/tracked by both the fellow and the department; approval must be given by the Program Director or his designee prior to the start of the vacation.

For more information or to apply, please visit: https://sfmatch.org/

Past Fellows

Walid Dagher, MD, 2006-2008
Rony Aouad, MD, 2007-2008
Karim Chahine, MD, 2008-2009
Mohammad Alqudah, MD, 2009-2010
Konstantinos Kourelis, MD, PhD 2010-2011
Ziad Rohayem, MD, 2011-2012
Rahul Mehta, MD, 2012-2013
Rabia Shihada, MD, 2013-2014
Damien Sequiera, MD, 2014-2105
Nadim Koueir, MD, 2015-2106
Michael Schlewet, MD, 2015-2106
Abhishek Ramadhin, MD 2016-2017
Hassen Omer Mohammed, MD 2017-2018
Diptarka Bhattacharyya, MD 2017-2019

2006-2008: Walid Dagher MD

From the American University of Beirut, Beirut Lebanon – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To Tufts Medical Center, Boston MA.

Bio and Personal Statement:

Walid is a graduate of The American University of Beirut (AUB). He graduated from the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and neck Surgery at AUB in 2006. Walid is fluent in three languages (English Arabic, and French) and is married to Viviane Dagher who is a pediatric anesthesiologist.

“During my 2 years at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center for a 2 year fellowship, I got to know the doctors very well. My stay there was very educational, both from the surgical and medical aspects. I received a very good sinus surgery training, and had the opportunity to attend local and national conferences. The doctors were very supportive of my decision to stay in the United States and were instrumental in my acceptance into an Otolaryngology residency. I am currently finishing my Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. I felt very comfortable with all aspects of Rhinology/Sinus surgery for which I can give credit to program’s training. On a personal level, the doctors were very welcoming into their homes and on many occasions we had the opportunity of our families getting together for dinner. They were both caring, frequently checking on us. My experience at Maryland ENT is without doubt a great one. I recommend it to any resident wishing to get exposed to a great training by a very caring and compassionate team.”

2007-2008: Rony Aouad MD

From Hotel Dieu de France Medical Center, Beirut Lebanon – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To the University of Kentucky, Lexington KY.

Bio and Personal Statement

Rony earned his medical degree at St. Joseph’s University in Beirut, Lebanon with a certificate in genetics. Rony speaks four languages (English, Arabic, French and Russian) and is married to Svitlana Merlichenko, a Ukranian national, who is an accomplished opera singer. His thesis was titled “Follow-up of premalignant lesions if the larynx.” He has completed clinical and research training in otolaryngology at the Hotel Dieu de France Hospital in Beirut. In 2003, he joined the Duke University Hearing Research laboratories and worked on human physiological testing program investigating the role of the medial olivo-cochlear efferent neurons in controlling cochlear function.

During his stay at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Centre Rony published papers on Neurenteric cyst of the clivus and posterior glottic stenosis. He moved on to do a 2-year head and Neck Fellowship at University of California Davis, and then to the University of Kentucky, where he is currently part of the faculty.

2008-2009: Kareem Chahine MD

From University Medical Center of Grenoble, Grenoble France – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – to Damascus Hospital, Damascus Syria.

Bio and Personal Statement

Karim comes from a great family of Otolaryngologists: his grandfather was the one of the first ENT’s in Syria, as well at the dean of Damascus Medical School. His father is currently the premier ENT in Syria. Karim did his residency training in Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the St.George Hospital (University of Balamand MC) in Beirut, Lebanon. This was followed by a year fellowship in Head and Neck Cancer at the University Medical Center of Grenoble, France. Karim is fluent in three languages (English Arabic, and French). During his stay at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, he proved to be a superb clinician, a skilled surgeon and also a florid researcher. He published several papers on: Rhinotopic therapy protocol for chronic refractory rhinosinusitis, and on chitosan nasal packing for intractable epistaxis. Karim went back home to Damascus to start his own ENT practice; he is the first fellowship-trained rhinologist in Syria. He is also faculty in the Otorhinolaryngology department at Damascus Hospital, and teaches ENT residents. He has formed a team with an endoscopy-trained neurosurgeon and they have developed a skull base surgery program. Despite the difficult war conditions and the dangers of living in Syria, Karim has decided to stay home and provide badly needed ENT care, as most ENT physicians have emigrated to safer havens.

“Since the war started in Syria in 2011, I stayed in Damascus as I did not want to leave a practice that is still growing. Hopefully this war will end soon. Looking back at my training years in Lebanon, France, and the United States, I feel that my fellowship year in Baltimore was essential for my practice. The fellowship program helped shape and sharpen my skills in otorhinolaryngology in general, and especially in rhinology. I can safely say that it was only after my Fellowship year that I confidently felt ready to start my own practice.”

2009-2010: Mohannad Alqudah MD

From University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, Iowa City IA – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – to Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid Jordan.

Bio and Personal Statement

Mohannad did his residency in Otolaryngology at the Jordan University of Science & Technology in Irbed, Jordan, followed by 2 years of Fellowship at Dunedin Medical School, University of Otago, New Zealand. During his stay at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Karim published several papers on mucosal expression of aquaporin 5 and epithelial barrier proteins in chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyps and on multimodality topical therapy for refractory chronic rhinosinusitis.

Mohannad returned home where he is an associate professor at the department of special surgery, Jordan University of Science & Technology and chief of otolaryngology in King Abdullah University Hospital in Irbid, Jordan. He is the first fellowship-trained rhinologist in Jordan. He is a Member of Jordanian Otolaryngology Scientific board (Jordan medical council) and board examiner. In December 2013, Mohannad was elected by the Jordanian Otolaryngology – Head & Neck society as an executive board member and became the chairman of the media and international affair committee. He is on the editorial board of five international journals and a reviewer in many regional and international journals.

“My experience in Maryland Nose and Sinus Center was great. The fellowship offered a mixture of structural clinical training and a wide field for both clinical and basic research in friendly closely supervised way. Baltimore is a very nice city to live is and it is close to many very attractive areas of the US. My family and I have enjoyed that year very much and had many memories that difficult to be forgotten.”

2010-2011: Konstantinos Kourelis MD, PhD

From the Medical School of Patras, Patras Greece – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – to Patras Children Hospital, Patras Greece.

Bio and Personal Statement

Kostas did his residency on Otolaryngology at the Medical School of Patras in Greece, along with a PhD on Morphological study of the molecular network comprised of the transcription factors PPAR, RZR, NF-B, EGFR and the enzyme COX-2 in laryngeal epithelium and is microenvironment. Kostas is a superb researcher with numerous significant contributions to the literature. Kostas is fluent in English and Greek. During his stay at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, he has published several papers on the pathophysiology of refractory rhinosinusitis and on topical therapies for refractory sinusitis. He continues to collaborate with Dr. Halawi till the present time in publishing on topical therapies for refractory sinusitis, and he has become one of the major references in the field.

Kostas returned to his hometown as the first fellowship-trained rhinologist in Patras, Greece. He is the head of ENT at Children Hospital, the 3rd largest institution for pediatric patients in Greece, with a case load of about a thousand ENT procedures per year. Kostas specialized in diseases of the sinuses and in head & neck cases. Among his current research interests are the topics of neonatal rhinitis and nasal congenital anomalies.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for your enormous help as my mentor in my medical career both surgically and academically, as well as for teaching me with your example the doctor’s integrity. My goal from now on is to be a worthy representative in Greece of the rhinology department of Baltimore’s Union Memorial Hospital. I hope to see you in person again many times in the future. Please say hello to Lama and everyone at the office.”

2011-2012: Ziad Rohayem MD

From St Joseph University-Hotel Dieu de France Medical Center, Beirut Lebanon – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To St Joseph Teaching Hospital at Beirut and Eye & Ear Hospital, Lebanon.

Bio and Personal Statement

Ziad has studied medicine at the French Faculty of Medicine of the Saint-Joseph University in Beirut. He did his residency in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital in Beirut. Ziad is fluent in 5 languages (English, Arabic, French, German and Italian). During his stay as a Rhinology fellowship at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Ziad has published on chronic rhinosinusitis & polyposis. After leaving Baltimore, Ziad did a second rhinology fellowship years with Dr. Peter Catalano at Saint-Elizabeth Hospital /Tufts University in Boston. He then returned to Lebanon in to set up a state-of-the-art rhinology practice in the Metn region, north of Beirut. He is faculty at two teaching hospitals in Beirut (Saint-Joseph Hospital, The Eye & Ear Hospital).

“Otolaryngology is a fascinating field and I always considered as a privilege to help patient recover their hearing, smell, sleep or voice. My two years of fellowship in Allergy, Nose and Sinus diseases has helped me achieve the best outcome with the least invasive surgeries and up-to-date techniques. I am very grateful to all the exceptional staff at the Union Memorial Hospital.”

2012-2013: Rahul Mehta MD

From Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, United Kingdom – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To Our Lady of the Lake Baton Rouge, LA.

Bio and Personal Statement

Rahul did his ENT residency at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast Ireland. Before that he had spent time at the Children Hospital in Boston, memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in NY and the Charing Cross Hospital in London. During his stay at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Centre in Baltimore, Rahul worked on Office-Based Gel-Hybrid Sinuplasty for Nasal Polyposis, a work that was presented at IFOS in South Korea. He then moved to Baton Rouge- New Orleans where he completed a fellowship in Skull Base Surgery and where he won prestigious Nicholos Torok award given by American Neurotology Society. Rahul has returned home to Belfast to establish a career in rhinology and combined anterior-posterior skull base surgery. He was then recruited to come back as faculty in Baton Rouge-New Orleans.

2013-2014: Rabia Shihada MD

From the Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To Bnai Zion Medical Center.

Bio and Personal Statement

Rabia graduated from the Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem. He completed his residency at the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa. Rabia is fluent in three languages (English, Arabic and Hebrew); he is married to Reem, an internist and a general family practitioner. After his fellowship at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center in Baltimore, Rabia went back to Haifa where he took a position as an academic otolaryngologist specializing in Rhinology and sinus surgery.

“Spending a year at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center in Baltimore was a great experience for me, both professionally and personally. With the clinical, surgical and research training that I acquired during the fellowship, I feel I am well equipped to develop the expertise and knowledge needed to make the Otolaryngology department in Bnai-Zion medical center a prominent medical center in the field of Rhinology.”

014-2015: Damien Sequeira MD

From the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To Florida Hospital University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Bio and Personal Statement

Damien received his medical degree from the University of Lausanne Medical School in Switzerland. He then went on to complete a two-year research project in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University Hospital Zurich on middle-ear mechanics funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, for which he was awarded first prize at the Annual Meeting of the Swiss Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Following this, he did his residency at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University Hospital Zurich. After leaving Baltimore, Damien started a 2-year fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery at Florida Hospital University of Central Florida in Orlando.

“Completing a year at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center in Baltimore greatly developed my knowledge and surgical skills in the field of Rhinology, including in office procedures such balloon sinuplasty. Adding to that it also provided me with a wonderful insight to the American healthcare system. Finally, I would like to thank the doctors for their support and help in obtaining my next fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery.”

2015-2016: Nadim Koueir MD

From St Joseph University-Hotel Dieu de France Medical Center, Beirut Lebanon – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – to L’Hopital Lariboisiere in Paris, France (fellowship in rhinology and endoscopic skull base surgery with Professor Philippe Herman).

Bio and Personal Statement

Nadim graduated in 2010 from the faculty of medicine at Saint-Joseph University located in Beirut. His thesis was on the universal newborn screening for congenital hearing loss in Lebanon. He completed an Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery residency at Hotel Dieu de France University hospital in Beirut, Lebanon and graduated in 2015. He has published multiples systematic reviews in the field of laryngeal cancer and juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. After leaving Baltimore, Nadim will be doing a Rhinology and endoscopic skull base surgery fellowship at Hopital Lariboisiere in Paris with Pr. Philippe Herman.

“I had a wonderful experience during my rhinology fellowship at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center. I learned a lot, from the well-rounded nose and sinus surgical experience to the wide clinical exposure and the research opportunities. After this fellowship I am ready for a second year of training at Lariboisiere in advanced endoscopic skull base surgery.”

2015-2016: Michael Schlewet, MD

From the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Teshreen Hospital, Damascus, Syria – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.

Bio and Personal Statement

Michael graduated in 2002 from the faculty of medicine at the University of Damascus, Syria, and went on to complete Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency program in Teshreen Hospital, one of the largest tertiary referral hospitals in the capital Damascus. Upon graduation, he started a private practice in Damascus. However, due to the political situation in his country, he relocated to Riyadh, K.S.A where he worked at Obeid Specialized Hospital, a well known hospital in the capital Riyadh.

After completion of his fellowship in Baltimore, Michael started a second year fellowship in Rhinology and endoscopic sinus surgery at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston, MA, under supervision of Dr. Peter Catalano.

2016-2017: Abhishek Ramadhin, MD

From Seth G.S. Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – To St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Boston, MA.

Bio and Personal Statement

Abhishek did his Medical school and senior residency training in Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Seth G.S. Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and his residency training at JNMC, Belgaum. During his senior residency, he also worked in department of neurosurgery for skull base training. It was followed by his training in head and neck onco-surgery at  Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. And further fellowship of cochlear implantation and neurootology at Gruppo Otologico, Piacenza, Italy. During his stay at the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, he showed to be an excellent clinician, a skilled surgeon and a florid researcher. He is an important part of our study “Gel-Sinuplasty for Chronic Rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyposis” and worked to obtained IRB approval for our study.

“When I look back, it was a great wonderful time and experience for me. The memory of which I will cherish forever.”

2017-2018: Hassen Omer Mohammed, MD

From the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Hamad medical corporation, Qatar to Baltimore back to Hamad medical corporation, Qatar.

Bio and Personal Statement

Hassen was born in a small town called Ghinda in Eritrea, a place where his says his parents decided to educate him and instill in him the seeds of knowledge and ambition. The bare-bones infrastructure, let alone medical facilities, available in his village and the extreme dearth of qualified doctors was and still in his inspiration to do better and reach out to new avenues of education not limited by borders. He completed his matriculation with great distinction (with GPA of 4.00) and was qualified for full scholarship to study medicine in Jordan. He then successfully completed five years in the Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery Residency training program at Hamad Medical Corporation (ACGME-I accredited institution) in Doha, Qatar. He also spent 2 months at the voice center at Johns Hopkins for fellowship at the laryngology division.

Following his completion of fellowship, he returned back to his institute at Hamad medical corporation, Qatar as an associate consultant at the department Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery.

“I found my 2 years at the Maryland Nose & Sinus Center extremely useful. Indeed, these 2 years were certainly the best experience I have ever had so far. The fellowship years allowed me to make significant  improvement in both my clinical and procedural skills.

“The benefits were immeasurable, and my future success as clinician will come to a substantial degree from the experience I gained in this fellowship.

“What made it such a rare and incredible experience also the support and mentorship from both Doctors Hesham and Gol, as well as team work from Maryland Nose & Sinus Center staff.

“I would also like to add that my family and I have had an amazing time in Baltimore All in all I had a wonderful 2 years and will always treasure many excellent memories of my time in Baltimore; it simply was terrific!”

2017-2019: Diptarka Bhattacharyya, MD

From Topiwalla National Medical College, Mumbai, India – To the Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, Baltimore MD – to Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA.

Bio and Personal Statement

Diptarka completed his medical school from the second largest medical college in Asia, the 6000 bedded Madras Medical College, where he graduated with Honors and Distinction, and then went on to complete an otolaryngology residency at Topiwalla National Medical College, Mumbai where he completed his training as the Gold Medal awardee for standing first in his board exams. He then went on to complete his Rhinology fellowship at Maryland Nose and Sinus Center, where he performed ably in both the OR and the clinic, under the guidance of Dr. Halawi. He worked on 5 research projects during this time, culminating in multiple publications. He also presented a total of 6 oral papers and 4 posters at different national meetings including the AAO, the highest by any fellow in the program. He went on to attend Louisiana State University for a fellowship training in Facial Plastic and reconstructive surgery where he currently is.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Maryland ENT center. I wish everyone at the hospitals I worked with and especially the staff, faculty and doctors the very best, and wish to thank everyone for allowing me the opportunity to work with them for the last 2 years.”