Annual Alumni Conference

2025 Alumni Conference

Dr. P. Ashley Wackym is the Phillip M. Sprinkle Guest Lectureship Speaker at the 2025 Alumni Conference on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Dr. Wackym is a seasoned administrator, investigator and surgical otologist-neurotologist and skull base surgeon. He is currently the Chair of Department of Head-Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, a Chancellor Scholar of Rutgers Healthand Senior Member of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute.

After completing his medical education at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, residency training at the UCLA School of Medicine and his otology and neurotologic skull base surgery fellowship at the University of Iowa, he served on the faculties of the UCLA School of Medicine, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the Medical College of Wisconsin where he served as the Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences for over a decade. Prior to his relocation to the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2016, his two decades of service in academic healthcare was complemented by serving for seven years in corporate healthcare as the Vice President of Research for Legacy Health, the largest healthcare system in Oregon and Washington, and by directing the Legacy Research Institute in Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Wackym’s clinical emphasis is on cochlear implantation and skull base surgery as well as other hearing and balance disorders. He is particularly well known for the surgical management of patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence and other third window syndrome sites. Among his 24 national and international awards include the Nicholas Torok Vestibular Award of the American Neurotology Society, the Edmund Prince Fowler Award and a Presidential Citation from the American Laryngological,
Rhinological and Otological Society, the Gold Medal Award from the Prosper Meniere Society, and the Honor Award and Distinguished Service Award of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He has also served as President of the Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum, the President of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the President of Otology and Neurotology, Inc., among many other national and international leadership roles.

His basic research had been funded by the National Institutes of Health for over two decades in the area of gene discovery in the inner ear. To date, his total NIH, Industry and Foundation support has been over $40,000,000. Currently his research is focused on: experimental models of superior semicircular canal dehiscence; cognitive dysfunction before and after surgical management of third window syndrome; cochlear implantation; outcomes of Gamma Knife surgery; and the development of new gene therapy technologies. He has published over 190 papers, 69 book chapters, 30 video productions and edited three books, including the 18th edition of Ballenger’s Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, which is over 1,400 pages and two volumes. He also holds numerous patents as an inventor of medical technologies.

2024 Alumni Conference

Dr. Scott Shapiro, MD was the Phillip M. Sprinkle Guest Lectureship Speaker at the 2024 Alumni Conference on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Dr. Scott Shapiro is a neurotologist and assistant professor in the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ENT) at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions of the ear and skull base.

Dr. Shapiro is a nationally recognized expert in diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss, vestibular disorders, chronic ear disease, otosclerosis, and skull base tumors in children and adults. He has extensive experience with specialized surgical procedures such as cochlear implants, vestibular schwannoma microsurgical resection, chronic ear surgery, bone conduction implants, cerebrospinal fluid leak repair and third window inner ear disorders in both children and adults.

2023 Alumni Conference

Dr. Hamdy El-Hakim, MB ChB, FRCS (Ed), FRCS (ORL), FRCS(C) was the Phillip M. Sprinkle Lectureship at the 2023 Alumni Conference on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Dr. El-Hakim graduated from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. His higher surgical training was completed in the United Kingdom. His Fellowship training in Pediatric Otolaryngology was at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Currently he is Professor at the Department of Surgery and has adjunct appointment at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Alberta. He is also the Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship Program Director, and the Clinical Research Director for the Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta. His portfolio includes leadership of the Aerodigestive and Aspiration Team. He is an Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology and a member of the International Board of Clinical Otolaryngology and Allied Health.

2022 Alumni Conference

M. Boyd Gillespie, MD, MSc, FACS was the Phillip M. Sprinkle Guest Lectureship Speaker at the June 18, 2022 Alumni Conference. Dr. Gillespie is Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he
completed residency and fellowship in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Dr. Gillespie earned a Masters in Clinical Research, and is board certified in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Sleep Medicine. He has published over 150 academic papers including the New England Journal of Medicine study of hypoglossal nerve
stimulation for sleep apnea. He is editor of the textbook Gland-Preserving Salivary Surgery: A Problem-Based Approach. Dr. Gillespie is a former Director of the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (ABOHNS) and current member of the Otolaryngology section of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

2021 Alumni Conference

Hadi Seikaly MD, MAL, FRCSC was the Phillip M. Sprinkle Lectureship Speaker for the AY2021 Annual Alumni Conference. Dr. Seikaly is the Professor of the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at the University of Alberta and Director of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at Alberta Health Services

Dr. Hadi Seikaly is a professor of the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He is the Director of the division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the Edmonton Zone Clinical Section Head for Alberta Health Services. Dr. Seikaly is the President of the Canadian Association of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology.

Dr. Seikaly graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School and completed his residency training at the University of Alberta in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. He then obtained fellowship training at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Advanced Head and Neck Oncology, and Microvascular Reconstruction. Dr. Seikaly completed a Masters of the Arts in Leadership from the Royal Roads University in 2014.

Dr. Seikaly is the recipient of the many prestigious awards including the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association researcher of the year, the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery award for national educational excellence, the Ernest Skakun award for service to medical education, and the Mentor of the year. He is a member of numerous surgical societies, nationally/internationally and has been invited as a visiting professor to over ninety institutions lecturing on all aspects of Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstruction.

2019 Alumni Conference

The WVU Department of Otolaryngology sponsors an Annual Alumni Conference each year, that consists of a full day of CME opportunities, as well as our Annual Education Dinner in the evening. We highly encourage all alumni to attend the conference and spend the day in educational collaboration with your peers and mentors. This year's event is scheduled for June 22nd at the Morgantown Marriott Waterfront Place Hotel. The guest speaker for this year's conference will be Dr. John Dornhoffer, MD - who is Professor and Chairman, as well as the Otolaryngology Research Director of Otology and Neurotology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Dornhoffer will be speaking on "Congenital Laryngotracheal Abnormalities: Diagnosis and State of the Art Treatment.

(For the full conference brochure, click here)

2018 Alumni Conference

(For the full conference brochure click here)

Guest Speaker, Dr. George Zalzal

Dr. Zalzal graduated from the American University of Beirut (MD in 1979, Otolaryngology 1983). And University of Cincinnati (Pediatric Otolaryngology,1985) and stayed on staff for one year. He then moved to Washington DC in 1986 and is the Chief of the Division since 1994. The program offers ACGME accredited fellowship training in Pediatric Otolaryngology and also trains residents from George Washington and Georgetown Universities and combined Army and Navy Program. Dr Zalzal has trained 48 fellows and many more residents over the years. He is regarded as one of the leading experts on the pediatric airway and an authority in pediatric laryngotracheal reconstruction. His awards among many include the Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology and the Gabriel F. Tucker Award from the American Laryngological Association. He is the author of over 160 publications, mostly dedicated to clinical and basic science research as related to pediatric laryngotracheal disorders. He has presented in over 240 national and international meetings.

Dr. Zalzal is a member of many professional organizations, and was president of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) in 2003-2004. He served for ten years as the associate editor for JAMA- Archives of Otolaryngology Head and Neck surgery , and is on the editorial review board and a reviewer for many specialty journals.

2017 Alumni Conference

Held at the Waterfront Place Hotel

June 10, 2017