UIC Otolaryngologist President-Elect of Medical Academy

 Dr. J. Regan Thomas (pictured, left)  Francis Lederer Professor and head of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, has been named president-elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery.

Thomas will serve on the executive committee of the AAO-HNS for one year each as president-elect, president and immediate-past president.

Thomas is a specialist in facial plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery and has been department chair since joining the UIC faculty eight years ago. He came to UIC from the St. Louis University Health Sciences Center, where he also served as chair. He has previously served as president of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

"Dr. Thomas is the kind of chair every academic medical center wants -- a great physician teacher and scholar who leads by doing, and he has built a nationally prominent ENT program," said Dr. Joseph Flaherty, dean of the UIC College of Medicine.

UIC's department is the oldest department of otolaryngology in the country, and celebrated its 150th anniversary last year. It has been the home of groundbreaking invention and innovation in clinical and surgical techniques that have led to important developments in head and neck surgery, facial plastic surgery, diagnosis of ear disease, and treatment of hearing loss.

"UIC has played an exceptional role in the history of the science of otolaryngology into the 21st century," said Thomas. "My goal has been to enhance our role in the education of the next generation of otolaryngologists -- clinically, didactically and in the area of research."

Under Thomas' leadership, the department has created three endowed lectureships, and a number of patient outreach initiatives, including the Now Hear This Fund, dedicated to helping patients in need receive treatment and access to educational resources.

The department has established an alumni organization that has brought together alumni from all over the country and was responsible for establishing the Bhatt Surgical Training Lab. The department maintains other laboratories and teaching spaces such as the Galter Temporal-Bone Lab and the Torak Vestibular Lab.

With more than 12,000 members, the AAO-HNS is the world's largest organization representing specialists who treat the ear, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck.

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.