2023 YPS Awards

2023 YPS Impact Award

Adam J. Luginbuhl, MD
Jefferson HealthThis year’s selection of the AAO-HNS Young Physicians Section (YPS) Impact Award is Adam Luginbuhl, MD, a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Director of the Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumor Ecology and Microenvironment working group and associate director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Translational & Cellular Oncology research program. He practices surgical oncology, microvascular reconstruction, and open skull base surgery.

Dr. Luginbuhl’s residents say that he spends extensive time and energy understanding each resident’s strengths, weaknesses, and goals for becoming clinically and technically proficient otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons. He urges them to keep asking themselves and each other, “How can we do better?” in order to advance the field of head and neck cancer care through national clinical trials, global health efforts, and more.

And his passion for serving others extends beyond his patients in the Philadelphia area. For the past nine years, Dr. Luginbuhl has undertaken multiple international surgical missions while encouraging residents and fellows to participate with an emphasis on teaching and bridging the gap between the patient’s understanding of their condition and detailed clinical language and surgical procedures.

Dr. Luginbuhl exemplifies what it means to be a leader, an empathetic physician, innovator, and a humanitarian. He was awarded the 2021 Edmund Prince Fowler Thesis Award for Basic Science by The Triological Society for his animal work mitigating tissue damage during radiation. He is dedicated to mentoring and fostering residents’ interests and expertise through research grant applications, new project ideas, and publication to help them become the best clinicians and surgeons possible.

2023 YPS Model Mentor Award

Maurits S. Boon, MD
Jefferson HealthThis year’s Young Physicians Section (YPS) Model Mentor awardee is Maurits S. Boon, MD, a professor at Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is dual board-certified in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and sleep medicine. With extensive research and experience in sleep surgery, specifically using hypoglossal nerve stimulation for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), he is co-editor of the first book on upper airway stimulation.

Dr. Boon is also the residency program director and vice chair for education at Thomas Jefferson and sits on its executive board. Throughout his many roles, he has served as a mentor for residents and junior faculty members, providing career advice and facilitating opportunities for advancement. He has fostered the academic interests of junior faculty by involving them in the management of student rotations and residency and exposing them to leadership opportunities. 

He encourages faculty members to participate in ongoing clinical trials, lectures at national and international gatherings, and publications. Demonstrating gratitude to be in a position and profession to help others—patients as well as fellow physicians—he has been instrumental in facilitating the career advancement of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons in the United States and abroad.

Internationally recognized for his expertise in conditions that affect the nose, sinuses, voice, and swallowing, Dr. Boon takes an individualized approach to treating sleep disorders, recognizing that they go well beyond just treating snoring and sleep apnea. He is always available for his trainees and patients, and continually looks for ways to improve clinical care, surgery, and teaching.