2024 Presidential Citations

Douglas D. Backous, MD, AAO-HNS/F President

Douglas D. Backous, MD
AAO-HNS/F PresidentThe Presidential Citations are given to individuals who have had a profound influence on the AAO-HNS/F President’s life and otolaryngology career. President Douglas D. Backous, MD, has selected these individuals for their outstanding contributions.

Please join Dr. Backous during the AAO-HNSF 2024 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO^SM Opening Ceremony, 8:00 am (ET), Saturday, September 28, as he recognizes the impact these individuals have had on him personally and professionally.

Dennis I. Bojrab, MD

Dennis I. Bojrab, MDDennis I. Bojrab, MD, is a founding member of the Michigan Ear Institute and Fellowship program in neurotology. He has maintained a private practice while having an academic and community-driven career. He became a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery in 1985 and is a continuous contributor to Academy programs. He has given over 200 hours of instructional courses, lectures, and presentations and has sat on numerous committees for the Academy.

Dr. Bojrab has been involved with training over 200 residents, 75 neurotology fellows, and numerous medical students. He has authored or edited five textbooks and over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Internationally he has been involved with education and humanitarian efforts in the Middle East and Israel for medical and surgical training. Through various organizations, he codeveloped a hearing aid program for underserved communities in Jordan and Syria and a training program for hearing health in that region of the world.

Dr. Bojrab has been a model to me in how he continues to search for ways to fill community needs with assets at the Michigan Ear Institute. He has partnerships with various medical schools and residency programs in the Detroit area. He and his founding partners have demonstrated innovative ways to honor their commitment to private practice while pursuing excellence as clinicians and teachers. Dr. Bojrab presents a true asset to our Academy as we tackle the challenges of meeting the training needs of our residency programs through interactions with private and community physicians.

Dennis has kept faith, family, and medicine at the core of his life. He has been married for 43 years to his best friend and wife Andria, with three children who have been supportive and integral to his career in medicine and life’s happiness. While beginning his practice, he also enrolled in a master’s degree training program in theology and serves as the Arch Deacon for St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, where he is extremely active. He believes that to give of worldly possessions is an honor but to give of ourselves is divine. His family lives by the motto to live life to the fullest and make it a masterpiece.

Cristina Cabrera-Muffly, MD

Cristina Cabrera-Muffly, MDCristina Cabrera-Muffly, MD, has inspired my journey in leadership at the Academy. She graduated from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and completed her otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Growing up in a Spanish-speaking household to immigrant parents, she saw firsthand how important mentorship and sponsorship are to achieve the American dream.

Dr. Cabrera-Muffly first joined academic practice as a comprehensive otolaryngologist at the Cleveland Clinic, then moved to the University of Colorado Medicine. Her passion for education led her to become associate residency program director at both institutions, then residency program director and vice chair of education at the University of Colorado Medicine. Dr. Cabrera-Muffly has been active in the AAO-HNS/F, serving as Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Chair of the General Otolaryngology and Sleep Education Committee.

Dr. Cabrera-Muffly combined her passions for education and mentorship to establish the OtoMentor podcast in 2019. With 40 episodes and more than 22,000 downloads, the podcast interviews practicing otolaryngologists to help mentor medical students and residents on their otolaryngology journey. With episode topics ranging from “How to Select the Right Residency Program for You” to “Lessons Learned in the First Year of Practice” and “Wellness, Mental Health, and Burnout,” the podcasts discuss topics that are missing from traditional medical training curricula. Through the podcast and her example as a compassionate and highly skilled otolaryngologist, she hopes to provide perspectives to students who may not have access to mentors, while helping our community of otolaryngologists reflect the ethnic variety of our patient population.

Cristina is a tireless mentor to students around the world and creates opportunities for students at any level to learn about our specialty. She is a force for resident education at the Academy level. Through all of this, she remains committed to her family and to maintaining a healthy life.

Charles V. Edmond, Jr., MD

Charles V. Edmond, Jr., MDCharles V. Edmond, Jr., MD, is a friend, a practice partner, and an inspiration for me as I care for patients and the needs of my community. He graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio and went on to graduate with honors from UT Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Edmond then chose to serve his country by commissioning into the United States Army. His medical career began with a transitional internship at Tripler Army Medical Center and then he served with the First Cavalry Unit at Fort Hood, Texas. He completed his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center before choosing a fellowship in head and neck reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Dr. Edmond’s military commitment brought him to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. There he made significant contributions as the resident research director, co-director of the head and neck cancer service, as well as the director of the facial plastic surgery service. While in the military, he was the clinical principal investigator in the development of one of the early endoscopic sinus surgery simulators. This then-innovative project brought together world-class experts from Lockheed Martin, Ohio State Supercomputer Center, the Human Interface Technology Lab, and Haptics Resources. Dr. Edmond’s work on this project led to the first transfer of training using a surgical simulator, marking a significant advancement in medical training and patient care in otolaryngology.

After his military career, Dr. Edmond continued to make a profound impact in his private practice in Washington State. As a senior member of Ear Nose Throat & Allergy Associates in Puyallup, Washington, he has helped establish one of the premier providers of high-quality comprehensive and tertiary ear, nose, and throat care. His dedication to excellence in patient care is matched by his commitment to mentoring and encouraging underprivileged students to pursue careers in medicine.

Chuck’s career is a shining example of excellence, dedication, and service. His contributions to medicine, his commitment to his family and to his patients, and his service to his country embody the highest ideals of the medical profession and military service. He was pivotal in my successful transition to private practice.

John T. McElveen, Jr., MD

John T. McElveen, Jr., MDJohn T. McElveen, Jr., MD, has been a friend and inspiration to me due to his commitment to surgical excellence and resident temporal bone education. He graduated from Davidson College, attended medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completed an internship at the University of Utah, and did his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency at Stanford University. After completing a research and clinical neurotology fellowship at the House Ear Clinic, Dr. McElveen joined the House Ear Clinic staff. During his three-and-a-half years there, he oversaw the brainstem implant program and received the Outstanding Teaching Award from University of Southern California otolaryngology residents. 

In 1987, Dr. McElveen became the director of otology/neurotology at Duke University. In 1993, he left Duke and founded the Carolina Ear & Hearing Clinic and the nonprofit Carolina Ear Research Institute, both in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Institute’s Camp Woodbine, a camp for youth with hearing loss, was named in honor of his father, a decorated World War II P-51 fighter pilot whose call sign was “Woodbine 80.”

At the Carolina Ear Research Institute, Dr. McElveen built a nine-station temporal bone lab that continues to be a focal point for his education efforts. He established the U.S. Friendship Temporal Bone Courses to connect residents in the United States with their international counterparts in an intensive, two-and-a-half-day temporal bone course. Last year, he invited nine Japanese residents, and in 2024, he will host nine Italian residents to work with nine residents from around the U.S. The goal is to build temporal bone competency while incubating international collaborations that will grow long after the courses are done. Dr. McElveen has taught over 40 temporal bone courses in Raleigh and established the Vienna Temporal Bone course in Austria, training 30 otolaryngology residents each year from across Europe. These courses have allowed Dr. McElveen to fulfill the directive from Howard P. House, MD: “With knowledge comes a responsibility, and that responsibility is to share it.”

Dr. McElveen has published over 65 papers and has served in numerous leadership roles, including president of the American Neurotological Society and secretary/treasurer of the Otosclerosis Study Group. John’s commitment to family, his friends, and to the honor of our specialty shines a light for future colleagues to follow.