2024 Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) Awards
View the 2024 awardees for the Helen F. Krause, MD Trailblazer Award, the Exemplary Senior Trainee Award, and the He for She Award.
2024 WIO Helen F. Krause, MD Trailblazer Award
Cherie-Ann O. Nathan, MD
LSU-Health Shreveport
Dr. Nathan’s passion is to improve outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer. She is a surgeon-scientist who maintains a busy practice treating head and neck cancer, thyroid, parathyroid, salivary gland tumors, and skin cancer, in addition to leading an active research team.
Her colleagues say she epitomizes what it means to be a trailblazing woman in medicine by defining a standard of excellence in a field where she has paved the way not only for women, but all aspiring otolaryngologists. Dr. Nathan’s professional pursuits, beginning at a time when women representation in otolaryngology was lacking, has set a formidable standard.
She completed her otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency and fellowship at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, becoming the first woman to graduate from her program. She then joined the LSUHS Department of Otolaryngology where she became the first woman to attain full professorship. Dr. Nathan was named chair of her department at a time when only four women in the United States held this title and she continues to serve as the sole woman chair of her academic institution.
Dr. Nathan’s colleagues also recognize that she values differing perspectives while promoting diversity in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery thought leadership. This approach has seen her breakthrough many glass ceilings while cultivating a culture that supports the advancement of deserving others. Dr. Nathan is also a 2024 inductee to the AAO-HNS Hall of Distinction.
2024 WIO Exemplary Senior Trainee Award
Jacqueline Harris, MD
University of California San Francisco
Dr. Harris graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and completed medical school at Vanderbilt University. As one of the first women Black residents in the UCSF otolaryngology-head and neck surgery department, she advocates for marginalized patients and trainees, and has been recognized throughout her training as an empathic physician, dedicated mentor, and passionate researcher.
A dedicated mentor to medical students, Dr. Harris takes extra time to help students succeed on their rotations at UCSF and other institutions. Throughout her training, she has demonstrated a strong desire to learn and develop exceptional skill sets. Her colleagues say she is a critical thinker in the operating room and other clinical settings and provides excellent patient care.
In the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd protests, Dr. Harris championed a diversity, equity, and inclusion retreat for the UCSF otolaryngology-head and neck surgery department, which was attended by nearly 100 participants. She helped lead and direct the curriculum for the retreat, which included communication training, personal reflection time, and advocacy.
In addition, she has been elected to the UCSF Graduate Medical Education Committee for her commitment to mentorship and dedication to positive change for residents. According to one junior resident, “Dr. Harris brings positivity to any situation and shows grace in difficult moments. I cannot think of a more inspiring senior resident.”
WIO He for She Award
Mark E. P. Prince, MD, FRCS(C)
University of Michigan Medical School
He earned his medical degree at the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a medical officer with specialized training in hyperbaric and diving medicine. Dr. Prince completed his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Dalhousie University, followed by a two-year fellowship in advanced head and neck oncology and microvascular reconstructive surgery at the University of Michigan.
Colleagues say he has shaped the lives of hundreds of trainees and faculty through his longstanding dedication to education and mentorship as a faculty member, department residency program director, department chair, and assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education. Specifically, he has consistently used his positions of leadership to empower, support, and advocate for women.
As one colleague described, “Dr. Prince is an ardent champion of recruiting diverse trainees to our program and supporting our individual needs. He is constantly implementing programming to support diverse trainees and faculty, including identification of appropriate mentors and sponsors, financial support resources, and faculty teaching regarding mentoring across identity differences and allyship.”
Initiatives that Dr. Prince has implemented include implicit bias training within grand rounds; department-wide awareness of gender-based differences in the workplace, such as microaggressions and competing demands outside of work; and leadership development training including formal mentorship for junior faculty.