Young Investigator Award
The Investigator Award, presented by the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) in collaboration with the American Academy of Otolaryngology, supports early-career researchers dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of neoplastic diseases of the head and neck.
This prestigious award honors the legacy of Dr. Duane Sewell, a renowned surgeon-scientist and immunologist whose passion for research and patient care left a lasting impact on the field. Open to AHNS fellows and assistant professors, this $10,000 per year award is granted to one recipient annually for up to two years.
About Duane Sewell, MD
In November of 2011 the medical community, as well as colleagues, friends and family, suffered a great loss when Dr. Duane Sewell passed away at the age of 44 following a battle with gastric cancer. Dr. Sewell was an Associate Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sewell was a dedicated physician who was passionate not only about alleviating the pain and suffering of his patients; but, as a surgeon-scientist and immunologist discovering more about the biology of the disease and the host immune response.
Dr. Sewell earned his bachelor degree from Harvard University and then continued graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Following graduate school, Dr. Sewell took a surgical internship at John Hopkins Hospital from 1995 to 1997, and then a residency in the same institution. Just prior to joining the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2007, Dr. Sewell was a head and neck surgery fellow, and then an assistant professor, in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Make a donation in honor of Dr. Sewell and support the Young Investigator Award.
Past Award Winners
2023: Katherine Wai, MD and Michael Topf, MD
2022: Richard A. Harbison, MD, MS
2021: Theresa Guo, MD
2020: Cariss Thomas, MD
2019: Marietta Tan, MD
2018: Marcus M. Monroe, MD
2017: Andrew G. Shuman, MD
2016: Jessica Moskovitz, MD
2015: Clint Allen, MD
2014: Joseph Curry, MD
2013: Nicole Schmidt, MD
2012: Allen Szu Hao Ho, MD
2011: Natalya Chernichenko, MD and Paul M. Weinberger, MD
2010: Yelizaveta Shnayder, MD and Thomas J. Ow, MD
2009: Babak Givi, MD and Rutherford Ongkeko, MD, PhD
2008: Brandon Bentz, MD and Mark Jameson, MD, PhD
2007: Andrew Sokora, MD, PhD and Mihir Patel, MD
2006: Michael Kupferman, MD, PhD
2005: Steven J. Wang, MD
2004: Jeffrey Wolf, MD
2003: Eben Rosenthal, MD