Cliff Megerian, MD, Named Chairman of Otolaryngology

Newswise — Following a national search, Cliff A. Megerian, MD, has been named Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center.

Dr. Megerian, currently Vice-Chair of the department and Director of the UH Ear, Nose & Throat Institute, is an internationally recognized authority in ear surgery. An accomplished clinician and researcher, he is a pioneer in the use of cochlear implants to treat hearing-impaired children.

“Cliff has built an outstanding cochlear implant program here and will bring his expertise to further enhance our already-renowned department,” said Fred C. Rothstein, MD, President, UH Case Medical Center. “He embodies the clinical and academic mission of University Hospitals Case Medical Center and we are so pleased to have him accept this leadership role in the department. We look forward to his continued success in advancing the field and in continuing to teach the next generation of specialists.”

“Cliff is a noted clinician and researcher who has brought prestige to our institutions. He is a field-leading innovator who has leadership style that has proven to be inspirational to the future leaders in the field of otolaryngology,” said Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD, Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs, Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Megerian joined UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 2002. He serves as Director of Otology and Neurotology and Director of the Cochlear Implant Program as well as Professor of Otololaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery at the School of Medicine. In 2008, he was named the inaugural Richard W. and Patricia R. Pogue Chair in Auditory Surgery and Hearing Sciences at UH.

Dr. Megerian’s clinical interests include medical and surgical conditions of the ear, hearing loss, vertigo, facial nerve disorders, congenital aural atresia, cochlear implantation and diseases of the skull base, and Meniere’s syndrome. He has authored more than 100 papers in his field and serves on the editorial boards of Otology and Neurotology, Current Surgery, and Medscape. His textbook, “Surgery of the Cerebellopontine Angle,” is a must-read for medical students, residents, fellows and otology and neurotology specialists alike. Dr. Megerian also serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Otolaryngology.

Dr. Megerian is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. He came to Cleveland from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, where he served as co-director of the Skull Base Surgery Center and as the founding medical director of one of the most comprehensive combined adult and pediatric cochlear implant programs in New England.

Dr. Megerian completed clinical and research fellowships in otology and neurotology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He earned his medical degree at University of Michigan and completed his otolaryngology residency at UH Case Medical Center.

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About University HospitalsUniversity Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org

About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation’s top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School’s innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Eleven Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the school.

Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report “Guide to Graduate Education.”

The School of Medicine’s primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu.