About the Program

The Neurotology Fellowship Program began at The Ohio State University, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery in 1995 and was accredited by the ACGME in 1998. The duration of the program is two years and only one fellow is trained during those two years. Training occurs at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Program Objectives

The overarching goals and objectives of the Neurotology Fellowship Program are to provide outstanding training to fellows in all aspects of the field:

Neurotology, including medical, surgical and rehabilitative aspects of cranial base tumors, facial paralysis and vestibular dysfunction, concentrating efforts in neurotologic and cranial base procedures
Advanced or complicated otology cases, including revision stapes surgery, petrous apex cholesteatoma removal, endolymphatic shunts, intracranial complications of otitis media and cochlear implantation of children and adults
Improve surgical skills and intraoperative decision-making processes in neurotologic and cranial base procedures
Improve critical thinking in diagnostic development and management of neurotologic and cranial base diseases through collaborative basic and clinical research projects and teaching to promote the continued academic pursuits of the trainee

Fellowship Elements and Strengths
- Internal auditory canal and cerebellopontine angle tumors: Our division treats a large number of IAC and CPA tumors annually. Recent fellows have graduated with over 90 surgical tumor cases. Approximately 70% of these are via translabyrinthine approaches, with the remaining 30% split between middle cranial fossa and retrosigmoid approaches. Our surgeons are heavily involved in tumor dissection, not just surgical access to the disease. Our center manages a large number of patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 2
- Lateral skull base approaches: Ohio State has an outstanding head and neck team. As a result our division is involved surgically in a large number of lateral skull base approaches in conjunction with our head and neck colleagues
- Neurosurgery partnership: We maintain a strong partnership with our neurosurgery colleagues at Ohio State. This includes fellow participation in weekly Tuesday morning skull base conferences. In cases done in collaboration with neurosurgery, tumor resection is a group effort and the fellow has the opportunity develop and hone microsurgical dissection skills
- Cochlear implantation: Our division performs more than 160 cochlear implants in adults and children annually, using devices from all three CI manufacturers. Fellows gain experience in hearing preservation techniques, hybrid implantation, implants for single-sided deafness, as well as auditory brainstem implantation in adults and children
- Chronic ear and middle ear surgery: Although these surgeries are officially “resident-level” cases, our fellows obtain expertise in surgical management of these diseases, often serving as a junior-level attending for these procedures
- Pediatric otology experience: Unlike many neurotology fellowships, our fellow gets hands-on experience in a large pediatric otology and cochlear implantation program at one of the largest freestanding children’s hospitals in the country – Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Project Ear: Neurotology fellows at OSU have the opportunity to join Dr. Dodson during a surgical mission program to the Dominican Republic that has been providing otological care for adults and children alongside local providers for more than 20 years
- Facial reanimation exposure: Dr. Leslie Kim, recent facial plastics and reconstructive surgery graduate from Johns Hopkins, is establishing a facial reanimation program at OSU, providing expertise in microvascular reconstruction for dynamic and static reanimation procedures for facial weakness
- Temporal bone laboratory: We have a state-of-the-art temporal bone laboratory, built in 2009. This is housed directly adjacent to clinic space at the Eye and Ear Institute, with temporal bones obtained from the medical school.
- Flexible fellow schedule: We try to maintain a flexible schedule for our Neurotology fellow. The typical weekly schedule for the fellow includes one day of clinic, three days of surgery and one day dedicated to research
- No primary call!
Research Experience
We strive to protect approximately one day a week for our fellow to pursue research interests. We have outstanding collaborations with scientists at Ohio State in speech and hearing science, psychology and linguistics. Projects have historically been across a wide range of subject areas, including the following:
- Intraoperative electrophysiology and cochlear implantation
- Effects of auditory, linguistic and cognitive skills on adult cochlear implant speech perception outcomes
- Adult aural rehabilitation in cochlear implant users
- Speech and language development in pediatric cochlear implant users
- Genetics of NF2 and sporadic schwannomas
- Animal models of noise-induced hearing loss
- Novel imaging approaches for evaluating skull base tumors
- Vestibular threshold testing to differentiate Meniere’s from migraine
- Artificial intelligence to analyze ear pathologies

Application Process

Fellow applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited core otolaryngology residency to apply for the program. Applicants must register for the San Francisco Match.

Application materials must include:

A complete CV
Three letters of recommendation

To apply, applicants must mail or email the above documents to the program director, Dr. Oliver Adunka, or the fellowship coordinator, Jamie Wohrer.

Jamie Wohrer
Program Coordinator
Jamie.Wohrer@osumc.edu

Eye and Ear Institute
915 Olentangy River Road, Suite 4000
Columbus, OH 43212
614-293-9215

Our Faculty

Oliver Adunka, MD, MBA, FACS

Director, Neurotology Fellowship Program

Vice Chair, Clinical Operations
Director, Division of Otology, Neurotology and Cranial Base Surgery
Director, Audiology
Professor - Clinical

Ed Dodson, MD

Associate Professor, Division of Otology, Neurotology, and Cranial Base Surgery

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Yin Ren, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Division of Otology, Neurotology, and Cranial Base Surgery

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Neurotology Fellows

Rob Macielak, MD

Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Residency: Mayo Clinic

Past Neurology Fellows

2017 - 2023
2006 - 2016

2015 - 2017
Michael Harris, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

2013 - 2015
Jason Beyea, MD, PhD
Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

2011 - 2013
Aaron C. Moberly, MD
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

2009 - 2011
Matthew L. Bush, MD
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

2008 - 2010
Charles W. Yates, MD
Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN

2006 - 2008
Mark D. Packer, MD
United States Air Force, San Antonio, TX
1995 - 2005

2004 - 2006
Abraham Jacob, MD
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

2002 - 2005
Brian A. Neff, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

1999 - 2001
John M. Lasak, MD
Wichita Ear Clinic, Wichita, KS

1997 - 1999
Robert L. Daniels, MD
ENT Consultants, Grand Rapids, MI

1996 - 1998
Patrick W. Slater, MD
Austin Ear Clinic, Austin, TX

1995 - 1997
Iain L. Grant, MD
Ohio Health, Columbus, OH

Neurotology Fellowship

About the Program

Program Objectives

Fellowship Elements and Strengths

Research Experience