UAMS makes Dornhoffer otolaryngology chief

The new leader of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Department of Otolaryngology will be the only department chairman of that discipline in the nation with a cochlear implant, the academic medical center said.

UAMS named Dr. John Dornhoffer as the new chairman of the head and neck surgical department Wednesday. He will earn $632,500 in his new position.

“Dr. Dornhoffer brings exceptional leadership experience and a strong commit- ment to all of our mission areas to his new role,” said Dr. Pope L. Moseley, executive vice chancellor and College of Medicine dean. “He has gained international recognition for his surgical skills and for his research into hearing loss and conditions such as tinnitus, vertigo and other balance disorders. He has invented two lines of prostheses that are used worldwide for middle ear reconstruction.”

He will take over the post May 1, replacing Dr. James Suen who has worked in that role for more than four decades. Suen, who will continue to teach, is believed to be the longest-serving leader of an otolaryngology department in the nation, according to a news release.

A graduate of the University of Kansas Medical School, Dornhoffer completed his residency training at UAMS and had two fellowships, including one in skull base surgery, abroad.

He has taught at UAMS since 1994 and has served as vice chairman of the department. He has led audiology services since 1994 and the cochlear implant team since 2000. He has served in other leadership posts at the academic medical center and received several honors and awards, including the Samuel D. McGill Jr. Endowed Chair in Otolaryngology Research.