Daniel Rocke, M.D., J.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology, has been named the Third Holder of the Julius N. Hicks Endowed Chair in the Department of Otolaryngology.

“It is such an honor to be named as the third holder of the Julius N. Hicks Endowed Chair,” Rocke stated. “Dr. Hicks was a great leader of the Division of Otolaryngology at UAB. We are all indebted to his service and vision, which laid a great foundation for our department. I hope to follow in the footsteps of him and the leaders who held this chair previously – Dr. Eben Rosenthal and Dr. Glenn Peters – and help to further the mission of the Department of Otolaryngology and the University.”

Rocke’s academic journey began at Taylor University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 2002. He then received a law degree from Duke Law School in 2005 and his medical degree from the University of Michigan in 2009.

Following medical school, he completed a residency in Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at Duke University Medical Center in 2014 and then further specialized with a fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto in 2015.

Rocke earned board certification from the American Board of Otolaryngology in 2015. He began his academic career as an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Duke University in 2014 and was promoted to associate professor in 2022.

In 2024, Rocke was recruited to the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine at UAB as the Co-Director of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and the Section Chief of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology.

Rocke is an accomplished leader and mentor with 35 published works, one book chapter, and 71 career presentations. He has also secured approximately $2.3 million in research funding from the NIH as an investigator and co-investigator.