Justin Turner, M.D., Ph.D., professor and John S. Odess Endowed Chair, delivered the UAB Department of Otolaryngology’s inaugural State of the Department address on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
The Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery celebrates its 10th anniversary as a department in 2025. Previously, the practice was a Division in the UAB Department of Surgery. In its short history as a department, Otolaryngology has already celebrated many successes, such as being recognized as a top 25 ENT program by U.S. News and World Report for five years in a row.
Turner, who joined the department as chair in late May 2024, covered several aspects of the department’s clinical, educational, and research-driven missions while highlighting the department’s recent growth and continued expansion.
“I really saw this department as a huge opportunity because it did have such a strong foundation, great reputation, core group of faculty, and strong residency program, but really had a lot of room for further growth and development,” Turner said.
One way expansion has happened is in terms of faculty – with the department having added five clinical faculty members in 2024.
“This was really essential to us to increase the access to care for the patients we serve,” Turner said.
He shared that the department’s 19 faculty will increase to 21 by fall 2025, with the addition of Mollie Perryman, M.D., and Anne Kane, M.D. later this year.
In addition, the department has expanded in terms of its physical footprint –both on the clinical and research sides.
The Department of Otolaryngology recently opened a newly renovated, 3,400-square-foot dedicated research space on the fourth floor of the McCallum Basic Health Sciences Building and hired two new research coordinators to help promote the further growth of research infrastructure.
“This is really going to allow us to recruit the best and brightest investigators to join our department in years to come,” Turner said.
The department also expanded its clinical operations to a new site in late 2024 – UAB Otolaryngology at 119. Average annual clinical growth of 5 to 9 percent is earmarked by the Department of Otolaryngology seeing more than 56,000 patients and performing more than 4,200 surgeries in fiscal year 2024.
“We really have become a destination program – not just for patients in the state, but really the entire southeastern United States,” Turner said. “And we want to continue this expansion.”
The addition of new faculty and specialized clinical programs like the Comprehensive Smell and Taste Clinic, Facial Nerve Program, and Trach Management Team will continue this trend, according to Turner. In addition to specialized otolaryngology services, Turner said the department hopes to expand its general and comprehensive otolaryngologic services in the years to come.
In the education space, Turner said the department’s high surgical volume and complex patient population help draw trainees to UAB Otolaryngology. In addition, the program is a pioneer nationally for training certifications such as sleep apnea device implantation and robotic surgery.
“These are certifications that our graduates can take to other institutions that really puts them a step ahead of many of their colleagues,” Turner said.
During the address, Turner revealed new mission and vision statements for the department – both of which embrace a patient-focused approach to generating a world-class reputation for the Department of Otolaryngology.
“We want to continue to deliver high-quality care, compassionate care, but we still want to take advantage of our position here at one of the preeminent academic institutions in the United States – to be able to offer the best in terms of research, innovation, education,” Turner said. “So we are really excited for things to come.”