The program is directed by two faculty members, Gabriel Corfas, Ph.D., who assumed the role as director of the Advanced Research Training in Otolaryngology Program (ARTOP) in July 2017. In addition to serving as ARTOP program director, Dr. Corfas is also the professor and director to Kresge Hearing Research Institute and associate chair for research in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Andrew Shuman, M.D., who also assumed the role as co-director for the ARTOP training program. Dr. Shuman is an associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He is also the chief of the ENT section of the surgery service at the VA Ann Arbor Health System as well as co-director of the Program in Clinical Ethics in the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CMBSSM).
Research Committee
Drs. Corfas and Shuman are responsible for the administration of the training program and are advised by the department's research committee. The committee is chaired by David C. Kohrman, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, who directs the research committee for the residents and fellows. The committee members include: Drs. Thomas Carey, Mark Prince, Yehoash Raphael, and Susan Shore. All program preceptors are selected to represent clinical and basic science senior faculty, major disciplines, and are identified as outstanding faculty mentors to a large number of trainees in the program. The committee will oversee the application process and reviews the applications for the positions, which include a brief proposal of research. The committee will meet quarterly to provide advice to the director and co-director in terms of ways to improve the program. Both basic science research faculty members as well as clinician investigators will participate, representing the range of disciplines available to the trainees for research activities. This committee will serve as the principal reviewer of research training projects proposed by each of the fellows in the program. monitoring their performance throughout the research training period and assisting the designated research mentor as necessary for monitoring all aspects of the conduct, acquisition and analysis, and reporting of the research findings by each fellow.
Program Evaluation
Prior to starting their research project, each trainee is required to make an oral presentation and submit a written application in an abbreviated NIH format to the Research Committee for evaluation. Drs. Corfas and Shuman review all applications in order to monitor the quality of the work proposed and the training environment. The ongoing projects are reviewed by the Research Committee and a committee report is presented to the full faculty and department chair. An annual research seminar is convened in the spring of each year with presentations by all trainees. Each trainee is also required to submit a written manuscript describing their work at the end of each academic year, which is reviewed by the Research Committee and Drs. Corfas and Shuman. For the otolaryngology residents, awards are presented for the best basic science research paper, the best clinical research paper and best otologic research paper. Department research retreats are held regularly to assess the training program and the direction of research for the department.
ARTOP Program Directors
