COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT  

COOL OTO EVENT IN LOS ANGELES, OCTOBER 19, 2026

The Community Engagement and Workforce Development Committee is pleased to announce TWO outstanding recipients of the 2026/27 Under-Represented in Medicine Travel Grant. 

Congratulations Natalia!

Natalia Alvarado Ramos is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine with a passion for Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she is committed to assisting underserved communities, shaped by a year spent working at a community health clinic for uninsured patients in South Bend, Indiana. Her research focuses on health disparities, including unrecognized hearing impairment among older Korean Americans conducted at Johns Hopkins University's Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health under the guidance of Dr. Carrie Nieman. Natalia currently serves as Co-President of her school's Latino Medical Student Association chapter, where she leads an island-wide research symposium bringing together medical students and undergraduates from across Puerto Rico. She previously served as Co-Leader of the LMSA National ENT Specialty Section, organizing programming and mentorship initiatives that created visible pathways into otolaryngology for Hispanic students. Natalia will receive mentorship from Dr. Yu-Lan Mary Ying at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School during her away rotation. She plans to build a career combining surgical practice, health disparities research, and teaching.

Congratulations Elena!

Elena Quiñonez Del Cid is a fourth-year medical student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was born in Guatemala and raised in Florida and is passionate about increasing access to quality healthcare in her community. She served as Co-President of the Latino Medical Student Association at UNC, where she helped restart free monthly community health screenings that had halted during the pandemic. Elena also serves as a Medical Team Senior Coordinator at the Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC), the free student-run clinic in Chapel Hill. She is also actively engaged in research and recently completed a dedicated research year focused on neurotology through the Howard Holderness Distinguished Medical Student Researcher Fellowship at UNC. Her work under the mentorship of Dr. Brown, Dr. Dillon, and Dr. Thompson has investigated various factors affecting hearing preservation in both adult and pediatric cochlear implantation. Elena will receive mentorship from Dr. Rick Friedman at the University of California San Diego during her visiting otolaryngology rotation. She is thrilled to continue her journey toward becoming an otolaryngologist.

The next cycle of applications for the 2027-2028 Under-Represented in Medicine in Otology/Neurotology Travel Grant academic year begins May 1 - June 15, 2027

Community Engagement and Workforce Development Committee Members 

Michael Hoa, MD, (Chair, 2024-2027)
(alpha by last name) 
Stephania Goncalves, MD
Michael Hoffer, MD
Charlotte Hughes, MD
Adam Kaufman, MD (2nd term)
Angela Peng, MD
Shawn Stevens, MD
Adam Thompson-Harvey, MD
Carla Valenzuela, MD
De'Andre Warren, MD

Click here to check out the 2024 COOL OTO EVENT at Booker T. Washington High School in Miami! 

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