Trainee Award
First awarded: 1990
Funding provided by: Dr. Joseph Touma 1990-99 & the American Neurotology Society
Submission Information

  • ANS offers up to two Trainee awards for the best clinical and basic science paper in Neurotology submitted by a Resident or Fellow in training in the field of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Residents from any approved residency program or Fellows in Neurotology in the United States or Canada are eligible to compete. (Two Trainee awards were established in 2020, one for Clinical and one for Basic Science). (medical students are not eligible). 
  • Authorship: The Resident or Fellow must be the primary author. He or she must provide the main inspiration for the paper and do the literature search, data collection, original and final drafts of the article, the discussion, and the conclusions. A staff sponsor may be listed as co-author or second author. The sponsor or staff consultant may only provide editorial help, cases for study, and/or a research laboratory setting for carrying out bench research.
  • The Paper: The paper must be an original contribution, not previously published. A clinical study or basic research study is acceptable. Single-case reports or literature reviews are not acceptable. The paper must be presented in the publication format recommended by Otology & Neurotology, the official journal of the ANS a minimum of 4 weeks before meeting. The author must submit an electronic copy of the manuscript, including illustrations. 
  • The Prize: ANS has established a cash award of $1,000 for the winning papers. The author will be expected to attend the Annual ANS Spring Meeting and present the paper in person. 
  • The abstract must be selected for ORAL presentation to be considered. 
  • Send a brief cover letter and a pdf of your manuscript to: Kristen Bordignon,
    ANS Administrator,  [email protected] by November 30, 2025 to accompany the abstract.  (preliminary draft of manuscript acceptable) 
  • The final manuscript must be submitted electronically in the publication format recommended by Otology & Neurotology, the official journal of the ANS, 4 weeks before meeting.
  • The Abstract Submission deadline for the ANS 61st Annual Spring Meeting in Phoenix, AZ on April 24-26, 2026 is 11:59 PM (P.T.) October 22, 2025. 

Previous Recipients

Krish Suresh, MD
UC San Diego
San Diego, CA
 
2025
 
New Orleans, LA
 
Ryan T. Judd, MD
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
 
2024
 
Chicago, IL
 
Lisa Zhang, MD
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
 
2023
 
Boston, MA
 
Ankita Patro, MD
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
 
2023
 
Boston, MA
 
Amit Walia, MD
Washington University STL
St. Louis, MO 
 
2022
 
Dallas, TX
 
Hunter L. Elms, MD
Duke University
Durham, NC
 
2022
 
 Dallas, TX
 
 
Douglas M. Bennion, MD, PhD
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
 
2021
 
Virtual Platform
 
Susan E. Ellsperman, MD
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
 
 2021
 
 Virtual Platform
 
 
Armine Kocharyan, MD (Basic Science)
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
 
 2020
 
Virtual Platform
 
John P. Marinelli, MD (Clinical)
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN 
 
 2020
 
 Virtual Platform
 
 
 
Matthew Shew, MD
University of Kansas
Kansas City, KS
 
2019
 
Austin, TX
 
Ashley M. Nassiri, MD, MBA
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
 
2018
 
National Harbor, MD
 
Yarah M. Haidar, MD 
University of California Irvine
Orange, CA
 
2017
 
San Diego, CA
 
Jacob B. Hunter, MD  
Vanderbilt University 
Nashville, TN
 
2016
 
Chicago, IL
 
James Naples, MD
University of Connecticut
Farmington, CT
 
2015
 
Boston, MA
 
Christine T. Dinh, MD
University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
Miami, FL
 
2014
 
Las Vegas, NV
 
Samuel A. Spear, MD
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
 
2013
 
Orlando, FL
 
Yuri Agrawal, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD
 
2012
 
San Diego, CA
 
Hideko Heidi Nakajima, MD, PhD
Massachusetts Eye & Ear
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
 
2009
 
Phoenix, AZ
 
Wade Chien, MD
Massachusetts Eye & Ear
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
 
2006
 
Chicago, IL
 
Ritvik P. Mehta, MD
Massachusetts Eye & Ear
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
 
2005
 
Boca Raton, FL
 
Norman N. Ge, MD
Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, CA
 
2004
 
Phoenix, AZ
 
Stacey L. Halum, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI
 
2003
 
Nashville, TN
 
Dmitriy Niyazov, MS
Los Angeles, CA
 
2001
 
Palm Desert, CA
 
Wayne E. Berryhill, MD
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
 
2000
 
Orlando, FL
 
Jennifer L. Maw, MD
Hearing Institute for Children & Adults
San Jose, CA
 
1999
 
Palm Desert, CA
 
Bac H. Nguyen, MD
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
 
1998
 
Palm Beach, FL
 
Greg A. Krempl, MD
University of Texas
San Antonio, TX
 
1997
 
Scottsdale, AZ
 
Donald D. Robertson, MD
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
 
1995
 
Palm Desert, CA
 
Gary B. Coleman, MD
University of Michigan
Detroit, MI
 
1994
 
Palm Beach, FL
 
Mark E. Reiber, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN
 
1993
 
Los Angeles, CA
 
Eric Tallan, MD
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN
 
1992
 
Palm Desert, CA
 
Charles A. Syms III, MD
USAF Medical Center
Lackland AFB, TX
 
1991
 
Waikoloa, HI
 
Thomas R. Pasic, MD
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
 
1990
 
Palm Beach, FL