05/02/2023
Welcome to the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery website for the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Our mission is to provide outstanding and innovative surgical and medical care for our patients, excellent education to our learners, conduct impactful clinical translational and basic research, and serve the community.
The Department, which was founded in 2016, continues to grow and expand in all its core missions. Nationally recognized clinical faculty provide care for patients with various disorders managed by the seven subspecialty areas of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery: comprehensive otolaryngology; facial plastic and reconstructive surgery; head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstructive surgery; laryngology and professional voice; otology and neurotologic skull base surgery; pediatric otolaryngology; and rhinology and anterior skull base surgery.
We currently have three practice sites across the Southern Region of the RWJBarnabas Health system. Our primary practice site is located on two floors of 10 Plum Street in New Brunswick; however, construction is underway for a 28,000 square foot practice site for us divided between two floors in the new 15 story 30 Plum Street practice building. This space will have state-of-the-art integrated space with patient-focused otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, audiology and speech-language-pathology care. We also have a pediatric-focused practice site in Eatontown, New Jersey and a comprehensive otolaryngology site in Toms River.
The New Brunswick campus is the Academic Medical Center for RWJBarnabas Health and is comprised of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital, Children’s Specialized Hospital and the soon to be opened 100-bed Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center. The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is the only NCI Designated Cancer Center in New Jersey. RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s second largest private employer – with more than 32,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents and interns – and routinely captures national awards for its outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health is the most comprehensive health care delivery system in New Jersey, caring for over 3 million patients a year.
The residency program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick is expected to begin in July 2024. In addition to the full-time faculty, the Department's educational program is enhanced by volunteer faculty who contribute to the education of medical students and residents.
The Department's research activities continue to expand. Physician-scientists and basic scientists conduct NIH funded research primarily in the area of auditory neuroscience. We also have faculty working in the area of olfactory neuroscience. These translational research programs are located on the Piscataway campus. Several undergraduate, predoctoral PhD and MD/PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows are trained in our departmental laboratories. Our faculty are also engaged in outcomes research and clinical trials. Clinical trials make new technologies available much earlier than otherwise possible so that our patients can benefit from these advances.
The Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery continues to serve the community by participating in physician education and patient education programs at the local, regional, national and international levels.
I hope that you will take the time to browse our website to learn more about the services we offer, our faculty, and our educational and research activities.
P. Ashley Wackym, MD, FACS, FAAP
Professor and Chair
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Chancellor Scholar, Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences
Senior Member, Rutgers Brian Health Institute
