PERSONAL STATEMENT I am a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. My primary clinical interests include surgical and reconstructive treatments of patients with head and neck cancers. Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Oncology program at Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC) is extremely strong, with 450 plus new or recurrent head and neck cancer patients presented at the Tumor Board each year. We now have a growing program in Basic and Translational Research in Head and Neck Oncology in our department led by Dr. Sufi M. Thomas. My research interests include pre-clinical models of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCCA). I have been successful in receiving the Young Investor CORE Grand Award in 2010 - 2012 to study novel therapeutics in animal model of HNSCCA, which has been extensively presented and published. I have established strong multidisciplinary collaborations within the University of Kansas Cancer Center that will allow me to successfully accomplish this proposed project. HONORS Howard Hughes Medical Institute Honors Program, 1993 - 1996 Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, 1995 Merck Honors Research Fellowship, 1995 - 1996 Jonas E. Salk Scholarship, 1996 - 2000 Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society 1999 Dennis Pappas, Sr. Annual Resident Research Award, 2003 Dept.. of Otolaryngology, NYU School of Medicine Dennis Pappas, Sr. Annual Resident Research Award, 2004 Dept. of Otolaryngology, NYU School of Medicine First Prize, Fellow Research Competition, 2006 Dept. of Otolaryngology, University of Miami SOM Best Teacher of the Year, Department of Otolaryngology 2010, 2012 Head and Neck Surgery