The 2023 Muse Prize and Award Celebrates Excellence in Otolaryngology

The 2023 Albert C. Muse Prize recipient for Excellence in Research and Advancement of Care in Otolaryngology is Randal S. Weber, MD, FACS, an internationally recognized head and neck surgeon and expert in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. After earning his medical degree, he completed a surgery internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and residencies in surgery and otolaryngology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He received specialized training in head and neck surgical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center and later joined the MD Anderson faculty, with a joint appointment at Baylor College of Medicine. He served as Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from 1996 to 2003 and then returned to MD Anderson to accept the post as Chairman. In addition to maintaining a busy surgical practice, Dr. Weber is active in clinical research and is closely involved in training young physician-scientists. He is a prolific author in head and neck medicine and a sought-after lecturer both nationally and internationally. He has served on numerous editorial boards of several international journals, including Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Head & Neck. Dr. Weber has consistently been named one of America’ s Top Doctors by the Castle Connolly Guide. His clinical interests are nonmelanoma skin cancer, thyroid cancer, and therapeutic strategies for organ preservation.

Dr. Weber will present the Muse Prize Lecture in BST-S120 at 4pm. It is a hybrid lecture.

The 2023 Albert C. Muse Award recipient for Excellence in Innovation and Service in Otolaryngology is Jonas T. Johnson, MD, FACS. Dr. Jonas T. Johnson is an Emeritus Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he served as Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology from 2005-2022. Dr. Johnson holds joint appointments in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and Department of Communication Science and Disorders in the School of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences. Dr. Johnson has committed his professional career to the care of people with tumors of the head and neck in a setting of education and research. 

Dr. Johnson is a Past President of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (2003), the American Head and Neck Society (2004), and the Triologic Society (2014). In 2016, Dr. Johnson left surgery and dedicated his clinical efforts to establish the Head and Neck Survivorship Clinic with Dr. Marci Nilsen, PhD, working as a multidisciplinary team to help cancer survivors and their families better navigate the health care system.