Anand Devaiah Appointed Society of University Otolaryngologists President

Anand K. Devaiah, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology, neurological surgery and ophthalmology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), was named president of the Society of University Otolaryngologists (SUO) at its annual meeting in November. Devaiah, who is also Director of the Biomedical and Health Technology Development & Transfer Domain for the Boston University Institute for Health System Innovation and Policy, served as president-elect for the past year.

Dr. Devaiah joined BUSM in 2002. His clinical, research, teaching and administrative responsibilities center around anterior and lateral skull base surgery, minimally invasive endoscopic techniques and head and neck surgical oncology. He established the first multidisciplinary approaches to skull base surgery at Boston Medical Center (BMC) in 2002, including the introduction of endoscopic and endoscopic-assisted skull base surgery methods for benign and malignant disease. His areas of expertise include surgical techniques, surgical and medical technology development, outcome analyses using expanded dataset analyses and analysis of resource utilization in head and neck/skull base surgery.

From 2015-17, Dr. Devaiah served as a medical officer and fellow with the Food and Drug Administration in the Center for Devices and Radiologic Health as a part of the Ear, Nose, and Throat Branch. Integral to his role was the evaluation of new technology and protocols for enhancing human health.

In addition, he has served as a member and past chair of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s Medical Devices and Drugs Committee and long-time committee member, where he and the Committee launched several initiatives relevant to biomedical devices and public health policy. He is the current co-chair of the Research Committee of the North American Skull Base Society to promote international innovation in this multidisciplinary clinical space, Boston University Medical Campus’ Institutional Review Board, AAO-HNS Skull Base Surgery Committee member, member of the BU-BMC Cancer Center, chair of Electives Curriculum Subcommittee for BUSM, member of the Medical Education Committee and past president of the BMC Medical-Dental Staff.

SUO brings together otolaryngologists in academic departments from around the country and beyond, addressing the unique opportunities and challenges seen in academic medicine. This includes – but not limited to — efforts to enhance professional development, physician resilience, balance for underrepresented minorities in medicine, gender equity, educational innovation and healthcare innovation. Since joining SUO in 2003, Devaiah has served in different capacities to further these goals. He has also held different leadership roles including as Secretary-Treasurer, Chair of the Membership Committee, member of the Executive Council, and Program Committee.