Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Medical Student Research Fellowship

Overview

In 2022, the Division of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology within the Department of Otolaryngology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center created a 12-month clinical research fellowship, that runs from July 1 - June 30. This research experience is geared towards aspiring otolaryngologists seeking a research year between their third and fourth years of medical school. The fellow(s) will conduct clinical research within head and neck surgical oncology with their primary projects investigating the use of 3D scanning of head and neck surgical pathology specimens, as well as a novel open surgical video platform for education and competency. Fellow(s) will be encouraged to attend resident didactics and grand rounds to supplement their clinical knowledge and work with residents on their research projects. The fellow(s) will have the opportunity to work closely with all surgeons within the head and neck division on clinical research projects throughout the year. The entire division will serve as the student's mentoring team with a member of the mentorship team meeting with the student at least weekly.

The research fellow(s) will have the opportunity to participate in 1 of 2 mission trips to Kenya where they be able assist in patient care and work alongside Vanderbilt otolaryngology residents and faculty.

Educational Objectives

The goal of the medical student research fellowship is to offer fellows the skills and mentoring necessary to foster a career in academic otolaryngology. In addition, our program will prepare applicants for the competitive otolaryngology residency application cycle. The expectation is that the student will finish the year with multiple first-author publications. 

Skills learned during the fellowship include:

  • Electronic data capture (REDCap) software
  • Grant manuscript and IRB document writing
  • Clinical trial coordination
  • Research presentations (posters, oral)
  • Working intimately with all members of the head and neck cancer team (medical oncology, radiation oncology, speech-language pathology, pathology, neuroradiology)

There are opportunities for funding within the Vanderbilt Medical Scholars Program open to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Meharry Medical College students. Fellows are encouraged to apply for funding with the assistance of the mentorship team.  

For non-VU/Meharry students, there is a salary with benefits. 

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their CV, a cover letter explaining their interest in the program & previous relevant experience, and contact information for two references to Dr. Michael Topf.

Faculty

Past Fellows

Current Fellows: Joaquin Austerlitz and Andreja Radevic

Research Fellows Academic Productivity During Fellowship, to Date as of January 13th, 2026.

Our third-year fellows, Sindhura Sridhar and Whitney Jin, proved to be equally as successful as our past fellows. Please see examples of their outstanding work to date below!

Sindhura Sridhar: 2024-2025

Medical School: Texas A&M University School of Medicine, Engineering Medicine Program

 

Research Year Publications

  1. Yang Q, Li F, Xu J, Liu Z, Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Heiselman J, Miga MI, Topf MC, Wu JY. Augmented Reality-Based Guidance with Deformable Registration in Head and Neck Tumor Resection. Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention—MICCAI 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-05114-1_5\
  2. Sridhar S, Larson D, Raj S, Jin W, Zhu VL, Hicks M, Mannion K, Topf MC (2025). Preoperative Nodal Biopsy and Extranodal Extension in p16-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.70150
  3. Yang Q, Li F, Xu J, Liu Z, Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Heiselman J, Miga M, Topf M, Wu JY. Deformable Registration Framework for Augmented Reality-based Surgical Guidance in Head and Neck Tumor Resection. arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.08802. 2025 Mar 11.

Oral Presentations

  1. Sridhar S, Larson D, Swain BB, Suh H, Habib DRS, Vittetoe KL, Sengstack D, Topf MC, Hicks M. Association of Preoperative Depression and Clinical Outcomes After Head and Neck Free Flap Reconstruction. Oral presentation at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  2. Sridhar S, Lee IA, Jin W, Hicks M, Langerman AJ, Rohde SL, Mannion K, Sinard R, Rosenthal E, Topf MC. Discordance Between Gross and Microscopic Margins in Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Oral presentation at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  3. Sridhar S, Larson D, Jin W, Topf MC. Mucosal Margin Shrinkage in Oral Cavity Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Oral presentation at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  4. Lee IA, Sridhar S, Hicks M, Langerman AJ, Rohde SL, Mannion K, Sinard R, Rosenthal E, Topf MC. Margin Distance Cutoff and Recurrence in Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Oral presentation at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  5. Habib DRS, Sridhar S, Larson D, Suh H, Vittetoe KL, Sengstack D, Topf MC, Hicks M. Risk Factors for Increased Postoperative Pain in Head and Neck Free Flap Reconstruction Patients. Oral presentation at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  6. Gao L, Sridhar S, Topf MC, Langerman AJ. Histologic Origin as a Prognostic Factor in Salivary Duct Carcinoma. Oral presentation at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  7. Yang Q, Li F, Xu J, Liu Z, Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Heiselman J, Miga MI, Topf MC, Wu JY. Deformable Registration Framework for Augmented Reality-Based Surgical Guidance in Head and Neck Tumor Resection. Oral presentation at: International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention 2025, Daejeon, South Korea. September 2025.
  8. Sridhar S, Yang Q, Pereira K, Miga MI, Wu JY, Topf MC. Quantification of Post-Resection Tissue Deformation in the Oral Cavity: A Cadaveric Study. Oral presentation at: Triological Society Annual Meeting at Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting. New Orleans, LA. May 2025.
  9. Sridhar S, Larson D, Raj S, Jin W, Zhu VL, Hicks M, Mannion K, Topf MC. Type of Preoperative Nodal Biopsy and Risk for Extranodal Extension in p16-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Oral presentation at: Triological Society 2025 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2025.
  10. Jin W, Aweeda M, Fassler C, Sridhar S, Prasad K, Miller A, Mehrad M, Ely K, Rohde S, Langerman A, Mannion K, Sinard R, Hicks M, Netterville J, Rosenthal E, Lewis J, Topf MC. Visual Pathology Reports: A Novel Method for Communication of Final Margin Status in Oral Cavity Cancer. Oral presentation at: Triological Society 2025 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2025.

Poster Presentations

  1. Swain BB, Sridhar S, Jin W, Topf MC, Rohde SL. Donor Morbidity and Upper Extremity Outcomes in Osteocutaneous and Fasciocutaneous Radial Forearm Free Flap Reconstruction. Presented at: Triological Society 2026 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2026.
  2. Radevic A, Austerlitz J, Vivek N, Sridhar S, Jin W, Topf MC. Reducing Postoperative Radiotherapy (PORT) Delay in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Through a Discharge Summary Prompt. Presented at: Triological Society 2026 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2026.
  3. Dinesh A, Jin W, Sridhar S, Malloy KM, Casper KA, Neal MH, Stucken C, Chinn S, Forner DWA, Topf MC, Yalamanchi P. Value of Virtual Surgical Planning: Time-Driver Cost Analysis in Head and Neck Osseous Reconstruction. Poster presented at: AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IN. October 2025.
  4. Yang Q, Li F, Xu J, Liu Z, Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Heiselman J, Miga MI, Topf MC, Wu JY. Deformable Registration Framework for Augmented Reality-Based Surgical Guidance in Head and Neck Tumor Resection. Poster presented at: International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention 2025, Daejeon, South Korea. September 2025.
  5. Sridhar S, Papazian MR, Topf MC. Treatment Preferences in HPV-Mediated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma—A Provider Survey Study. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt University Medical Center Otolaryngology Research Day. Nashville, TN. June 2025.
  6. Barna AJ, Sridhar S, Stephan SJ, Patel PN, Yang SF. Structural Disparities in Access to Facial Plastic Surgery: A Socio-Geographic Analysis. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt University Medical Center Otolaryngology Research Day. Nashville, TN. June 2025.
  7. Sridhar S, Moroco A, Gowrishankar S, Mehrad M, Ely K, Lewis JS, Tuluc M, Gargano S, Hicks M, Mannion K, Thal AG, Luginbuhl AJ, Curry JM, Cognetti DM, Topf MC. Accuracy of Frozen Section Analysis for Identification Of HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary. Poster presented at: AHNS Annual Meeting at Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting. New Orleans, LA. May 2025.
  8. Sridhar S, Seyferth A, Nunes K, Larson D, Raj S, Jin W, Hicks M, Mannion K, Luginbuhl AJ, Curry JM, Cognetti DM, Topf MC. Discordance Between Gross and Microscopic Margins in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Poster presented at: AHNS Annual Meeting at Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting. New Orleans, LA. May 2025.
  9. Sridhar S, Upton M, Issa T, Jin W, Abemayor E, Mendelsohn AH, Tassone P, Topf MC. Treatment Priorities in Patients With a History of Laryngeal Cancer: A Conjoint Analysis. Poster presented at: AHNS Annual Meeting at Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting. New Orleans, LA. May 2025.
  10. Sridhar S, Jin W, Huang L, Topf MC. Improving Head and Neck Cancer Patients Understanding of their Disease Process With 3D Printed Tumor Models. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt Learning Health System Symposium. Nashville, TN. May 2025.
  11. Jin W, Sridhar S, Hyun Y, Habib DRS, Fassler C, Langerman AJ. Assessing Perioperative Supply Management and Nursing Perspectives with a Surgical Efficiency App. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt Learning Health System Symposium. Nashville, TN. May 2025. 12. Jin W, Sridhar S, Huang L, Ye C, Fabbri D, Topf MC. Development of a Visual Pathology Report Software to Improve Multidisciplinary Communication in Head and Neck Cancer Treatment. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt Learning Health System Symposium. Nashville, TN. May 2025.
  12. Sridhar S, Phan D, Zhao Y, Bowden AK, Topf MC. Application of Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography to Evaluate Surgical Margins in Head and Neck Cancer. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 26th Annual Scientific Symposium. Nashville, TN. April 2025.
  13. Lee IA, Sridhar S, Hicks M, Langerman AJ, Rohde SL, Mannion K, Sinard R, Rosenthal E, Topf MC. Optimal Margin Distance in Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Poster presented at: NOIG Scholars in Otolaryngology Virtual Conference. April 2025.
  14. Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Topf MC. Augmented Reality Streaming of Transoral Robotic Surgery: A New Platform for Robotic Surgery Education in Otolaryngology. Poster presented at: Virtual Medicine Conference. Los Angeles, CA. March 2025. 16. Jin W, Sridhar S, Du J, Topf MC, Fusco J. Demonstrating the Feasibility of a Multidisciplinary Augmented-Reality Tumor Board for Pediatric Neuroblastoma. Poster presented at: Virtual Medicine Conference. Los Angeles, CA. March 2025.
  15. Du J, Jin W, Sridhar S, Topf MC. Surgeon Insights on Augmented Reality Devices: A Comparative Study of Microsoft HoloLens 2 vs. Apple Vision Pro. Poster presented at: Virtual Medicine Conference. Los Angeles, CA. March 2025.
  16. Jin W, Sridhar S, Du J, Topf MC, Fusco J. Feasibility of a Multi-Disciplinary Augmented-Reality Tumor Board for Pediatric Neuroblastoma. Poster presentation at: Dan Beauchamp Research Day at Vanderbilt University. Nashville, TN. February 2025.
  17. Sridhar S, Jin W, Zimmer D, Topf MC. Office-Based Narrow-Band Imaging for Identification of the p16-Positive Unknown Primary: A Case Series. Poster presented at: Triological Society 2025 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2025.
  18. Jin W, Sharma RK, Sridhar S, Tassone P, Philips R, Topf MC. Trends in Rates of Elective Neck Dissections for Early-Stage Oral Cavity Cancer—An NCDB Study. Poster presentation at: Triological Society 2025 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2025.
  19. Vivek N, Sridhar S, Sinard RJ, Whitaker R, Lockney N, Topf MC. EHR Discharge Summary Prompts Decreased Postoperative Radiotherapy Delay for Head and Neck Cancer Patients. Poster presented at: Triological Society 2025 Combined Sections Meeting. Orlando, FL. January 2025.
  20. Jin W, Li F, Meeks N, Mattingly A, Sridhar S, Miga M, Wu J, Rosenthal E, Topf MC. Merging 2D Fluorescence Data and 3D Specimen Maps as a Visual Topography Reference for Close Cancer Margins: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Poster presented at: Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering Surgery, Intervention, and Engineering Symposium. December 2024.
  21. Jin W, Aweeda M, Sridhar S, Huang L, Lewis J, Topf MC. Augmented Reality-Guided Frozen Section Analysis: A Novel Approach to Surgeon-Pathologist Communication. Poster presentation at: Nationwide Children’s XR (Extended Reality) Conference. Columbus, OH. October 2024.

Whitney Jin: 2024-2025

Medical School: Baylor College of Medicine

 

Research Year Publications

  1. Jin W, Ye W, Topf MC. Intraoperative imaging during head and neck reconstruction. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2025 Oct 1;33(5):338-347. doi: 10.1097/MOO.0000000000001081. Epub 2025 Aug 7. PMID: 40836769; PMCID: PMC12594143.
  2. Sridhar S, Larson DP, Raj S, Jin W, Zhu VL, Hicks M, Mannion K, Topf MC. Preoperative Nodal Biopsy and Extranodal Extension in p16+ Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2025 May 24;10(3):e70150. doi: 10.1002/lio2.70150. PMID: 40416773; PMCID: PMC12102659.
  3. Fassler C, Topf MC, Miller A, Jin W, Colazo JM, Luther L, Weikert D, Mannion K, Langerman AJ, Sinard R, Rosenthal E, Rohde S. Development of a Cutting Guide for Osteocutaneous Radial Forearm Free Flap Harvest. Laryngoscope. 2025 Sep;135(9):3149-3157. doi: 10.1002/lary.32117. Epub 2025 Apr 9. PMID: 40202247; PMCID: PMC12371775.
  4. Swain B, Habib DRS, Jin W, Duvall P, Sinard RJ, Mannion K, Rohde SL, Langerman AJ, Rosenthal EL, Hicks MD, Topf MC. Risk Factors for Dysphagia Following Total Laryngectomy. American Journal of Otolaryngology, 2025, 104780, ISSN 0196-0709, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjoto.2025.104780 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196070925001838)
  5. Yang Q, Li F, Xu J, Liu Z, Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Heiselman J, Miga MI, Topf MC, Wu JY. Augmented Reality-Based Guidance with Deformable Registration in Head and Neck Tumor Resection. Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention—MICCAI 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-05114-1_5\
  6. Yang Q, Li F, Xu J, Liu Z, Sridhar S, Jin W, Du J, Heiselman J, Miga M, Topf M, Wu JY. Deformable Registration Framework for Augmented Reality-based Surgical Guidance in Head and Neck Tumor Resection. arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.08802. 2025 Mar 11.

Updating In Progress

Marina Aweeda, 2023-2024
Residency Program: Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Medical School: CUNY School of Medicine

Carly Fassler, 2023-2024
Residency Program: Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Medical School: The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Alexis Miller, 2022-2023
Residency Program: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Medical School: University of Vermont

Kavita Prasad, 2022-2023
Residency Program: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School
Medical School: Tufts School of Medicine