About Us
Message from the Chair
It is my most sincere honor to serve as chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. First, I must express my deepest gratitude to our recent leadership. Dr. Scott Stringer developed the department from a small division to what it is today and led as chair for 22 years. This period witnessed massive expansion of faculty, many of whom were or became leaders in academic otolaryngology. The department also expanded our influence regionally and nationally in communication sciences and vestibular disease. Since his departure in 2024, you have been under the stewardship of interim chair, Dr. Melissa Scholes, under whom we have continued recruitment and expansion of both the department and medical center.
Our growth has prominently included the transition of most of our outpatient services, including ambulatory surgery, to the state-of-the-art Colony Park North facility, which is set to open in the spring of 2026. Currently the department boasts 13 physician/surgeon faculty, with recruitment of 3 more in the works, 10 advanced practice providers, 15 audiologists, and 20 speech and language pathologists. We see more than 40,000 patients annually and perform more than 4,500 OR cases. I have been impressed with the critical role the department plays in the broad-based comprehensive care of otolaryngologic disease in our region, being the only comprehensive team of otolaryngologists in the state, with multiple fellowship-trained specialists and a wealth of experience. In addition to direct patient care, we support ENT health through outreach efforts to underserved regional populations, including oral cancer and hearing health screenings, as well as internationally through humanitarian trips. Our faculty serves as a resource for other otolaryngologists regionally to support their direct patient care.
The department continues to excel academically in multiple aspects of our specialty, ranging from management of head and neck cancer, to audiovestibular disease, to disorders of speech and swallowing. I have been especially impressed with the depth of our basic science research, including active animal studies. We have been well represented by over 40 presentations over the last academic year at major regional and national meetings, including the Mississippi Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the Association for Research in Otolaryngology. Our representation at the 2025 Otolaryngology Spring Meetings was especially strong, with 9 presentations. Dr. Gina Jefferson was also inducted as a Fellow of the Triologic Society. Over this 2024-25 academic year, residents and faculty also authored 38 peer-reviewed manuscripts published or accepted for publication.
In many ways, the success of the department is hallmarked by that of the residency program, many of whom have authored the aforementioned presentations and publications. The program consistently scores in the top 10% nationally on the in-training exam and achieved the #1 ranking in 2023, with an eventual board pass rate of 100%. Our didactic curriculum, including multiple lab dissection opportunities, is probably the gold standard nationally. I would like to congratulate our recently graduated chief residents and wish them heartfelt luck in the next phases of their journeys: Dr. Shelby Barerra (Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN), Dr. Kacie Oglesby (Premier Medical Group, Mobile, AL), and Dr. Trace Palmer (ENT Physicians of North Mississippi, Tupelo, MS). I know they will represent our department and serve their communities and patients in exemplary fashion.
I am proud to be part of the UMMC Otolaryngology family and look forward to getting to know this wonderful community.
Sincerely,
Rick Chandra, MD, MMHC
Professor and Chair, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery