University of Chicago Program

Program Identity & Fit

The University of Chicago OHNS residency is a tertiary/quaternary academic program anchored at the Center for Care and Discovery and Comer Children's Hospital, with additional experience at NorthShore and Ingalls, offering over 2000 surgical cases across five years within a small, close-knit 15-resident program. The section carries a strong translational research identity, particularly in head and neck cancer genomics under Nishant Agrawal and otologic/temporal bone histopathology through the historic Bloom Otopathology Laboratory, giving residents access to established labs rather than requiring self-generated research infrastructure. Graduate outcomes are heavily fellowship-oriented (head and neck oncology, pediatric, rhinology, facial plastics, neurotology, laryngology at institutions like MSK, Emory, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati Children's), though a meaningful minority enter general ENT or private practice directly. The program explicitly emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in its mission and recruitment practices, and values close faculty-resident relationships and one-on-one subspecialty exposure over rigid hierarchical structure.