Alyson N Fox, M.D.

One of the nation's leading experts in hearing loss, Lawrence Lustig, MD, was appointed chair of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and otolaryngologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, effective July 1, 2014. “We are very pleased to welcome Larry Lustig to our faculty,” said Lee Goldman, MD, dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine, Columbia University Medical Center. “His experience and success leading major research and clinical programs will help us continue to grow our Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery’s basic, clinical, and translational research programs and our clinical enterprise, including even stronger collaboration with faculty across our departments.” “Dr. Lustig’s extensive background in research and clinical care for hearing loss and related disorders will be pivotal to our continued provision of innovative, outstanding and patient-centered care, said Steven J. Corwin, MD, chief executive officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. “His expertise adds significantly to the depth and breadth of our ENT program, which addresses a range of health issues including hearing loss, benign and cancerous tumors, nasal and sinus disorders, voice and swallowing issues.” Dr. Lustig treats the full spectrum of ear disorders in adults and children, as well as skull base disease. His specialties include skull base surgery, cochlear implants, the genetics of hearing loss, cochlear gene therapy, balance disorders, and hair cell physiology. He has led several NIH-funded research projects examining the underlying causes of hearing loss, including a recently completed a two-year $550,000 grant to explore cochlear gene therapy as a potential approach to treating children born with genetic forms of hearing loss. This work stems from an initial study in which he and colleagues demonstrated that the inner hair cell glutamate-transporter VGLUT3 is integral to the development of hearing, while a mutation of the transporter causes early profound hearing loss. In follow-up studies, they demonstrated that virally mediated gene therapy can successfully restore the hearing phenotype in a mouse model of genetic deafness. Based on this work, they are currently exploring additional models of genetic deafness to see if these results can be duplicated. NIH has awarded a five-year grant to explore the use of virally mediated gene therapy to regenerate spiral (cochlear) ganglia—nerve cells that transport sound from the cochlea to the brain—to enable the sense of hearing. Dr. Lustig’s interdisciplinary research includes collaboration with an orthopedic surgery researcher at UCSF to study cochlear bone development. Using animal models and molecular techniques applied to bone growth and development, they are looking at how the material properties of bone enclosing the inner ear contribute to hearing. They anticipate that their findings may help further understanding of how metabolic abnormalities cause certain types of hearing loss, including otosclerosis, Padget’s disease, and other conditions that cause defective bone development. Additional collaboration has included work with a pharmacologist at UCSF, where Dr. Lustig studied the mechanism of hearing loss caused by platinum-based chemotherapies. Dr. Lustig has published more than 125 articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as book chapters. He co-edited a textbook, “Clinical Neurotology: Diagnosing and Managing Disorders of Hearing, Balance and the Facial Nerve.” In 2004, Dr. Lustig joined UCSF, where he has served as chief of the Division of Otology and Neurotology at both UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital, director of the Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center, clinical chief of the otolaryngology service on the Parnassus campus, and co-director of the Center for Balance and Falls. Before joining UCSF, Dr. Lustig served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, where he was a member of the Johns Hopkins Listening Center and cochlear implant team. He also completed a fellowship in otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery at Hopkins. Dr. Lustig is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Otologic Society, the American Auditory Society, the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the American Neurotology Society, and the North American Skull Base Society. He earned his bachelor’s degree in microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley, and his medical degree at UCSF, where he also completed a residency in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery.

Dr. Schrope joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery in July of 2001 as a Clinical instructor after completing her residency with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She is currently a Professor of Clinical Surgery. She graduated with an M.D. degree from Temple University in 1996. Prior to joining the profession of medicine, she completed a Ph. D. in Biomedical Engineering at Drexel University in 1992, and won numerous federal grants as principle investigator for research work in medical ultrasound. She is the author of numerous publications in the fields of bariatric surgery, medical ultrasound and GI surgery. She is the sole editor of a new textbook on Surgical and Interventional Ultrasound. Her research interests include novel applications of autologous pancreatic islet cell transplantation, pancreatic cysts and pancreatitis. She also employs minimally invasive surgical techniques for benign and malignant conditions of the stomach. Dr. Schrope is an active member of the American College of Surgeons, the American HepatoPancreaticoBiliary Association, and Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. She is currently serving as Regional Medical Director of the Southern New York chapter of the National Pancreas Foundation.

Jason Hawksworth, MD is a noted pioneer in minimally invasive robotic hepatobiliary and transplant surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is the Surgical Director of Adult Liver Transplantation, Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, and the Director of Robotic Liver Surgery Program in the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is an Associate Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hawksworth is known for unique and innovative minimally invasive robotic surgeries to remove tumors of the liver, bile duct and pancreas, including robotic major hepatectomy, robotic pancreatectomy, and robotic Whipple. He also specializes in robotic transplantation including robotic kidney transplantation, robotic living donor nephrectomy and robotic living donor hepatectomy. Dr. Hawksworth received his undergraduate degree from The United States Military Academy at West point and his medical degree from Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Dr. Hawksworth completed general surgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by an abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital. Previously the Chief of Robotic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Hawksworth established one of the nation’s premier robotic hepatobiliary and transplant programs in 2018 at Georgetown. He was recruited to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2023 to lead the liver transplant and hepatobiliary programs and continue to develop innovative techniques in robotic surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is a member of several key organizations including a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, International Laparoscopic Liver Society, and Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. His research interests include clinical transplant and hepatobiliary trials, and he has published over 60 scientific manuscripts and book chapters in leading journals such as Annals of Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, American Journal of Transplantation and Transplantation. Dr. Hawksworth is a Colonel in the Army reserves and has deployed four times to support combat operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver.