Samer Fakhri, ENT

William C. Yao, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained otorhinolaryngologist specializing in nose, sinus, and skull base disorders. He is devoted to delivering leading-edge medical and surgical management for chronic rhinosinusitis and paranasal sinus diseases, as well as advanced endoscopic sinus surgery, revision sinus surgery, skull base surgery, and orbital surgery.Yao is an associate professor and division chief of rhinology in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He also serves as the residency program director and is co-director of the Texas Sinus Institute Rhinology and Skull Base fellowship program. He has a strong interest in surgical technique and residency education, including the development of teaching instruments.He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and received his medical degree at the University of Colorado Health Science Center School of Medicine. He was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in 2008. He completed his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was recognized with the 2014 Resident Teaching Award. He completed a fellowship in rhinology and anterior skull base surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School.Yao is fluent in English and Japanese and is the author of chapters in many textbooks, as well as numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals, including The Laryngoscope, the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.He has been awarded the Deans Teaching Excellence Award by McGovern Medical School every year since 2017 and the Faculty of the Year Award on multiple occasions. He has been named a Houstonia Top Doctor, Castle Connolly Top Doctor, and a Texas Super Doctor Rising Star.

Amber U. Luong, MD, PhD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist providing patients with medical and surgical management of refractory chronic rhinosinusitis, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repairs, sinonasal tumor surgery, endoscopic orbital and dacryocystorhinostomy surgery, and more. She is a professor and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. Additionally, she has a joint appointment in the Center of Immunology and Autoimmune Diseases at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at UTHealth Houston. She is also president-elect of the American Rhinologic Society and an associate editor for the International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology. Luong obtained her medical and doctorate degrees at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center through the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program. She obtained her PhD under Nobel laureates Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein for the identification and biochemical characterization of a novel human enzyme, acetyl coA synthetase. She then completed residency training at UT Southwestern and rhinology fellowship training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She has co-authored over 110 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her primary research focus is on understanding the role of the innate immune response in the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis, with a particular interest in the role of environmental fungi in initiating these innate immune responses. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, and the Triological Society. She is actively involved in several industry-sponsored multicenter clinical trials.

Ibrahim Alava III, MD, is a board-certified otorhinolaryngologist specialist who diagnoses and treats head and neck disorders. His clinical interests include new innovations in treating subglottic stenosis, endocrine head and neck surgery, skin cancers of the head and neck, and all aspects of general otolaryngology. Alava is an associate professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. His research interests revolve around patient-centered outcomes and health care disparities in the underserved.