Dr. Soham Roy, Dr. William Yao and Dr. Ibrahim Alava Receive Dean’s Teaching Excellence Awards
Soham Roy, MD, FACS, FAAP, Ibrahim “Trey” Alava, MD, and William C. Yao, MD, have been recognized with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth’s 2017 Dean’s Teaching Excellence Awards. All three physicians have a track record of outstanding commitment to educating the next generation of doctors.
Dr. Roy serves as director of pediatric otolaryngology at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. He received his undergraduate degree with highest distinction from Stanford University, received a full scholarship for medical education at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and subsequently completed his residency in otolaryngology at the University of Miami. He went on to complete a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2002 prior to joining the faculty at the University of Miami, where he was named Professor of the Year in 2003. An internationally recognized speaker and author, Dr. Roy has given hundreds of lectures and published numerous scientific articles, book chapters and national research presentations. He serves on specialty committees, is an annual course instructor at the meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and has received multiple awards for teaching, clinical care and original scientific research. A recognized expert in operating room safety issues, he serves as a consultant in the development of innovative and safer surgical devices. Dr. Roy is a recognized thought leader on the subject of operating room fires and lectures around the world about fire prevention during surgery.
Dr. Alava received his medical degree from the University of Miami and completed his internship and residency at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. His clinical interests include endocrine head and neck surgery, skin cancers of the head and neck, facial trauma and all aspects of general otolaryngology. His research interests revolve around patient-centered outcomes and health care disparities in the underserved. Currently, Dr. Alava has a research platform examining outcomes with respect to quality of life and patient satisfaction in the head and neck cancer population as well as process improvement projects to improve throughput at Harris Health System’s Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital.
Dr. Yao received his medical degree at the University of Colorado Health Science Center School of Medicine, where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was recognized with the 2014 Resident Teaching Award, and went on to complete a fellowship in rhinology and anterior skull base surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School. Fluent in English and Japanese, he is the author of chapters in many textbooks, as well as numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals. His clinical interests are in paranasal sinus disease, endoscopic sinus, skull base and orbital surgery. He serves as a co-director of the Texas Sinus Institute Rhinology and Skull Base Fellowship and has a strong interest in residency education, including the development of teaching instruments.