Dr. William Yao Named Rhinology Fellowship Director
William C. Yao, MD, chief of rhinology and an associate professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, has been named director of the Texas Sinus Institute Rhinology and Skull Base Fellowship. The one-year training program provides advanced, specialized education and hands-on experience in rhinologic and skull base surgery with intensive clinical, research, and mentoring opportunities that encourage mastery beyond general practice.
“Ours is a very well-rounded fellowship focused on training leaders to deliver state-of-the-art clinical care and conduct research in a tertiary-care academic environment,” says Dr. Yao, who also is director of the Otolaryngology Residency Program. “With the expansion of our partnership with the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery, we’ve seen an increase in our volume of skull base patients, ensuring that fellows gain expertise in more complex skull base pathologies, while also maintaining a good workload of medical and surgical rhinology cases.”
Rhinology and skull base fellows work closely in clinic and in the OR with the department’s three attending rhinologists. In addition to Dr. Yao, the fellow will train with Martin J. Citardi, MD, professor and chair of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery and vice dean for clinical technology, and Amber Luong, MD, PhD, professor and vice chair for academic affairs, who leads the department’s research efforts and currently is president of the American Rhinologic Society (external link). They spend clinical time with all three rhinologists, with assignments prioritized for participation in complex rhinology, orbital, and skull base cases.
Separately, UTHealth Houston has been named a North American Skull Base Society (NASBS) (external link) Multidisciplinary Team of Distinction for 2026. Texas Skull Base Physicians brings together a highly experienced multidisciplinary team of subspecialists for patients with complex disorders and diseases of the skull base.