Meet our Scientific Advisory Board

Benjamin Bleier,  MD, FACS

Professor at The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Benjamin Bleier specializes in sinus, nasal, skull base, and orbital surgery and is committed to providing only the highest quality patient care. As Director of Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, he focuses on revision and complex sinus surgery as well as state-of-the-art endoscopic management of sinus, orbit, and skull base lesions including sinonasal tumors, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks, and encephaloceles.

As Co-Director of the Center for Thyroid Eye Disease and Orbital Surgery, he has helped pioneer several new minimally invasive approaches for orbital tumors and has authored more than 175 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, as well as two textbooks in the field of orbit and sinus-related disease. He lectures both nationally and internationally on topics including the management of orbit and skull base tumors, endoscopic dacyrocystorhinostomy, causes and treatments of sinusitis, and intranasal drug delivery techniques to the brain.

As Director of Otolaryngology Translational Research, Dr. Bleier is an R01 funded surgeon-scientist, holds multiple patents, and has been recognized by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Boston Magazine, Harvard Medicine Magazine, and The Scientist Magazine for his work.

Amber U. Luong, MD, PhD

Assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston

Amber Luong, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.

She obtained her doctorate under the Nobel laureates Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein for the identification and biochemical characterization of a novel human enzyme, acetyl coA synthetase. Dr. Luong has co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her primary research interest focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) as a model for studying the local immune response of the paranasal sinuses.

Board-certified in otorhinolaryngology, Dr. Luong’s clinical interests include medical and surgical management of refractory chronic rhinosinusitis, sinonasal tumors, cerebrospinal fluid leak repairs, and endoscopic orbital and dacryocystorhinostomy surgery.

Clete A. Kushida, MD, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Sleep Medicine), Stanford Uniersity

Dr. Clete A. Kushida is a neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis and management of sleep related breathing disorders (e.g., obstructive sleep apnea), sleep-related movement disorders (e.g., restless legs syndrome), and parasomnias (e.g., sleepwalking, REM sleep behavior disorder). He is a neurologist, a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford; Associate Chair, Division Chief, and Medical Director of Stanford Sleep Medicine; and Director of the Stanford Center for Human Sleep Research. He is the inaugural President of the World Sleep Society, past President of the World Sleep Federation, past President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and founding President of the California Sleep Society. Dr. Kushida has conducted basic and clinical sleep research since 1977, served as Principal Investigator for numerous large federally and industry sponsored studies, and his research interests include the anatomic and physiologic changes associated with sleep apnea, the management of restless legs syndrome, and countermeasures for sleep loss. He has authored or edited over 300 publications including six books, and serves as editor-in-chief of the journal Sleep Science and Practice as well as the largest publication on the field of sleep to date, the Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms (2nd edition, 6 volumes, 454 chapters, 827 authors, 3,835 pages).

Kari C Nadeau, MD, PhD

Harvard University - John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies

Dr. Kari Nadeau is the Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health and John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies. She practices Allergy, Asthma, Immunology in children and adults. She has published over 400+ papers, many in the field of climate change and health. Dr. Nadeau, with a team of individuals and patients and families, has been able to help major progress and impact in the clinical fields of immunology, infection, asthma and allergy. Dr. Nadeau is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. EPA Children's Health Protection Committee.

For more than 30 years, she has devoted herself to understanding how environmental and genetic factors affect the risk of developing allergies and asthma, especially wildfire-induced air pollution. Her laboratory has been studying air pollution and wildfire effects on children and adults, including wildland firefighters. Many of the health issues involving individuals and the public are increasing because of global warming, sustainability practices, and extreme weather conditions. She oversees a team working on air pollution and wildfire research along with a multidisciplinary group of community leaders, firefighters, engineers, scientists, lawyers, and policy makers. Dr. Nadeau was appointed as a member of the U.S. Federal Wildfire Commission in 2022.

Dr. Nadeau works with other organizations and institutes across the world. She is working with the WHO on a scoping review and report for health ministers and policy makers on wildland fires: how to mitigate, adapt, and follow UN SDG's to create resiliency and co-benefits in communities, especially LMICs.

She also launched four biotech companies, and founded the Climate Change and Health Equity Task Force and started the Sustainability Health Seed Grant initiative and Climate Change and Health Fellowship program at Stanford. She also developed climate change and health courses at Stanford.
She also has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. EPA.

Dr. Nadeau earned her MD/PhD from Harvard Medical School in 1995, completing her doctoral work in biochemistry and immunology, followed by a pediatric internship and residency at Boston Children's Hospital (1995-1997). She moved to California for a fellowship in the Stanford-UCSF Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Program (2003-2006), joining the Stanford Medical School faculty as an instructor, followed by promotions to assistant professor (2008), associate professor (2011), and professor (2015).

Robson Capasso, MD

Professor, Chief of Sleep Surgery. Advisor, Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign Stanford University

Dr. Capasso is the Chief of Sleep Surgery, Professor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Associate Dean of Research at Stanford University School of Medicine and Advisor to the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. His medical training includes Head and Neck Surgery, Neurosciences and Sleep Medicine. He has done research and published extensively on pre-treatment evaluation and surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and currently his research interests have a focus on clinical utilization of large datasets and consumer-based devices for sleep disordered breathing management. The local and international recognition of this work is often associated with one of his favorite tasks: lecturing and trading knowledge nationally and internationally. He has been a mentor or supervisor to hundreds of medical students, residents, fellows or visiting scholars from more than 30 countries, and dozens of Stanford Biodesign students who developed healthcare companies in the Bay Area, Japan, Brazil and Singapore, with the goal to utilize this acquired experience to foster health innovation training of multidisciplinary teams and engineers with broad impact globally. He is a member of the Stanford Medical Leadership Academy, an initiative to foster the development of innovative leadership across and outside departments at the School of Medicine and in the role of Associate Dean of Research I assist the Dean’s office and our CTSA group for the strategic development of translational research.

Ash Khanwalkar, MD

Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

Ash Khanwalkar, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus .

Dr Khanwalkar specializes in performing endoscopic nasal, sinus, and skull base surgery, including but not limited to the management of nasal obstruction, inflammatory sinus disease, sinonasal masses/tumors, CSF leaks, skull base tumors, and epistaxis. He works closely with colleagues in allergy, pulmonology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, facial plastic surgery, among other specialties.
Dr Khanwalkar obtained his M from University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine. He is a member of American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, American Rhinologic Society and American Medical Association.