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<p><span>The Department of Otolaryngology&mdash;Head and Neck Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine welcomed four residents this academic year, furthering the growth of the program.</span></p>

4 Residents join Department of Otolaryngology

The Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine welcomed four residents this academic year, furthering the growth of the program.

Lena Chen, MD; Evan Kominsky, MD; Maria Laura Reategui Via y Rada, MD, MS; and Gabriel Sobczak, MD joined the now 17-resident team of otolaryngology trainees. The residency program expanded in 2021 to match with four residents each year instead of three.

Over the past few years, the Department of Otolaryngology has also grown in the number of faculty, research funding, clinical locations, patient visits and advanced practice providers.

We spoke with each of the first-year residents to hear what got them interested in otolaryngology and IU School of Medicine.

Lena Chen, MD

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Cupertino, CA, in the South Bay Area.
 
What is your medical school/undergraduate background?
I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Chicago (2017), and medical school training at Johns Hopkins (2022).
 
Why are you pursuing a career in ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat)?
I chose ENT because it deals with the cool and complex anatomy of the head and neck with some of the gnarliest surgeries I’ve ever seen, and you can really make a huge difference in a patient’s quality of life because ENT encompasses so many of our important senses. I love that I can mold my career into what I want it to be because the scope of ENT is so varied.

What intrigued you about IU School of Medicine?
I really valued programs with a warm environment where I would feel comfortable being myself, and I found that at IU during my interview day. It’s also very impressive that IU is so high volume, as I’m confident that I will get great clinical and surgical training and be prepared to enter whatever practice I choose to pursue in the future.
 
What do you want to learn most from the faculty and residents in the Department of Otolaryngology?
I’m excited to learn how to treat both the most common and most rare and difficult pathologies seen in this field with a flexibility and creativity that comes with learning from the diverse skillsets of the faculty and residents at IU.
 
What are some of your hobbies?
Boba, napping, exploring the food scene, music festivals and concerts, badminton, coffee.

Evan Kominsky, MD

Where did you grow up?
Cleveland, Ohio
 
What is your medical school/undergraduate background?
I studied biochemistry at Washington University in St. Louis (graduated in 2016). I moved out to the East Coast for medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NYC (graduated 2022). Now I’m happy to be back in the Midwest!
 
Why are you pursuing a career in ENT?
I think ENT has a great balance of interesting, challenging surgical procedures and office-based management of problems that can really impact patients’ lives. It is so rewarding to be able to show patients what might be causing their problem on an endoscopy, for example, and then discuss various treatment options.

What intrigued you about IU School of Medicine?
Being able to learn from experienced faculty that are dedicated to patient care and resident education. Above all, I loved the sense of collegiality that is evident throughout the department and hospital system.
 
What do you want to learn most from the faculty and residents in the Department of Otolaryngology?
Clinical skills, surgical technique, and how to best communicate with patients and families in a compassionate manner.
 
What are some of your hobbies?
Hiking, running, snowboarding, cooking.

Maria Laura Reategui Via y Rada, MD, MS

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Lima, Peru for 10 years and in San Juan, Puerto Rico for eight years.

What is your medical school/undergraduate background?
Bachelor's in science at Johns Hopkins University in 2016
Master's in science at Johns Hopkins University in 2018
MD at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in 2022

Why are you pursuing a career in ENT?
I love being able to work with adult and pediatric patients in a surgical and clinical setting. I find the anatomy fascinating and the cases very diverse.

What intrigued you about IU School of Medicine?
The faculty seemed very invested in the residents’ training and education. Everyone I met from the department was kind and approachable. 

What do you want to learn most from the faculty and residents in the Department of Otolaryngology?
Besides how to be a good resident/surgeon, I would love to learn about the fun things they do in Indy.

What are some of your hobbies?
Dancing, aerial yoga, working out.

Gabriel Sobczak, MD

Where did you grow up?
Waunakee, WI (the Only Waunakee in the World™)

What is your medical school/undergraduate background?
I studied biomedical engineering at WashU in St. Louis (B.S. 2017), and went to med school at UW-Madison (Go Badgers! M.D. 2022).

Why are you pursuing a career in ENT?
I found that the balance of clinical and operative load is ideal; as an ENT you can be both a medical and surgical specialist, which is unique among surgical fields. The opportunities for entrepreneurship in the field are also exciting: my first exposure to ENT happened while working on a device design project for engineering. And I’ve always encountered like-minded people in ENT departments!

What intrigued you about IU School of Medicine?
The growth mindset of the department, vested interest in resident wellbeing, reputation for excellent clinical training, and robust research opportunities. 

What do you want to learn most from the faculty and residents in the Department of Otolaryngology?
Medical education is something near and dear to me. I hope to learn effective mentorship skills from the faculty and residents, so I can train new generations of successful surgeons in the future. 

What are some of your hobbies?
Soccer (playing and watching), downhill skiing, mixing cocktails, and hanging out with friends!

The views expressed in this content represent the perspective and opinions of the author and may or may not represent the position of Indiana University School of Medicine.
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Ben Middelkamp

Ben Middelkamp is a communications manager for the Department of Neurology, Department of Neurological Surgery and Stark Neurosciences Research Institute at Indiana University School of Medicine. Before joining the Office of Strategic Communications in December 2019, Ben spent nearly six years as a newspaper reporter in two Indiana cities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Convergent Journalism from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2014. Ben enjoys translating his background in journalism to the communications and marketing needs of the school and its physicians and researchers.