Funding the Research Aspirations of Otolaryngology Residents

After almost five decades of building a cadre of talented educators, researchers and clinicians at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology, W. Jarrard “Jerry” Goodwin, M.D., has created a way to ensure support for otolaryngology residents for generations to come.

Dr. Goodwin, the outgoing chief medical officer of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, created the Anthony J. Maniglia and W. Jarrard Goodwin Otolaryngology Residency Endowment Fund, which will provide much-needed financial support for residents when they are establishing their expertise and research direction.

The late Dr. Anthony J. Maniglia, left, and Dr. W. Jarrard “Jerry” Goodwin.

The endowment was announced at Dr. Goodwin’s virtual retirement celebration in December, where Sylvester and Miller School faculty, staff, and administration honored his pioneering vision in advancing growth and leadership as chair of the Department of Otolaryngology and director of Sylvester.

“An endowment fund like this will be incredibly helpful, especially as it is getting harder and harder to support the academic side of the residency training program,” said Dr. Goodwin, now an emeritus professor. “It’s extremely important that we encourage their research dreams, that we develop a permanent source of support for those aspirations.”

In creating the fund, Dr. Goodwin compared his time as a resident in the 1970s to the demands placed on residents in today’s medical research and education sphere.

“In the past, we would get an idea and we would pull charts and try to answer the question in what is called retrospective research, an inexpensive effort in most cases,” said Dr. Goodwin. “Now, residents have to do sophisticated prospective research that can be very costly and adds an excessive burden on their already intensive work.”

From residency to leadership

Dr. Goodwin first came to Miami 47 years ago for residency training in otolaryngology, and eventually took on a leadership mantle, serving as just the second chair of the department for 11 years. During that time, he recruited an outstanding group of colleagues, beginning the development of a subspecialty-oriented department that is now ranked No. 28 nationwide and is the highest-ranked ENT department in South Florida.

Dr. Goodwin also served as the director of Sylvester from 1996 to 2008, securing the foundation for the future National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. He built a successful business model for not only the clinical affairs, but also in the recruitment of cancer researchers from around the nation. He was instrumental in bringing Sylvester’s care closer to where many patients live through the establishment of Sylvester services at Deerfield Beach and Kendall.

“Dr. Goodwin built an army of scientists, educators and physicians at the Miller School of Medicine and Sylvester who have improved health outcome for so many patients,” said Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School of Medicine. “This level of expertise and innovation requires a strong medical education and residency program, and through the new Maniglia and Goodwin Otolaryngology Residency Endowment Fund, generations of residents will now have resources to support their research, education, and professional development, without the worry of a tremendous financial burden.”

In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. Goodwin maintained a busy head and neck surgery clinical practice and participated actively in research and educational activities. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications, dealing principally with the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of head and neck cancer.

A celebration of service

The fund celebrates Dr. Goodwin’s service, and also honors the memory of Anthony J. Maniglia, M.D., who was a senior UM faculty member for 12 years and later established otolaryngology departments at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland before his retirement in 2008.

Dr. Goodwin, a former student of Dr. Maniglia’s, became his colleague when he joined the faculty of the Miller School in 1980 after completing a fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. They became good friends, and when Dr. Maniglia established the Maniglia Medical Education and Research Foundation, he asked Dr. Goodwin to be one of the four directors.  After Dr. Maniglia’s untimely death in 2017, the directors voted to dissolve the Foundation to establish an endowment fund at the Miller School and to name the new fund in honor of Dr. Maniglia and Dr. Goodwin’s friendship. Proceeds from the Maniglia Foundation also went to support otolaryngology residents at Case Western Reserve University.

In a testament to his mentorship and eye for talent, Dr. Goodwin recruited two colleagues who succeeded him as chair of the Department of Otolaryngology: Thomas Balkany, M.D. ’72, the Hotchkiss Professor of Otolaryngology, Neurological Surgery, and Pediatrics, and Fred Telischi, M.D. ’85., the current chair of otolaryngology, professor of neurological surgery and biomedical engineering, and the James R. Chandler Chair in Otolaryngology.

“Dr. Goodwin is the reason I am an otolaryngologist today,” said Dr. Telischi. “He pointed the way, and never failed to instill confidence and passion for the work we do in the field. The endowment fund is just a reflection of his compelling dedication to Miller School residents.”

To support otolaryngology residents at the Miller School of Medicine, visit the endowment fund page.

Tags: Department of Otolaryngology, Dr. Anthony J. Maniglia, Dr. W. Jarrard Goodwin, otolaryngology residents, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center