Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE: SUJANA S. CHANDRASEKHAR, MD PRESIDENT FROM 2015 – 2016

I kind of wanted to be a detective,” Sujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD, admitted when asked about how she became interested in otolaryngology. “It didn’t matter what kind of detective just detectives who solved puzzles and solved mysteries. And my hero from when I was a little girl was Marie Curie, the Nobel laureate. I have read every single book about her many, many times over.” She has described that her family came to the United States from India in 1969 because of her mother’s fellowship position in adolescent medicine, and that her father, Hosakere K. Chandrasekhar, MD, would eventually become one of her professors during her otolaryngology residency at NYU. She completed a fellowship in otology/neurotology at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles, and after two full-time faculty appointments in New Jersey and New York, she entered private practice in New York City. Although she considered practicing medicine in areas other than otolaryngology, Dr. Chandrasekhar realized that she came to love the specialty. “I just loved it. I loved my professors; I loved the camaraderie with residents; I loved the different types of care that patients were given. And all that could be done in the clinic [and] operating room,” she explained. She attended her first AAO-HNS/F meeting as a first-year otolaryngology resident. “I spent two years in general surgery and had gotten really good at [surgery]... and it was like a light went into my heart of how much and how interesting and how awesome this specialty is. I went to every course I could go to and I learned everything… orbital exenterations to sinus surgery to everything. I went to every single course I could.” She also soon discovered the important work of committees while attending the Annual Meeting. “

“Serving on an Academy committee takes time that is worth finding, for the annual in-person meetings and the work that is done offline,” she wrote in her Bulletin President’s column. “It helps you discover and hone different skills than you normally use. You get to meet other otolaryngologists and develop your own leadership potential. And, of course, the work of the committees helps all of us provide the best in otolaryngologic care, both directly and by influencing legislators through our ENT PAC.” Dr. Chandrasekhar started attending Board of Governors (BOG) meetings where she learned about non-clinical issues facing the AAO-HNS/F such as

175