January 23, 2006

SIU Med School Names Chair of Otolaryngology Division

Dr. Gayle E. Woodson has been named chair of the otolaryngology head and neck surgery division at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. A professor of otolaryngology, she joined the SIU faculty in 2003, specializing in treatment of the voice and voice disorders including diseases of the larynx. She continues as director of the otolaryngology residency program and the SIU Voice Center at St. John’s Hospital.

Prior to joining SIU, Woodson was on the faculty at the University of Florida in Gainesville (2000-03). Previously she was on the faculty at the University of Tennessee in Memphis (1992-2000), the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego (1987-92), and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (1982-87).

Woodson served a fellowship in laryngology at the Institute of Laryngology & Otology in London (1982). She completed her residency in otolaryngology at Baylor (1981) and her general surgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore (1978). Woodson received her medical degree from Baylor (1975) and bachelor’s from Rice University in Houston (1972).

Woodson is board certified in otolaryngology. She serves as the exam chair for the American Board of Otolaryngology, a consultant to for the ENT devices panel for the Food and Drug Administration, and is president-elect of the American Laryngological Association (ALA), the oldest medical specialty society in North America.

Her memberships include the American Academy of Otolaryngology, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Women’s Association and Association for Research in Otolaryngology. She was recently honored with an ALA presidential citation for contributions made to the field of laryngology and the association.

Woodson is a past president of the Society of University Otolaryngologists and chaired the Residency Review Committee for Otolaryngology for the American Council for Graduate Medical Education. She has served on the board of directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and the Council of the American Society of Head and Neck Surgeons and the board of governors of the American College of Surgeons.

Woodson's research in laryngeal physiology addresses reinnervation of the paralyzed larynx. She is author of 120 medical publications including two textbooks. She also serves on editorial boards for four medical journals.

A native of Galveston, Texas, Woodson and her husband, Dr. Thomas Robbins, director of the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at SIU School of Medicine, are the parents of three children.

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