From a clinical perspective my specialty is Head and Neck Cancer Surgery, with is a practice focused almost exclusively on the management of benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck. During the first decade of my career my clinical and research focus was on the surgical management of laryngeal preservation surgery for voice box cancer I was the first in the United States to perform the Supracricoid Partial Laryngectomy (SCPL)Our team has published numerous articles and a definitive book on Organ Preservation Surgery for Laryngeal Cancer. Our team has taught SCPL to several hundred surgeons over the years. It is particularly useful for T2 glottis carcinoma as well as patients with recurrent cancer after radiation therapy who want to avoid removal of their voice box. During the past two decades my major research and clinical interest has been in the creation of numerous Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) procedures together with Bert W. O’Malley Jr, M.D.. TORS, which utilizes the da Vinci surgical system for minimally invasive transoral surgeries, was invented at the University of Pennsylvania via translational research program culminating in the first IRB approved human trial in 2005. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18086963 ) The main malignant indication for TORS has been for advanced tonsil and tongue base carcinomas, which today are primarily related to the human papilloma virus (HPV). (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21079160 ) TORS was FDA cleared for benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck in 2009 and then cleared in 2014 for resection of benign base of tongue resections, the latter of which is mainly utilized in the surgical management of sleep apnea. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=thaler+sleep+apnea+tors ) From an educational standpoint I have had a particular interest in post-graduate training for TORS. Our goal, from the beginnings of our TORS program has not only been to develop techniques but to teach them so that any capable surgeon with access to one of the several thousand da Vinci Surgical systems worldwide could offer these approaches to their patients. To that end, following FDA clearance of TORS in 2009, we created the world’s first post-graduate TORS Training Program. We are proud to say that we have trained over 500 surgeons in TORS.I am honored to have been recognized by: • Philadelphia Magazine's Top Docs issue from 2004 through 2023• America's Top Doctors, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012-14 • Best Doctors in America 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, 2013-2014