Bobby R. Alford, M.D.

Brief Biographical Sketch
Bobby R. Alford, M.D., is Chancellor at Baylor College of Medicine. He holds the Olga Keith Wiess Chair, the Friedkin Chair for Research in Sensory System Integration and Space Medicine and is Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. In 1985, he was appointed a Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor. From 1993 to 1994, he served as the Interim Chair of the Department of Surgery at Baylor and Chief of the Surgery Service at The Methodist Hospital. He has served as Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery since 1967. In January 1996, the Baylor Board of Trustees named the Department in his honor. A specialist in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Alford serves on the staff of several hospitals in the Houston area: The Methodist Hospital (THM), Ben Taub General Hospital (BTGH), St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (SLEH), Texas Children's Hospital (TCH), Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), and The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR). He is Chief of Service at TMH, BTGH and VAMC. He has authored more than 140 scientific papers. In 1991, he received the Good Housekeeping Award as one of the "Top 400 Best Doctors in America", and in 1999 he received the Association of Operating Room Nurses of Greater Houston Distinguished Surgeon Award. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Alford has also served as a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Institute for Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, the National Advisory Council of The National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and the Advisory Council of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. In addition, he has served on the NASA Headquarters National Advisory Council. Other NASA participation has included the select White House "Blue Ribbon" Advisory Committee for the Redesign of the Space Station, The Aerospace Medicine Advisory Committee (Chairman), The Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications Committee (Chairman), and the Life Sciences Advisory Committee. In addition, he has served on the NASA Space and Earth Sciences Advisory Committee and The Task Force on the Scientific Uses of the Space Station. Dr. Alford has served as Consultant to the Surgeon Generals of the United States Army and the United States Navy. He served as Chief Editor of the Archives of Otolaryngology publication for ten years.

Dr. Alford is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alkek Foundation. Dr. Alford received the M.D. with honor from Baylor University College of Medicine in 1956. As a medical student he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. After completion of a residency in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, he served as a Fellow in Otology at the University of Texas Medical Branch and as a Special NIH Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and became certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology in 1962. In 1962, he came to Baylor College of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Professor in 1966. Dr. Alford was instrumental in developing the concept of the unique Neurosensory Center of The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine and more specifically the Institute for Head and Neck Surgery of that Center.

Dr. Alford is a Fellow and former President of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, a former President and Executive Vice President of the American Board of Otolaryngology, a Fellow and former member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons, and a former President of the American Council of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. He has received The Outstanding Alumnus Award from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Alford is a member of The Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He was recently awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. Dr. Alford is the Chairman of the Board and the CEO of the newly established and NASA funded National Space Biomedical Research Institute. As CEO, he leads a Consortium of institutions that includes Baylor College of Medicine as the lead institution, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Rice University, Texas A&M University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania Health System, and University of Washington.

Selected Publications

Alford BR, Atkins JH Jr. Historical ties between otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and aviation and space medicine. Otolaryngol Head and Neck Surg 1998;118(3 Pt2):S2-S4.

Alford BR. The pursuit of excellence - is it still possible? Laryngoscope 1996;106:1266-1268.

Alford BR. The age of the medical education revolution. Laryngoscope 1996;106:801-804.

de Jong AL, Coker NJ, Jenkins HA, Goepfert H, Alford BR. Radiation therapy in the management of paragangliomas of the temporal bone. Am J Otol 1995;16:283-289.

Jerger J, Alford B, Lew H, Rivera R. Dichotic listening, event-related potentials and interhemispheric transfer in the elderly. Ear Hear 1995;16:482-498.

Overholt SM, Donovan DT, Schwartz MR, Laucirica R, Green LK, Alford BR. Neuroendocrine neoplasms of the larynx. Laryngoscope 1995;105:789-794.

Himi T, Igarashi M, Kataura A, Alford BR. Temporal bone findings in craniodiaphyseal dysplasia. Auris Nasus Larynx 1993;20:255-261.

Gagel RF, Robinson MF, Donovan DT, Alford BR. Clinical review 44: medullary thyroidcarcinoma: recent progress. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1993;76:809-814.

Igarashi M, Saito R, Mizukoshi K, Alford BR. Otoconia in young and elderly persons: a temporal bone study. Acta Otolaryngol Suppl 1993;504:26-29.

Alford BR, Atkins JH Jr. Historical ties between otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and space medicine. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1991;104:153-156.

Alford BR. 'Nothin' remains quite the same'. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1990;116:273-274.

Ohlms LA, Edwards MS, Mason EO, Igarashi M, Alford BR, Smith RJ. Recurrent meningitis and Mondini dysplasia. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1990;116:608-612.

Gagel RF, Levy ML, Donovan DT, Alford BR, Wheeler T, Tschen JA. Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2a associated with cutaneous lichen amyloidosis. Ann Int Med 1989;111:802-806.

Smith RJ, Holcomb JD, Daiger SP, Caskey CT, Pelias MZ, Alford BR, Fontenot DD, Hejtmancik JF. Exclusion of Usher syndrome gene from much of chromosome 4. Cytogenet Cell Genet 1989;50:102-106.

Donovan DT, Levy ML, Furst EJ, Alford BR, Wheeler T, Tschen JA, Gagel RF. Familial cutaneous lichen amyloidosis in association with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2a: a new variant. Henry Ford Hosp Med J 1989;37:147-150.

Coker NJ, Duncan NO 3d, Wright GL, Jenkins HA, Alford BR. Stapedectomy trends for the resident. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 1988;97:109-113

Lipkin AF, Coker NJ, Jenkins HA, Alford BR. Intracranial and intratemporal facial neuroma. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1987;96:71-79.

Alford BR. Landmark perspective: the heritage of the radical neck dissection. JAMA 1987;258:3294-3295.

Coker NJ, Kendall KA, Jenkins HA, Alford BR. Traumatic intratemporal facial nerve injury: management rationale for preservation of function. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1987;97:262-269.

Weber RS, Neumayer L, Alford BR, Weber SC. Clinical restoration of voice function after loss of the vagus nerve. Head Neck Surg 1985;7:448-457.

Shoss SM, Donovan DT, Alford BR. Tumors of the parapharyngeal space. Arch Otolaryngol 1985;111:753-757.

Igarashi M, Isago H, Alford BR. Effects of prolonged optokinetic stimulation on oculomotor and locomotor balance functions. Acta Otolaryngol 1983;95:560-567.

Alford BR. Residency program length and structure. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1983;91:228-230.

Alford BR. The case for the separate institute. Arch Otolaryngol 1983;109:497-501.

Jerger S, Jerger J, Alford BR, Abrams S. Development of speech intelligibility in children with recurrent otitis media. Ear Hear 1983;4:138-145.

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©2001-2007 Baylor College of Medicine
Bobby R. Alford Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Mail: One Baylor Plaza, NA102, Houston, TX 77030
Phone: 713-798-5906
E-mail: oto@bcm.edu

Last modified: Dec, 15, 2007