Joel B. Fontanarosa, M.D., Ph.D.

Professional Background

Joel Fontanarosa earned his B.A. at The University of Chicago prior to completing combined M.D. and Ph.D. training at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where he earned a doctoral degree in Bioinformatics. He completed residency training in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Northwestern University. Dr. Fontanarosa developed an interest in head and neck cancer and reconstructive surgery during residency and went on to pursue subspecialty training in this area at Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Harvard Medical School in Boston. His primary research effort is in the development and application of computational methods to achieve a better understanding of head and neck cancer at the genomic level. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop personalized prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies based on the molecular characteristics of an individual’s tumor.