Chris Holsinger
Clinical Professor, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
Stanford University
Dr. Chris Holsinger is Professor and Chief of Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University.
His research focuses on surgical innovation and clinical trials. He serves as surgical principal investigator for RTOG920 and coordinated surgeon-credentialing for ECOG 3311, a prospective clinical trial to study robotic head and neck surgery. In 2019, he published the results of an investigative device exemption clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a next-generation “single-port” robotic surgical system for head and neck cancer.
His interests extend beyond robotics, however, and include new technologies for augmenting the vision of surgeons and incorporating computer vision and deep learning into routine surgical practice. Current algorithms in computer vision and pattern recognition have transformed how we interact with the world using our smart phones. Dr Holsinger’s research group aims to deliver these advantages to patient and their surgeons by providing real-time intelligence about surgical anatomy that extends beyond human vision. In 2017, he founded Photonic Medical Technologies to translate these innovations into practice for open surgery.
Dr. Holsinger received his medical degree from Vanderbilt School of Medicine, completed his internship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine and his Fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. In 2003, he was awarded Fulbright Scholarship to study surgery at the University of Paris with Professor Ollivier Laccourreye and with Professor Wolfgang Steiner at the Georg-August University in Göttingen.
From 2001-2013, Dr. Holsinger worked at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he co-founded and led the Program in Minimally Invasive Technology in Oncologic Surgery as the Laser Safety Committee.
In 2013, Dr. Holsinger moved to Stanford University, where at the Cancer Center led H&N Multidisciplinary Cancer Care Clinical Program for the next 5 years. Dr. Holsinger’s surgical practice focuses on the surgical management of thyroid as well as head and neck cancer. His areas of clinical include endoscopic head and neck surgery, including transoral robotic surgery and transoral laser microsurgery, as well as time-honoured approaches of conservation laryngeal surgery and supracricoid partial laryngectomy.
Board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, Dr. Holsinger is a member of numerous societies including the American College of Surgeons, American Head and Neck Society, the American Thyroid Association, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.