Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD

Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD, FACS, is the Jack Pou Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at LSU-Health in Shreveport. She is also Director of Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and Research at the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center and has a gratis appt. in the Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. She completed her Otolaryngology/HNS residency and head and neck fellowship in 1995 at University of California, San Diego. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins where she started her research career. Following her fellowship, she began her academic career at LSU-Health Sciences Center, Shreveport. Her passion to improve outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer was the reason she moved from Mumbai India, where she went to medical school. She is a Surgeon-Scientist that maintains a busy practice treating head and neck cancer, thyroid, parathyroid, salivary gland tumors and skin cancer and she also leads an active research team. The National Cancer Institute has funded her translational research since 2000 and her work focuses on targeted therapy for head and neck squamous cell cancer patients. She is recognized nationally and internationally for her seminal work on molecular analysis of surgical margins. She has pioneered multi-institutional clinical trials using mTOR inhibitors in HNSCC patients. She has also received NIH funding for chemoprevention of cancer with curcumin and has a patent for a curcumin chewing gum. Her current RO1 “Targeting the FGFR-2 pathway for cutaneous SCC” holds potential for patients with aggressive cSCC. She has published extensively, has over 240 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and has authored multiple textbooks and encyclopedia chapters. She has given over 200 invited national and international lectures. Dr. Nathan is the current President of the Association of Academic Depts. of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, the Past-President of the American Head and Neck Society and the Vice President Elect for the Southern Section of the Triologic Society. She serves on many national committees some of which include the Board of Director for the American Board of Otolaryngology/HNS, American Academy of Otolaryngology/HNS Board of Directors, American College of Surgeons Board of Governors, ACGME Review Committee, Executive board of directors for the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, Council Member for the Society of University Otolaryngology, Vice President of the US Collegium group, on the committee for Stand Up to Cancer and has served on the NCI Steering committee, the Larynx Preservation Guideline Panel for ASCO and the American Cancer Society-CDC HPV Steering Committee. She was chair for the ASTRO-ASCO-AHNS Multidisciplinary meeting. and was Section Editor for “Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology”. At the local level she is active, having been on the board of directors for Shreveport Medical Society, Disaster Reform committee and the Science Museum. The Shreveport-Bossier Commerce Department awarded her the Athena Award for community service and she was inducted into Shreveport’s 2019 Business Hall of Fame. She has been nominated as the Champion of Hope” Honoree by the American Cancer Society, Northwest LA 2020. She received the Leonard Tow Humanism award from the Arnold Gold Foundation and was also nominated into AOA by the medical students. The Board of Regents in Louisiana established the “Cherie-Ann Nathan Endowed Professorship in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery” initiated by grateful patients to honor her dedication and expertise. She has consistently been recognized in the “Best Doctors of America” and received the AHNS, Academy of Oto/HNS and Western Section of the Triological society Presidential citation & Distinguished service awards. She received the 2020 Margaret Butler Outstanding Mentor of Women in Head & Neck Surgery Award. Dr. Nathan is married to pulmonary and critical care physician Raghu Nathan, and they have two boys Sean and Neil. Her favorite hobby was to perform with the “Nathan Family Trio” to raise money for the Arts and Cancer research in Shreveport.