In 2022, Daniel Gorelik became the first Research Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. As this program closes on its first year, Gorelik reflected on what he has learned the past year and offered advice for incoming fellows and residents.
Gorelik was exposed to Houston Methodist through the dean of George Washington University School of Medicine, Barbara L. Bass, MD, who formerly was chair of the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist. After that introduction and learning about the new otolaryngology program, he was excited to apply. Gorelik says meeting the faculty gave him an immediate sense of the wonderful culture, and he found the learning and educational environment outstanding.
“It’s a hidden gem,” Gorelik said of the new otolaryngology residency program at Houston Methodist.
Since beginning his fellowship, Gorelik has had six publications accepted and has more submitted. He’s also been involved with many more abstracts that were submitted for the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings and has eight poster or podium presentations at the upcoming conference in May.
“I definitely have had an opportunity to get a breadth of experience this year. My previous research and background in study design and biostatistics from concurrently pursuing a Masters of Public Health allowed me to hit the ground running,” he said. “Research is something that I enjoy doing. That passion helped. During the year, having research mentors who were involved and excited to teach allowed for different opportunities for projects which really appealed to me.”
Gorelik sees himself on the patient care side of things in the future, but plans to maintain his interest in clinical research in his career.
He has already left his mark on the program. He’s had the opportunity to work with students and residents from across the Texas Medical Center, all of whom have helped him develop a community of people interested in otolaryngology research who can learn from and work with each other. These connections have enabled him to begin building the data infrastructure to allow for systematic approaches to study patient-centered outcomes.
“I'm really grateful as the first research fellow to have had an opportunity to be a part of the research infrastructure.”
His advice to future fellows is to be an avid reader and a team player.
“I think familiarizing yourself with how to read and critically appraise a research article is a great way to learn about research. It's also a great way to see where there might be room for future study ,” he said. “Teamwork is the most important skill in my opinion. Being able to support each other throughout the research process made the learning experience much stronger. Additionally, having mentors that were fully committed to creating this environment made for a great and productive year.”
The research fellowship allows students to engage with the entire research pipeline and learn to access different resources to study clinical questions.
“It's been amazing. I started the year motivated, excited to build up my research foundation and get involved in projects that previously I didn't have the time to do during medical school. The team at Methodist created an incredibly supportive environment that enabled me to learn a research perspective, engage with my own ideas, and really develop that skill set,” Gorelik said.
