Dr. James N. Palmer mini Bio

Dr. Palmer serves as the David W. Kennedy MD Endowed Professor and Director of the Division of Rhinology at the University of Pennsylvania, Departments of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery and Neurosurgery, as well as Co-Director, Center for Skull Base Surgery.  The Division of Rhinology at the University of Pennsylvania is widely recognized as a leading Academic unit in the world of rhinology both in clinical and research arenas.   A native of the Midwest, he went from the University of Chicago to receive his medical degree from The Ohio State University and performed his residency training at Northwestern University.  Following his time at Northwestern, he performed a fellowship in Rhinology and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery at the Georgia Nasal and Sinus Institute. Since that time he has served on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania.  On the clinical and administrative side, Dr Palmer has served as President of the International Society on Infection and Allergy of the Nose (ISIAN) and led the world’s largest gathering of medical professionals dedicated to treatment of diseases of the nose and paranasal sinuses in Philadelphia in 2009.  Dr. Palmer continues to serve in many capacities in the American Rhinologic Society, which is the leading organization dedicated to care of diseases of the nose, paranasal sinuses, and skull base, including President in 2019.  His clinical practice ranges from revision sinus surgery to treat chronic sinusitis to minimally invasive approaches to cure skull base tumors in both adults and children.

Dr Palmer collaborates with an extensive research endeavor via the Division of Rhinology, and has been an author on over 400 peer-reviewed publications, which most recently include multiple articles in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Nature Genetics, and Cell. His grant awards include the Young Investigator Award from the American Rhinologic Society and a Clinical Investigator Award from FAMRI, as well as multiple collaborations on NIH grants, and CO-PI on two RO1.  His work was the first to identify the role of Bacterial Biofilms in chronic sinusitis, and it has grown into a multiple institutional investigation into the role of bitter taste receptors in inflammatory disease.   Dr Palmer has given numerous lectures and visiting professorships in Rhinology on a variety of Rhinologic topics on six continents.  His book, Atlas of Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Base Surgery, which was the first of its kind in the field, has become a best seller.