Dr. Rohan Walvekar

Dr. Walvekar is a native of Mumbai, India. He received his medical degree from the University of Mumbai and subsequently completed his residency in Otolaryngology at the T.N. Medical College & BYL Nair Charitable Hospital in Mumbai with the highest honor in all three certifying examinations for Otolaryngology in India: Master of Science, Diplomat of the National Board of Examinations, and the Diploma in Otolaryngology. Dr. Walvekar received advanced training in head and neck oncology and skull base surgery by completing Head & Neck Surgical Oncology fellowships at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai (2003-05), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (2006-07), and the LSU Health Sciences Center (2008-2009). After completing three fellowships, Dr. Walvekar stayed on as Faculty at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Walvekar is now a full Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology and has been named the Mervin L. Trail Endowed Chair in Head & Neck Oncology. He also serves as the Director of the Oral Cancer Screening Program and the Co-Director of the ENT Service at University Medical Center in New Orleans.

Dr. Walvekar is a member of several professional organizations and has over 80 peer-reviewed publications, and has authored several book chapters over the course of the last decade. He serves as the Director of Salivary Endoscopy for the LSU Department of Otolaryngology. In 2022, Dr. Walvekar was named Vice Chair for Head and Neck Oncology Services. In addition to developing a tertiary nationally and internationally renowned referral for salivary endoscopy, Dr. Walvekar has contributed to the field by developing several innovations such as the Walvekar Salivary Stent and the first description for the use of the robot for combined approach stone removal in the world. He also serves as a Consultant for several medical device companies like Karl Storz (Germany), Cook Medical (USA), and Hood Laboratories (USA), to name a few. Additionally, Dr. Walvekar is also the Founder of a technology startup, nDorse, a mobile and web-based platform that facilitates real-time employee recognition and feedback.

Dr. Walvekar is passionate about innovation and serves as the LSU School of Medicine, Co-Director and Designer-In-Residence for the School Of Medicine Innovation Division called MIDS (Medical Innovation Design Studio) that helps faculty members and residents with their ideas and inventions.

Dr. Walvekar areas of clinical interests include Head and Neck Cancer Surgery, Sialendoscopy, Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery, and Robotic surgery for Head and Neck Tumors. Dr. Walvekar research interests include outcomes based clinical research and collaborative translational research projects.