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Robert T. Sataloff

Robert T. Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS

Professor and Chair


Department: Otolaryngology

Specialties: Otolaryngology

Education

  • MD - Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University
  • DMA in Voice Performance - Combs College of Music
  • BA in Music Theory and Composition - Haverford College

Awards & Honors

  • 2022 AATS Lifetime Achievement Award, American Academy of Teachers of Singing (2022)
  • Named "Top Doctor" by Philadelphia magazine (1997-2021)

Robert Thayer Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS, provides medical care exclusively for vocal professionals and specializes in otology. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Haverford College in music theory and composition and then graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University. He received a doctor of musical arts in voice performance from Combs College of Music. Dr. Sataloff completed his residency in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery and a fellowship in otology, neurotology and skull-base surgery at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Sataloff has developed numerous novel surgical procedures, including total temporal bone resection for formerly untreatable skull base malignancy, laryngeal microflap and mini-microflap procedures, vocal fold lipoinjection, vocal fold lipoimplantation, and others. He has invented more than 75 laryngeal microsurgical instruments distributed currently by Integra Medical, ossicular replacement prostheses produced by Grace Medical, and novel laryngeal prostheses with Boston Medical.

Philadelphia magazine's Top Doctors 2021

Dr. Sataloff is recognized as one of the founders of the field of voice, having written the first modern comprehensive article on care of singers, and the first chapter and book on care of the professional voice, as well as having influenced the evolution of the field through his own efforts and through the Voice Foundation for nearly four decades.

Dr. Sataloff has been recognized by Best Doctors in America (Woodward White Athens) every year since 1992, Philadelphia magazine since 1997, and Castle Connolly’s "America’s Top Doctors" since 2002.

Clinical Services

Otolaryngology

Residencies

  • Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery – University of Michigan

Fellowships

  • Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery – University of Michigan

Affiliated Hospitals

Philadelphia Ear, Nose & Throat Associates

Download Dr. Sataloff's CV [PDF]

Robert Thayer Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS, is a professor and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine. He is also adjunct professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University, adjunct clinical professor at Temple University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is on the faculty of the Academy of Vocal Arts. He has served as conductor of the Thomas Jefferson University Choir for nearly four decades. Dr. Sataloff is also a professional singer and singing teacher.

Dr. Sataloff is chairman of the Boards of Directors of the Voice Foundation and of the American Institute for Voice and Ear Research. He has also served as chairman of the Board of Governors of Graduate Hospital; president of the American Laryngological Society, the International Association of Phonosurgery, the Pennsylvania Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and the American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology; and in numerous other leadership positions.

Dr. Sataloff has been involved extensively throughout his career in education, including development of new curricula for graduate education. He has been instrumental in training not only residents, but also fellows and visiting laryngologists from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.  His fellows have established voice centers throughout the United States, in Turkey, Singapore, Brazil and elsewhere. He also is active in training nurses, speech-language pathologists, singing teachers and others involved in collaborative arts medicine care, pedagogy and performance education.

Research

Dr. Sataloff is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Voice, editor-in-chief of Ear, Nose and Throat Journal, associate editor of the Journal of Singing, and on the editorial boards of numerous otolaryngology journals. He has written over 1,000 publications, including 65 books, and has been awarded more than $5 million in research funding.

In the Media

“Voice Doctor to the Stars: Meet Bala Cynwyd’s Robert Sataloff”
Main Line Today (December 18, 2024)

“We Asked Ear Doctors To Share The Things They Would Never, Ever Do And Yes, Using Q-Tips Is One Of Those Things”
BuzzFeed (September 22, 2024)

“I’m a doctor — these are 5 things I do to protect my hearing”
New York Post (September 20, 2024)

“7 Things Ear Doctors Never, Ever Do”
HuffPost (September 16, 2024)

“How Bon Jovi lost his voice, and got it back thanks to a Philadelphia surgeon”
Philadelphia Inquirer (April 26, 2024)

“So THAT'S Why Your Voice Sounds Older When You Age”
Huffpost (April 26, 2024)

Additional articles...

“13 Bizarre Things You Never Knew About Your Own Voice”
MSN (July 12, 2023)

13 Bizarre Things You Never Knew About Your Own Voice
Reader’s Digest’s “The Healthy” (June 7, 2023)

These People Lost Their Hearing After COVID Months Ago. They Still Haven’t Fully Recovered.
Buzzfeed News (March 4, 2023)

How to protect your vocal cords
Reader's Digest (September 14, 2021)

8 Everyday Noises That Could Cause Hearing Loss
AARP (July 26, 2021)

Study suggests smoking cannabis could have a long-term impact on the voice
Psypost (December 15, 2020)

A humidifier could help ward off COVID-19, but don’t overdo it
Philadelphia Inquirer (December 14, 2020)

Vocal Discords
Twenty Thousand Hertz (September 16, 2020)

Smooth Talker
Slate (September 27, 2019)

Should Aging Physicians Be Required to Undergo Cognitive Testing? Three Experts Weigh In
Monthly Prescribing Reference (September 16, 2019)

13 Bizarre Things You Never Knew About Your Own Voice
Reader’s Digest (July 26, 2018)

Best to skip the Afrin and other nasal sprays when you get a cold
Philly Voice (March 7, 2018)

How Did an Opera Singer Hit the Highest Note Ever Sung at the Met?
Live Science (November 21, 2017)

Is Vocal Surgery Salvation for Aging Singers?
(May 5, 2017)

Faculty Physicians Named 'Top Docs' by Philadelphia Magazine
(April 26, 2017)

Faculty Physicians Named 'Top Docs' by Philadelphia Magazine
(April 28, 2016)

Faculty Physicians Named 'Top Docs' by Philadelphia Magazine
(May 1, 2015)

For Joan Rivers's Doctor, Fame Delivers Its Bill
The New York Times (November 5, 2014)

Faculty Physicians Named 'Top Docs' by Philadelphia Magazine
(May 1, 2014)

Faculty Physicians Named 'Top Docs' by Philadelphia Magazine
(May 1, 2013)

Old doctor's remedy for cars eating up Sydney
The Canberra Times (October 2012)

Voice lifts: something to shout about
The Guardian (September 2012)

Faculty Physicians Named 'Top Docs' by Philadelphia Magazine
(May 1, 2012)

HughE Dillon: Voice Foundation's Voices Gala
The Philly Post (June 8, 2012)

Presentations

“Care of the Professional Voice”
52nd Voice Foundation Symposium
Philadelphia, Pa. (May 31 – June 4, 2023)

“Endoscopic Voice Surgery: Current Concepts”
78th Annual Herbert S. Birkett Memorial Lecture
MicGill University Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, November 19, 2020

* This physician's clinical practice is independent of Drexel University.


Contact Information


219 N. Broad Street
The Arnold T. Berman, MD Building, 10th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107