Jack Kolenda MD, FRCS

Dr. Jack Kolenda knew he wanted to be a surgeon from an early age. He began his undergraduate degree in 1989 and pursued a baccalaureate in molecular biology. During his studies, he was awarded a stipend to research molecular genetics under the directorship of Dr. Clare Hasenkamf and Dr. Dan Riggs, associate professors in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto. Upon completing his second year of undergraduate studies, he was accepted in to medical school, surpassing the admission requirements for the competitive Doctor of Medicine program. He continued to advance his learning and simultaneously maintain his impressive academic standing by actively involving himself in further research. Dr. Kolenda protracted the research of molecular genetics with a focus on thyroid cancer, alongside Dr. Sylvia Asa, who is currently a research professor for the University Health Network.

He subsequently undertook clinical research in the field of thyroid cancer with Dr. Irving B. Rosen, who is a professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto and a member in the Department of General Surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital and the University Health Network. Dr. Kolenda successfully obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree in the year 1996, and completed his 5-year, post-graduate residency program in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, in 2001. He chose Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery as his speciality, for he appreciated the challenges associated with the complexities of the head and neck anatomy, including the variations in surgical procedures such as craniofacial surgery, neurotologic surgery, facial plastic surgery, and reconstructive surgery of the head and neck.