Andrew G Sikora, MD, PhD
Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Andrew G Sikora
Dr. Andrew Sikora is a Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He also serves as Director of Research for Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Sikora’s clinical expertise is in oropharyngeal (throat) cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck cancer. His research is focused on tumor immunology, and cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Sikora serves as a member of the National Institute of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute’s Head and Neck Cancer Core Committee, and Immuno-Oncology Translational Network (IOTN) Steering Committee.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Deputy Division Head, Basic/Translational Research, Division of Surgery, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Head and Neck Surgery and Immunology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Director of Research, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2000 | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, US, Microbiology and Immunology, Ph.D |
| 2000 | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, US, MD |
| 1996 | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, US, Microbiology and Immunology, M.S |
| 1992 | Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US, Biology, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2007-2008 | Clinical Fellowship, Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2005-2007 | Research Fellowship, Melanoma Medical Oncology and Head and Neck Surgery, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2000-2005 | Clinical Residency, Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York |
| 2000-2001 | General Surgery Internship, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2023 | Georgia Composite Medical Board |
| 2021 | Florida Board of Medicine |
| 2007 | Texas Medical Board |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Otolaryngology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, 2014 - 2020
Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Immunology, Oncologic Sciences, Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 2008 - 2014
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
T32 Mentor, Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2028 - 2033
Vice Chair for Research, Department of Otolaryngology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 2014 - 2020
Co-Director, Head and Neck Cancer Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 2014 - 2020
Director, Steven Sacks Clinical Research Fellowship, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 2011 - 2014
Co-Chair, Head and Neck Cancer Disease Focus Group, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 2009 - 2014
Director of Translational Research, Head and Neck Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 2008 - 2014
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, TRIUMPH (Translational Research in Multi-Disciplinary Program), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - Present
Member, MD/PhD Admissions Committee, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 2012 - 2014
Ad-hoc Reviewer, Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 2011 - 2014
Member, Graduate School Curriculum Committee, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 2009 - 2011
Member, Institutional Review Board (IRB), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 2009 - 2011
Member, Uncompensated Care Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2005 - 2007
Member, Curriculum Committee, New York University, 2003 - 2005
Member, House Staff Council, New York University, 2002 - 2003
Honors & Awards
| 2022 | President’s Faculty Excellence award - Faculty Honoree, Research Excellence, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2016 | Ovodex, Top-10 finalist, OneStart Americas international technology start-up competition |
| 2014 - 2020 | Carolyn Weiss-Law Translational Research Scholar, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 2014 | American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Honors Award, American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery |
| 2009 | Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award |
| 2008 | Maxwell Byers Award for Best Clinical Paper, American Head and Neck Society 7th International Meeting |
| 2007 | Award for Keystone Symposium: The Potent New Anti-Tumor Immunotherapies, National Cancer Institute |
| 2004 | Second place award for research, Triological Society Eastern Section Meeting |
| 2003 | First place award for research, NY Head and Neck Society |
| 2000 | Distinguished Performance in Research, the Associated Medical Schools of New York Research Competition, Associated Medical Schools of New York |
| 2000 | Associate Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine |
| 1999 | Alpha Omega Alpha Society |
| 1999 | Broad Street Pump Award for service to community and public health, Physicians for Social Responsibility |
| 1997 | AMSA/National Health Service Corps Award for a Community Service Project |
| 1995 | CIBA-GEIGY Community Service Award |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2024. The Tumor Immune Microenvironment in HPV Negative Patients. Invited. 2024 Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancers Symposium. Phoenix, AZ, US.
- 2023. Improving Therapeutic Outcomes by Targeting the Immunosuppressive Microenvironment of Oral Cancer. Invited. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital William Keane Lecture - Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
- 2022. Evolving Role of Immunotherapy in the Management of Advanced/Recurrent Oral Cancer. Invited. 8th Meeting of the International Academy of Oral Oncology. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2022. The Head and Neck Cancer Immune Microenvironment - Where Immunotherapy Fails or Prevails. Invited. 38th Annual Bay Area Residents’ Research Symposium (BARRS) in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. Oakland, California, US.
- 2011. Application of high resolution microendoscopy to real-time surgical margin detection and robotic surgery. Invited. International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE): Optical Imaging, Therapeutics, and Advanced Technology in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. San Francisco, CA, US.
International Presentations
- 2026. Leveraging CAM-based tumor models for preclinical evaluation of cellular immunotherapies - Virtual. Invited. CAMCON26: The 3rd International CAM Conference: Modelling diseases, regeneration, molecular mechanisms and therapy. Liverpool, GB.
- 2023. Immunotherapy as Combined Modality Therapy. Invited. AHNS 11th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer. Montreal, CA.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2025 - 2028 |
| Title: | Synthetic lethality of TRIP13 and Aurora A in Rb-deficient cancer |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | RP250398 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2027 |
| Title: | Immune-Related Determinants of HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer Outcomes |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | RP230022 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2027 |
| Title: | Deep Learning Image Analysis Algorithms to Improve Oral Cancer Risk Assessment for Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | R01DE030656 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Targeting head and neck cancer cells and the adverse tumor microenvironment with a novel small-molecule STAT3 inhibitor |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Multiple Principal Investigator |
| ID: | R01CA269516 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Functional roles of GOF TP53 mutations in metastasis and immunosuppression of head and neck cancers |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Multiple Principal Investigator |
| ID: | R01DE030875 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Akama-Garren EH, Morris ZS, Sikora AG, Weichselbaum R, Schoenfeld JD. Prospective clinical investigation of the efficacy of combination radiotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibition. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 111(5):1165-1175, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34411638.
- Kimura K, Du L, Berry LD, Huang L, Chen S, Francis DO, Gelbard A, Airway Collaborative NA. Modeling Recurrence in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis With Mobile Peak Expiratory Flow. Laryngoscope 131(12):E2841-E2848, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34309022.
- Hoffman MR, Patro A, Huang L, Chen S, Berry LD, Gelbard A, Francis DO, Airway Collaborative NA. Impact of Adjuvant Medical Therapies on Surgical Outcomes in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis. Laryngoscope 131(12):E2880-E2886, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34117778.
- Lee J, Huang LC, Berry LD, Anderson C, Amin MR, Benninger MS, Blumin JH, Bock JM, Bryson PC, Castellanos PF, Chen SC, Clary MS, Cohen SM, Crawley BK, Dailey SH, Daniero JJ, de Alarcon A, Donovan DT, Edell ES, Ekbom DC, Fink DS, Franco RA, Garrett CG, Guardiani EA, Hillel AT, Hoffman HT, Hogikyan ND, Howell RJ, Hussain LK, Johns MM, Kasperbauer JL, Khosla SM, Kinnard C, Kupfer RA, Langerman AJ, Lentz RJ, Lorenz RR, Lott DG, Lowery AS, Makani SS, Maldonado F, Mannion K, Matrka L, McWhorter AJ, Merati AL, Mori M, Netterville JL, O'Dell K, Ongkasuwan J, Postma GN, Reder LS, Rohde SL, Richardson BE, Rickman OB, Rosen CA, Rutter MJ, Sandhu GS, Schindler JS, Schneider GT, Shah RN, Sikora AG, Sinard RJ, Smith ME, Smith LJ, Soliman AMS, Sveinsdóttir S, Van Daele DJ, Veivers D, Verma SP, Weinberger PM, Weissbrod PA, Wootten CT, Shyr Y, Francis DO, Gelbard A. Association of Social Determinants of Health with Time to Diagnosis and Treatment Outcomes in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 130(10):3489421995283, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33629608.
- Shi Y, Xie TX, Leach DG, Wang B, Young S, Osman AA, Sikora AG, Ren X, Hartgerink JD, Myers JN, Rangel R. Local Anti-PD-1 Delivery Prevents Progression of Premalignant Lesions in a 4NQO-Oral Carcinogenesis Mouse Model. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 14(8):767-778, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34021022.
- Warren EAK, Anil J, Castro PD, Kemnade J, Suzuki M, Hegde M, Hicks J, Yu W, Sandulache V, Sikora AG. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Variation within and across primary tumor sites, and implications for antigen-specific immunotherapy. Head Neck 43(7):1983-1994, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33660372.
- Veeramachaneni R, Yu W, Newton JM, Kemnade JO, Skinner HD, Sikora AG, Sandulache VC. Metformin generates profound alterations in systemic and tumor immunity with associated antitumor effects. J Immunother Cancer 9(7), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34230113.
- Hebert KA, Jaramillo S, Yu W, Wang M, Veeramachaneni R, Sandulache VC, Sikora AG, Bonnen MD, Annapragada AV, Corry D, Kheradmand F, Pandita RK, Ludwig MS, Pandita TK, Huang S, Coarfa C, Grimm SL, Perera D, Miles G, Ghebre YT. Esomeprazole enhances the effect of ionizing radiation to improve tumor control. Oncotarget 12(14):1339-1353, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34262645.
- Miles BA, Posner MR, Gupta V, Teng MS, Bakst RL, Yao M, Misiukiewicz KJ, Chai RL, Sharma S, Westra WH, Kim-Schulze S, Dayal B, Sobotka S, Sikora AG, Som PM, Genden EM. De-Escalated Adjuvant Therapy After Transoral Robotic Surgery for Human Papillomavirus-Related Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: The Sinai Robotic Surgery (SIRS) Trial. Oncologist 26(6):504-513, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33675133.
- Gupta R, Rady PL, Sikora AG, Tyring SK. The role of human papillomavirus in the pathogenesis of sinonasal inverted papilloma: a narrative review. Rev Med Virol 31(3):e2178, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33048407.
- Koyuncu CF, Lu C, Bera K, Zhang Z, Xu J, Toro P, Corredor G, Chute D, Fu P, Thorstad WL, Faraji F, Bishop JA, Mehrad M, Castro PD, Sikora AG, Thompson LD, Chernock RD, Lang Kuhs KA, Luo J, Sandulache V, Adelstein DJ, Koyfman S, Lewis JS, Madabhushi A. Computerized tumor multinucleation index (MuNI) is prognostic in p16+ oropharyngeal carcinoma: A multi-site validation study. J Clin Invest 131(8), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33651718.
- Demaria S, Guha C, Schoenfeld J, Morris Z, Monjazeb A, Sikora A, Crittenden M, Shiao S, Khleif S, Gupta S, Formenti SC, Vikram B, Coleman C, Ahmed MM. Radiation dose and fraction in immunotherapy: one-size regimen does not fit all settings, so how does one choose?. J Immunother Cancer 9(4):e002038, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33827904.
- Gelbard A, Wanjalla C, Wootten CT, Drake WP, Lowery AS, Wheeler DA, Cardenas MF, Sikora AG, Pathak RR, McDonnell W, Mallal S, Pilkinton M. The Proximal Airway Is a Reservoir for Adaptive Immunologic Memory in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis. Laryngoscope 131(3):610-617, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 32603507.
- Huang C, Chen L, Savage SR, Eguez RV, Dou Y, Li Y, da Veiga Leprevost F, Jaehnig EJ, Lei JT, Wen B, Schnaubelt M, Krug K, Song X, Cieslik M, Chang HY, Wyczalkowski MA, Li K, Colaprico A, Li QK, Clark DJ, Hu Y, Cao L, Pan J, Wang Y, Cho KC, Shi Z, Liao Y, Jiang W, Anurag M, Ji J, Yoo S, Zhou DC, Liang WW, Wendl M, Vats P, Carr SA, Mani DR, Zhang Z, Qian J, Chen XS, Pico AR, Wang P, Chinnaiyan AM, Ketchum KA, Kinsinger CR, Robles AI, An E, Hiltke T, Mesri M, Thiagarajan M, Weaver AM, Sikora AG, Lubinski J, Wierzbicka M, Wiznerowicz M, Satpathy S, Gillette MA, Miles G, Ellis MJ, Omenn GS, Rodriguez H, Boja ES, Dhanasekaran SM, Ding L, Nesvizhskii AI, El-Naggar AK, Chan DW, Zhang H, Zhang B, Analysis Consortium CPT. Proteogenomic insights into the biology and treatment of HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer Cell 39(3):361-379.e16, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33417831.
- Leach DG, Dharmaraj N, Lopez-Silva TL, Venzor JR, Pogostin BH, Sikora AG, Hartgerink JD, Young S. Biomaterial-Facilitated Immunotherapy for Established Oral Cancers. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 7(2):415-421, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33470801.
Review Articles
- Wan, P, Ongkasuwan, J, Martinez, JA, Sandulache, VC, Deng, D, Jiang, J, Sikora, AG, Altman, KW. Biomarkers for Malignant Potential in Vocal Fold Leukoplakia. Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States) 164(4):751-758, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 32988279.
Patents
- An efficient, Scalable Patient-Derived Xenograft System Based on a Chick Chorioallantoice Membrane (CCA) in Vivo Model. Patent Number: BAYM.PO172US.P1.
- Materials and Methods Relating to Immunogenic Epitopes from Human Papillomavirus. Patent Number: 208192-9044-US01.
- Immune stimulatory function and anti-tumor activity of TGF-β1 primed MDSC. Patent Number: BAYM.P0167WOUS.P1.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 11, 2026