Aaron Tward, MD, PhD

Assoc Professor In Residence
Otolaryngology
+1 415 353-2757

Aaron D. Tward M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeon who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ear and skull base.

Dr. Tward has particular clinical interests in cochlear implantation, management of benign and malignant tumors of the skull base including acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma), surgery for chronic otitis media, stapedectomy, superior semi-circular canal dehiscence repair, and endoscopic surgery of the ear and skull base.

Dr. Tward’s research interests include tumor biology, the genetics and genomics of disorders of the head and neck, the development and physiology of the organs of hearing, and clinical outcomes of surgery of the ear and skull base.

Education and Training:
• Undergraduate: University of California, Los Angeles, B.S. - Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
• Graduate School: University of California, Los Angeles, M.A. - Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Lab of A. Jake Lusis
• Graduate School: University of California, San Francisco, Ph.D. - Biomedical Sciences, Lab of J. Michael Bishop
• Medical School: University of California, San Francisco, M.D.
• Internship: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School - General Surgery

• Residency: Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Harvard Medical School Residency Program in Otolaryngology
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts General Hospital
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children’s Hospital

• Clinical Fellowship: Otology, Neurotology, and Skull Base Surgery
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts General Hospital
(Michael J. McKenna and Daniel J. Lee Fellowship directors)

• Post Doctoral: The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Lab of Todd R. Golub

• Diplomate, American Board of Otolaryngology
• License, Medical Board of California

Publications: 

CompHEAR: A Customizable and Scalable Web-Enabled Auditory Performance Evaluation Platform for Cochlear Implant Sound Processing Research.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Merrill K, Muller L, Beim JA, Hehrmann P, Swan D, Alfsmann D, Spahr T, Litvak L, Oxenham AJ, Tward AD

ORAOV1, CCND1, and MIR548K are the driver oncogenes of the 11q13 amplicon in squamous cell carcinoma.

Molecular cancer research : MCR

Mahieu CI, Mancini AG, Vikram EP, Planells-Palop V, Joseph NM, Tward AD

Epimorphic regeneration in the mammalian tympanic membrane.

NPJ Regenerative medicine

Scaria SM, Frumm SM, Vikram EP, Easow SA, Sheth AH, Shamir ER, Yu SK, Tward AD

Electrical Determinants of Tinnitus Extinction in a Cochlear Implant Patient.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology

Muller L, Gilbert M, Jiam NT, Limb CJ, Tward AD

Endoscopic Medial Reepithelization for Inflammatory Canal Stenosis.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology

Scaria SM, Tward AD

Repair of the Murine Tympanic Membrane Displays Hallmarks of Regeneration.

The FASEB Journal

Sonia Scaria, Stacey Frumm, Amar H. Sheth, Aaron Tward

A Rare Complication of Chronic Otitis Media: Central Skull Base Osteomyelitis Managed With Combined Endoscopic Transmastoid and Transsphenoidal Debridement.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology

Suresh K, Chari DA, Bartholomew RA, Tward AD, Kozin ED, Barshak MB, Holbrook EH, Lee DJ

Author Correction: A single-cell atlas and lineage analysis of the adult Drosophila ovary.

Nature communications

Rust K, Byrnes LE, Yu KS, Park JS, Sneddon JB, Tward AD, Nystul TG

Human melanocyte development and melanoma dedifferentiation at single-cell resolution.

Nature cell biology

Belote RL, Le D, Maynard A, Lang UE, Sinclair A, Lohman BK, Planells-Palop V, Baskin L, Tward AD, Darmanis S, Judson-Torres RL

Abstract 3112: Human melanocyte development and melanoma dedifferentiation at single cell resolution.

Cancer research

Rachel L. Belote, Daniel Le, Ashley Maynard, Ursula E. Lang, Adriane Sinclair, Vincente Planells-Palop, Laurence S. Baskin, Aaron D. Tward, Spyros Darmanis, Robert L. Judson-Torres

A Hierarchy of Proliferative and Migratory Keratinocytes Maintains the Tympanic Membrane.

Cell stem cell

Frumm SM, Yu SK, Chang J, Artichoker JA, Scaria SM, Lee KP, Byrnes LE, Sneddon JB, Tward AD

A single-cell atlas and lineage analysis of the adult Drosophila ovary.

Nature communications

Rust K, Byrnes LE, Yu KS, Park JS, Sneddon JB, Tward AD, Nystul TG

Abstract 4903: Minimal mutational determinants of human squamous cell carcinoma.

Cancer research

Vicente Planells-Palop, Angie Koo, Heydi Malave, Katharine Lee, Aaron Tward

Abstract B40: Minimal mutational determinants of human squamous cell carcinoma.

Cancer research

Vicente Planells-Palop, Angie Koo, Heydi Malave, Katharine Lee, Aaron Tward

Transcriptional control of subtype switching ensures adaptation and growth of pancreatic cancer.

eLife

Adams CR, Htwe HH, Marsh T, Wang AL, Montoya ML, Subbaraj L, Tward AD, Bardeesy N, Perera RM

Adventitial stromal cells define group 2 innate lymphoid cell tissue niches.

The Journal of Immunology

Ari B Molofsky, Madelene W Dahlgren, Stephen W Jones, Alexandra Dubinin, Sepideh Farhat, Jorge F Ortiz-Carpena, Kevin S Yu, Katharine Lee, Chaoqun Wang, Anna Victoria R Molofsky, Aaron D Tward, Matthew F Krummel, Tien Peng

Adventitial Stromal Cells Define Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell Tissue Niches.

Immunity

Dahlgren MW, Jones SW, Cautivo KM, Dubinin A, Ortiz-Carpena JF, Farhat S, Yu KS, Lee K, Wang C, Molofsky AV, Tward AD, Krummel MF, Peng T, Molofsky AB

Cellular Dynamics in Early Healing of Mouse Tympanic Membranes.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology

Chari DA, Frumm SM, Akil O, Tward AD

Temporal Dynamics of Pseudoprogression After Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannomas-A Retrospective Volumetric Study.

Neurosurgery

Breshears JD, Chang J, Molinaro AM, Sneed PK, McDermott MW, Tward A, Theodosopoulos PV

Impact of pretreatment growth on Tumor control for vestibular schwannomas following gamma knife.

The Laryngoscope

Chang J, Breshears JD, Molinaro AM, Sneed PK, McDermott MW, Theodosopoulos PV, Tward AD

Lineage dynamics of murine pancreatic development at single-cell resolution.

Nature communications

Byrnes LE, Wong DM, Subramaniam M, Meyer NP, Gilchrist CL, Knox SM, Tward AD, Ye CJ, Sneddon JB

Oncogenic Signaling Pathways in The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Cell

Sanchez-Vega F, Mina M, Armenia J, Chatila WK, Luna A, La KC, Dimitriadoy S, Liu DL, Kantheti HS, Saghafinia S, Chakravarty D, Daian F, Gao Q, Bailey MH, Liang WW, Foltz SM, Shmulevich I, Ding L, Heins Z, Ochoa A, Gross B, Gao J, Zhang H, Kundra R, Kandoth C, Bahceci I, Dervishi L, Dogrusoz U, Zhou W, Shen H, Laird PW, Way GP, Greene CS, Liang H, Xiao Y, Wang C, Iavarone A, Berger AH, Bivona TG, Lazar AJ, Hammer GD, Giordano T, Kwong LN, McArthur G, Huang C, Tward AD, Frederick MJ, McCormick F, Meyerson M, Van Allen EM, Cherniack AD, Ciriello G, Sander C, Schultz N

Salivary glands regenerate after radiation injury through SOX2-mediated secretory cell replacement.

EMBO molecular medicine

Emmerson E, May AJ, Berthoin L, Cruz-Pacheco N, Nathan S, Mattingly AJ, Chang JL, Ryan WR, Tward AD, Knox SM

Defining epithelial cell dynamics and lineage relationships in the developing lacrimal gland.

Development (Cambridge, England)

Farmer DT, Nathan S, Finley JK, Shengyang Yu K, Emmerson E, Byrnes LE, Sneddon JB, McManus MT, Tward AD, Knox SM

Inhibition of fatty acid oxidation as a therapy for MYC-overexpressing triple-negative breast cancer.

Nature medicine

Camarda R, Zhou AY, Kohnz RA, Balakrishnan S, Mahieu C, Anderton B, Eyob H, Kajimura S, Tward A, Krings G, Nomura DK, Goga A

Auditory brainstem implantation in a 16-month-old boy with cochlear hypoplasia.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology

Puram SV, Tward AD, Jung DH, Dilger AE, Herrmann BS, Duhaime AC, Barker FG, Lee DJ

Reciprocal interaction of Wnt and RXR-a pathways in hepatocyte development and hepatocellular carcinoma.

PloS one

Li J, Chanrion M, Sawey E, Wang T, Chow E, Tward A, Su Y, Xue W, Lucito R, Zender L, Lowe SW, Bishop JM, Powers S

Characterization of HPV and host genome interactions in primary head and neck cancers.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Parfenov M, Pedamallu CS, Gehlenborg N, Freeman SS, Danilova L, Bristow CA, Lee S, Hadjipanayis AG, Ivanova EV, Wilkerson MD, Protopopov A, Yang L, Seth S, Song X, Tang J, Ren X, Zhang J, Pantazi A, Santoso N, Xu AW, Mahadeshwar H, Wheeler DA, Haddad RI, Jung J, Ojesina AI, Issaeva N, Yarbrough WG, Hayes DN, Grandis JR, El-Naggar AK, Meyerson M, Park PJ, Chin L, Seidman JG, Hammerman PS, Kucherlapati R

The mutational landscape of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

Stransky N, Egloff AM, Tward AD, Kostic AD, Cibulskis K, Sivachenko A, Kryukov GV, Lawrence MS, Sougnez C, McKenna A, Shefler E, Ramos AH, Stojanov P, Carter SL, Voet D, Cortés ML, Auclair D, Berger MF, Saksena G, Guiducci C, Onofrio RC, Parkin M, Romkes M, Weissfeld JL, Seethala RR, Wang L, Rangel-Escareño C, Fernandez-Lopez JC, Hidalgo-Miranda A, Melendez-Zajgla J, Winckler W, Ardlie K, Gabriel SB, Meyerson M, Lander ES, Getz G, Golub TR, Garraway LA, Grandis JR

Integration of genomic analysis and in vivo transfection to identify sprouty 2 as a candidate tumor suppressor in liver cancer.

Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)

Lee SA, Ho C, Roy R, Kosinski C, Patil MA, Tward AD, Fridlyand J, Chen X

Distinct pathways of genomic progression to benign and malignant tumors of the liver.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Tward AD, Jones KD, Yant S, Cheung ST, Fan ST, Chen X, Kay MA, Wang R, Bishop JM

Inhibition of CDK1 as a potential therapy for tumors over-expressing MYC.

Nature medicine

Goga A, Yang D, Tward AD, Morgan DO, Bishop JM

Bone morphogenetic protein antagonist gremlin 1 is widely expressed by cancer-associated stromal cells and can promote tumor cell proliferation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Sneddon JB, Zhen HH, Montgomery K, van de Rijn M, Tward AD, West R, Gladstone H, Chang HY, Morganroth GS, Oro AE, Brown PO

Trypanosoma congolense: paraoxonase 1 prolongs survival of infected mice.

Experimental parasitology

Bhasin KK, Yu JM, Tward A, Shih D, Campbell DA, Lusis AJ

Hepatocellular carcinoma in Txnip-deficient mice.

Oncogene

Sheth SS, Bodnar JS, Ghazalpour A, Thipphavong CK, Tsutsumi S, Tward AD, Demant P, Kodama T, Aburatani H, Lusis AJ

Role of paraoxonase (PON1) status in pesticide sensitivity: genetic and temporal determinants.

Neurotoxicology

Furlong CE, Cole TB, Jarvik GP, Pettan-Brewer C, Geiss GK, Richter RJ, Shih DM, Tward AD, Lusis AJ, Costa LG

Toxicity of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos oxon in a transgenic mouse model of the human paraoxonase (PON1) Q192R polymorphism.

Pharmacogenetics and genomics

Cole TB, Walter BJ, Shih DM, Tward AD, Lusis AJ, Timchalk C, Richter RJ, Costa LG, Furlong CE

Genomic progression in mouse models for liver tumors.

Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology

Tward AD, Jones KD, Yant S, Kay MA, Wang R, Bishop JM

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) status and risk of insecticide exposure.

Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology

Furlong CE, Cole TB, Walter BJ, Shih DM, Tward A, Lusis AJ, Timchalk C, Richter RJ, Costa LG

Systemic rather than local heme oxygenase-1 overexpression improves cardiac allograft outcomes in a new transgenic mouse.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Araujo JA, Meng L, Tward AD, Hancock WW, Zhai Y, Lee A, Ishikawa K, Iyer S, Buelow R, Busuttil RW, Shih DM, Lusis AJ, Kupiec-Weglinski JW

Expression of human paraoxonase (PON1) during development.

Pharmacogenetics

Cole TB, Jampsa RL, Walter BJ, Arndt TL, Richter RJ, Shih DM, Tward A, Lusis AJ, Jack RM, Costa LG, Furlong CE

Decreased atherosclerotic lesion formation in human serum paraoxonase transgenic mice.

Circulation

Tward A, Xia YR, Wang XP, Shi YS, Park C, Castellani LW, Lusis AJ, Shih DM