Joseph H. Ogura was born in San Francisco, California on May 25, 1915. He received his Medical Degree from the University of California in 1941, began as a resident in Pathology and Medicine from 1941-1942 and completed his residency in Medicine at Cincinnati General Hospital, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1945. He fulfilled an Otolaryngology residency at Barnes Hospital & McMillan Hospital in 1948 and then joined the Otolaryngology faculty at the School of Medicine and became Head of the Department of Otolaryngology from 1966 until his death in 1983. He developed many surgical techniques in head and neck cancer surgery, especially conservation surgery of the larynx. He was active in laryngeal and nasopulmonary research for many years and won top research awards at national otolaryngology meetings. Dr. Ogura was much honored for his achievements as he was only the third physician in the history of the American Laryngological Association to receive its coveted “triple crown:” the James Newcomb Award in 1967 for laryngeal research, the Casselberry Award in 1968 for nasopulmonary work, and the deRoaldes Gold Medal in 1979 for career accomplishment. The Ogura Learning Center is now named for him, along with the prestigious annual Ogura Head and Neck Lectureship, established in 1977.
He died on April 13, 1983.
