Ryan J. Li, M.D., M.B.A.

  • Chief, Division of Head and Neck Surgery Program
  • Associate Professor, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine
  • Director, OHSU Robotic Head and Neck Surgery Program
  • Director of OHSU Head and Neck Surgery Fellowship

Biography

Dr. Ryan Li is a surgeon who specializes in:

  • Treating head and neck cancers and thyroid and parathyroid diseases.
  • Transoral robot-assisted surgery to treat some cases of throat (oropharyngeal) cancer. 
  • Repairing head and neck wounds and deformities with microvascular reconstruction techniques, which use tissues from elsewhere on the body to restore skin, muscle or bone in the head and neck. 

Dr. Li is devoted to working with patients and their loved ones through their treatments. As part of the multidisciplinary head and neck cancer team, he supports patients with gentle, clear, and complete care. Dr. Li and the team are dedicated to supporting patients after treatment to ensure the best quality of life they can achieve.   

His research interests include:

  • Household finances related to head and neck cancer treatment.
  • Digital devices to aid recovery from cancer treatment.
  • Clinical trials on shrinking tumors (neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy) for treatment of oropharyngeal cancer.   

Dr. Li is the Director of OHSU’s:

  • Head and Neck Robotic Surgery Program
  • Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Fellowship

Dr. Li is also the Division Chief for Head and Neck Surgery/Cancer.

In his spare time, Dr. Li enjoys time with his daughter and his wife, Myriam Loyo Li, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon who also is a member of the OHSU family. He relishes the company of his extended family in Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong and the eastern United States. He enjoys tennis, running, indoor wall climbing, hiking, and what beautiful Oregon has to offer.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.A., 2004, Brown University
    • M.D., 2008, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
    • M.B.A., 2022, Oregon Health and Science University

  • Residency

    • Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 2014

  • Fellowship

    • Head and neck surgery, microvascular reconstruction, Stanford University, 2015

  • Certifications

    • American Board of Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery (2015)

Memberships and associations:

  • American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
  • American Head and Neck Society (AHNS)

Publications

Elsevier pure profile

Publications

  • Postoperative Implementation of Virtual Reality and Wearable Devices

    Laryngoscope
    1. Vivek C. Pandrangi
    2. Ana V. Araujo
    3. Michelle Buncke
    4. Brennan Olson
    5. Matthew Jorizzo
    6. Nasser Said-Al-Naief
    7. Olabisi Sanusi
    8. Jeremy Ciporen
    9. Maisie Shindo
    10. Joshua Schindler
    11. C. Alessandra Colaianni
    12. Daniel Clayburgh
    13. Peter Andersen
    14. Paul Flint
    15. Mark K. Wax
    16. Mathew Geltzeiler
    17. Ryan J. Li

  • Transoral Robotic Surgery in the Multidisciplinary Care of Patients With Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

    Journal of Clinical Oncology
    1. F. Christopher Holsinger
    2. Nofisat Ismaila
    3. Douglas R. Adkins
    4. Brittany R. Barber
    5. Graham Burnette
    6. Carole Fakhry
    7. Thomas J. Galloway
    8. Ryan P. Goepfert
    9. Brett A. Miles
    10. Vinidh Paleri
    11. Ashish A. Patel
    12. Scott A. Roof
    13. Heather M. Starmer
    14. Sue S. Yom
    15. Nabil F. Saba
    16. Ryan Li
    17. Jamie A. Ku

  • Acute and definitive management of oropharyngeal hemorrhage in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx

    Head and Neck
    1. Ana V. Araujo
    2. Mark K. Wax
    3. Daniel R. Clayburgh
    4. Peter E. Andersen
    5. Ravi A. Chandra
    6. Ryan J. Li

  • Early, precise, and safe clinical evaluation of the pharmacodynamic effects of novel agents in the intact human tumor microenvironment

    Frontiers in Pharmacology
    1. Kenneth R. Gundle
    2. Karthik Rajasekaran
    3. Jeffrey Houlton
    4. Gary B. Deutsch
    5. Thomas J. Ow
    6. Robert G. Maki
    7. John Pang
    8. Cherie Ann O. Nathan
    9. Daniel Clayburgh
    10. Jason G. Newman
    11. Elyse Brinkmann
    12. Michael J. Wagner
    13. Seth M. Pollack
    14. Matthew J. Thompson
    15. Ryan J. Li
    16. Vikas Mehta
    17. Bradley A. Schiff
    18. Barry I. Wenig
    19. Paul L. Swiecicki
    20. Alice L. Tang
    21. Jessica L. Davis
    22. Annemieke van Zante
    23. Jessica A. Bertout
    24. Wendy Jenkins
    25. Atticus Turner
    26. Marc Grenley
    27. Connor Burns
    28. Jason P. Frazier
    29. Angela Merrell
    30. Kimberly H.W. Sottero
    31. Jonathan M.J. Derry
    32. Kate C. Gillespie
    33. Bre Mills
    34. Richard A. Klinghoffer

  • Masseteric Nerve Transfer for Facial Paralysis Secondary to Parotid Malignancy

    Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Medicine
    1. Bastien A. Valencia-Sanchez
    2. Ryan J. Li
    3. Mark K. Wax
    4. John Ng
    5. Peter E. Andersen
    6. Myriam Loyo

  • Patterns of virtual reality and Fitbit wearable activity device use after skull base surgery

    International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology
    1. Vivek C. Pandrangi
    2. Ana Araujo
    3. Michelle Buncke
    4. Brennan Olson
    5. Matthew Jorizzo
    6. Nasser Said-Al-Naief
    7. Olabisi Sanusi
    8. Jeremy Ciporen
    9. Maisie Shindo
    10. Joshua Schindler
    11. C. Alessandra Colaianni
    12. Daniel Clayburgh
    13. Peter Andersen
    14. Paul Flint
    15. Mark K. Wax
    16. Mathew Geltzeiler
    17. Ryan J. Li

  • Use of Perioperative Virtual Reality Experiences on Anxiety and Pain

    Laryngoscope
    1. Vivek C. Pandrangi
    2. Garren Low
    3. Allison Slijepcevic
    4. Suparna Shah
    5. Maisie Shindo
    6. Joshua Schindler
    7. Alessa Colaianni
    8. Daniel Clayburgh
    9. Peter Andersen
    10. Paul Flint
    11. Mark K. Wax
    12. Ryan J. Li

  • Outcomes of Cranioplasty Reconstructions

    Laryngoscope
    1. Allison A. Slijepcevic
    2. Brian Scott
    3. Gabriela L. Lilly
    4. Gavin Young
    5. Farshid Taghizadeh
    6. Ryan Li
    7. Daniel Petrisor
    8. Patrik Pipkorn
    9. Jason Rich
    10. Ryan Jackson
    11. Mark K. Wax
    12. Sidharth Puram

  • Practice patterns in transoral robotic surgery

    Journal of Robotic Surgery
    1. Andrew J. Holcomb
    2. Rachael Kammer
    3. Allison Holman
    4. Tessa Goldsmith
    5. Vasu Divi
    6. Heather M. Starmer
    7. Joseph Zenga
    8. Ryan Li
    9. Urjeet A. Patel
    10. Jeremy D. Richmon

  • Effect of Virtual Reality on Pain Management and Opioid Use among Hospitalized Patients after Head and Neck Surgery

    JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
    1. Vivek C. Pandrangi
    2. Suparna N. Shah
    3. Jennifer D. Bruening
    4. Mark K. Wax
    5. Daniel Clayburgh
    6. Peter E. Andersen
    7. Ryan J. Li

  • Follow-Up Phone Interviews and Attendance Motivation From A Free Head and Neck Cancer Screening

    Ear, Nose and Throat Journal
    1. Zachary D. Urdang
    2. David H. Rosales
    3. Qi Liang Chen
    4. Ryan J. Li
    5. Peter E. Andersen
    6. Neil D. Gross
    7. Daniel R. Clayburgh

  • Functional proteomics of patient derived head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells reveal novel applications of trametinib

    Cancer Biology and Therapy
    1. Myles Vigoda
    2. Chase Mathieson
    3. Nathaniel Evans
    4. Carolyn Hale
    5. Jennifer Jennings
    6. Olivia Lucero
    7. Sophia Jeng
    8. Daniel Bottomly
    9. Daniel Clayburgh
    10. Peter Andersen
    11. Ryan Li
    12. Daniel Petrisor
    13. Jeffrey W. Tyner
    14. Shannon McWeeney
    15. Molly Kulesz-Martin

  • Monitoring postoperative ambulation and sleep after head and neck surgery

    Head and Neck
    1. Vivek C. Pandrangi
    2. Matthew Jorizzo
    3. Suparna Shah
    4. Jennifer Bruening
    5. Mark K. Wax
    6. Daniel Clayburgh
    7. Peter Andersen
    8. Ryan J. Li

  • Practice patterns of virtual surgical planning

    American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
    1. Brett A. Miles
    2. Caitlin P. McMullen
    3. Larissa Sweeny
    4. Joseph Zenga
    5. Ryan Li
    6. Vasu Divi
    7. Ryan Jackson
    8. Urjeet A. Patel
    9. Jeremy D. Richmon

  • Management of the Acute Loss of a Free Flap to the Head and Neck—A Multi-institutional Review

    Laryngoscope
    1. Adam Bender-Heine
    2. Larissa Sweeny
    3. Joseph M. Curry
    4. Daniel Petrisor
    5. Gavin Young
    6. Jeffrey Hyzer
    7. Taylor Cave
    8. Ryan Li
    9. Steven Cannady
    10. Brett Miles
    11. Mark K. Wax

  • Predictors of survival outcomes in sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma

    International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology
    1. Nyssa Fox Farrell
    2. Jess C. Mace
    3. Kara Y. Detwiller
    4. Ryan Li
    5. Peter E. Andersen
    6. Timothy L. Smith
    7. Daniel R. Clayburgh
    8. Mathew Geltzeiler

  • The mutational landscape of early- and typical-onset oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

    Cancer
    1. Benjamin R. Campbell
    2. Zhishan Chen
    3. Daniel L. Faden
    4. Nishant Agrawal
    5. Ryan J. Li
    6. Glenn J. Hanna
    7. N. Gopalakrishna Iyer
    8. Arnoud Boot
    9. Steven G. Rozen
    10. Andre L. Vettore
    11. Binay Panda
    12. Neeraja M. Krishnan
    13. Curtis R. Pickering
    14. Jeffrey N. Myers
    15. Xingyi Guo
    16. Krystle A. Lang Kuhs

  • Approach to the Patient with Unknown Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

    Current treatment options in oncology
    1. Jennifer Moy
    2. Ryan Li

  • Association of Sarcopenia with Oncologic Outcomes of Primary Surgery or Definitive Radiotherapy among Patients with Localized Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

    JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
    1. Daniel Clayburgh
    2. Brennan Olson
    3. Jared Edwards
    4. Lucas Stone
    5. Angie Jiang
    6. Xinxia Zhu
    7. John Holland
    8. Ryan Li
    9. Peter Andersen
    10. Stephanie Krasnow
    11. Daniel L. Marks