Andrew Birkeland

About

Andrew C. Birkeland, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at UC Davis Health. His clinical expertise encompasses the treatment of all benign and malignant head and neck tumors, including skin cancers, mucosal cancers, endocrine tumors, salivary gland disease, and skull base tumors. He has specialized training and particular interest in microvascular reconstructive surgery and transoral robotic surgery. Dr. Birkeland's approach emphasizes building strong, collaborative relationships with his patients, ensuring they receive the most appropriate and up-to-date care tailored to their individual needs. His research focuses on translating novel clinical and basic research findings directly into patient care. He utilizes advanced techniques such as next-generation sequencing, immune profiling, biomarker identification, and animal models to understand the causes of and develop treatments for head and neck cancers. His overarching goal is to advance precision medicine by providing personalized, optimized treatments for each patient with head and neck cancer.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science
• Pathology
• Internal medicine
• Surgery
• Radiology
• Biomedical engineering
• Physics
• Oncology

Selected publications

• NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Head and Neck Cancers, Version 1.2022

  Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network · 2022 · 522 citations

  The NCCN Guidelines for Head and Neck Cancers address tumors arising in the oral cavity (including mucosal lip), pharynx, larynx, and paranasal sinuses. Occult primary cancer, salivary gland cancer, and mucosal melanoma (MM) are also addressed. The specific site of disease, stage, and pathologic findings guide treatment (eg, the appropriate surgical procedure, radiation targets, dose and fractionation of radiation, indications for systemic therapy). The NCCN Head and Neck Cancers Panel meets at…

  DOI

• NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Head and Neck Cancers, Version 2.2025

  Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network · 2025-02-01 · 121 citations

  article

  The NCCN Guidelines for Head and Neck Cancers address tumors arising in the oral cavity (including mucosal lip), pharynx, larynx, and paranasal sinuses, as well as occult primary cancer, salivary gland cancer, and mucosal melanoma (MM). The specific site of disease, stage, and pathologic findings guide treatment (eg, the appropriate surgical procedure, radiation targets, dose and fractionation of radiation, indications for systemic therapy). The NCCN Head and Neck Cancers Panel meets at least an…

  PublisherDOI

• Intraoperative Margin Assessment in Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Using Label-Free Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging and Machine Learning

  IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering · 2020 · 88 citations

  OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the diagnostic ability of label-free, point-scanning, fiber-based Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIm) as a means of intraoperative guidance during oral and oropharyngeal cancer removal surgery. METHODS: FLIm point-measurements acquired from 53 patients (n = 67893 pre-resection in vivo, n = 89695 post-resection ex vivo) undergoing oral or oropharyngeal cancer removal surgery were used for analysis. Discrimination of healthy tissue and cancer was investigated using vario…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Impact of COVID‐19 on Head and Neck Cancer Treatment: Before and During the Pandemic

  OTO Open · 2021 · 49 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVES: To describe the impact that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had on the presentation of patients with head and neck cancer in a single tertiary care center. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Academic institution. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of patients with newly diagnosed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who presented as new patients between September 10, 2019, and September 11, 2020. Patients presenting during the 6 mon…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Intraoperative delineation of p16+ oropharyngeal carcinoma of unknown primary origin with fluorescence lifetime imaging: Preliminary report

  Head & Neck · 2022 · 27 citations

  BACKGROUND: This study evaluated whether fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm), coupled with standard diagnostic workups, could enhance primary lesion detection in patients with p16+ head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of the unknown primary (HNSCCUP). METHODS: FLIm was integrated into transoral robotic surgery to acquire optical data on six HNSCCUP patients' oropharyngeal tissues. An additional 55-patient FLIm dataset, comprising conventional primary tumors, trained a machine learning classifi…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging/Spectroscopy System For Robotic Cancer Surgery Guidance

  NIH · $4.6M · 2014–2027

• UC Davis Paul Calabresi K12 Clinical Oncology Research Career Development Program

  NIH · $9.7M · 2011–2027

Frequent coauthors

• J. Chad Brenner

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  101 shared

• Matthew E. Spector

  66 shared

• Jan L. Breslow

  Rockefeller University

  65 shared

• Ralph Burkhardt

  University Hospital Regensburg

  65 shared

• Itsik Pe’er

  64 shared

• Jeffrey M. Friedman

  Rockefeller University

  64 shared

• Martha Noel

  Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York

  64 shared

• Mark J. Daly

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  64 shared

Labs

• Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck SurgeryPI

Education

• M.D., Medicine

  Weill Cornell Medicine

  2012

• B.A., Molecular and Cellular Biology

  University of California, Berkeley

  2004

Awards & honors

• Faculty Teaching Award, UC Davis, 2021
• Fellow Teacher of the Year, Stanford University, 2019
• Merle Lawrence, Ph.D. Research Award, University of Michigan…
• John L. Kemink, M.D., Clinical Research Award, University of…
• Arthur Palmer Prize for Efficiency in Otorhinolaryngology, W…

Similar researchers at University of California, Davis

• Peter C. Belafskyh-50
• Arnaud F. Bewleyh-23
• Rodney C. Diazh-21