A New Chapter for the UNC ENT Residency Program
Meet Program Director Dr. Alessa Colaianni, MD, MPhil and Assistant Program Director Dr. Virginia Drake, MD.
The UNC Otolaryngology residency program is stepping into a new era of leadership. Dr. C. Alessandra Colaianni, a head and neck surgical oncologist who also teaches in the Department of Social Medicine, has taken on the role of Residency Program Director. She is joined by Dr. Virginia Drake, who steps in as Assistant Program Director. Together, they share a vision built on strong surgical training, thoughtful mentorship, and a genuine investment in the people who make the program what it is.
For Dr. Colaianni, otolaryngology has always been about more than technical skills. She was first drawn to the field by its anatomy and the intricacy of its dissections, but what keeps her passionate is how closely the work connects to what makes us human. “We take care of problems that affect how people speak, eat, breathe, hear, and recognize themselves,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine more meaningful work.”
That same sense of purpose shaped her decision to come to UNC and to stay. She points to “a great clinical environment, a public institution with a real mission, and room to build things,” and credits the people around her for keeping her here.
Her love of residency education is what drew her to the Program Director role. “Residency is such an extraordinary period of transformation,” she said, describing the experience of watching people arrive as physicians taking their first steps and, over five years, become independent surgeons. Helping shape the environment in which that happens, she said, felt like a rare privilege.
Rather than arriving with all the answers, Dr. Colaianni plans to ask good questions, listen carefully to residents and faculty, and be intentional about what the program preserves and what it can improve. Her teaching style, she says, is “Socratic, informal, and very invested,” rooted in helping trainees grow comfortable thinking their way through uncertainty.
Her priorities center on excellent surgical training as the foundation, followed by progressive autonomy, strong didactic and simulation teaching, and meaningful mentorship. Above all, she wants to support residents by knowing them: understanding where each person is, where they want to go, and what they need to get there, while remembering that “residency is an important part of a life, not the entirety of one.”
When she talks about what sets the program apart, Dr. Colaianni is quick to credit the exceptional breadth of the training, but she believes it is the residents who truly distinguish UNC. “They’re talented, funny, hardworking, and deeply invested in one another,” she said. “That matters enormously when you’re choosing where to spend five very formative years.”
That conviction shapes the advice she offers applicants. “Pay attention to how you feel around the residents,” she said.
“You’re choosing the people who will teach you how to be a surgeon at three in the morning. Find people you respect and can imagine becoming.”
Dr. Virginia Drake brings a complementary focus to the Assistant Program Director role. She is looking forward to working closely with Dr. Colaianni and supporting the operation, growth, and improvement of the UNC Otolaryngology residency program. From the design and delivery of didactics to resident mentorship, recruitment, and credentialing.
Her motivation is deeply personal. “When I was a resident, the faculty involved in program leadership and education were central to my development,” she said. “It is an honor to pay it forward and contribute to furthering the UNC Otolaryngology educational experience.”
For Dr. V. Drake, mentorship is a cornerstone of that work, and she sees it as far more than a formal setting for advice. “It is sponsorship and furthering skills both in and out of the operating room,” she said, emphasizing that an open line of communication is essential, and that real mentorship invests in both personal and professional growth.
She describes the UNC Otolaryngology resident experience as phenomenal, praising residents who are well-trained surgeons and compassionate physicians with depth of training across all the otolaryngology subspecialties. Most importantly, she notes, they support one another and build lasting friendships.
Dr. V. Drake encourages anyone considering the field to take a look at UNC, while being candid about what the training asks of them.
“In residency, the days are long, but the years are short, It is hard work, and our goal is to support you through the journey.”
Together, Dr. Colaianni and Dr. V. Drake bring experience and a shared commitment to the residents. As they take on their new roles, their message to those in the program is a shared one: this is your program, too, and there is still a great deal to build together.