Nahla Gomaa, MBBCH, MSc, MD. PhD, SFHEA, FAcaMEd

Area of Study / Keywords

Otolaryngology Medical Education Research in Otolaryngology Quality improvement Competency-Based Medical Education Governance Higher Education and Health Policy

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About

Cl. Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. 

Dr. Nahla Gomaa is a senior academic physician leader and Councillor in the Provincial Regulatory College of Physicians and Surgeons, with more than 25 years of experience in medical education, governance, curriculum reform, and quality assurance systems. Extensive experience in faculty-level educational leadership, faculty development and institutional policy development. Recognized for advancing innovative pedagogical models integrating foundational sciences, clinical competencies, and demonstrated capacity to lead interdisciplinary teams, support faculty development, while aligning academic programs with national and international standards 

Dr. Gomaa has been a Faculty at the Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Alberta since 2012. Since then, she has committed to clinical, classroom, multidisciplinary teaching, research, and administrative leadership roles. She is the Department of Surgery-appointed member on the Clinical Promotion Committee, in addition to her previous roles as the Director of Undergraduate Medical Education in ORL-HNS, Department of Surgery representative on strategic planning of Competency-Based Medical Education [CBME], ORL-HNS Competence Committee, Human Research Ethics Board [HREB], Faculty Development Committee [FDC], Trainees Access Committee [TRAC], and CaRMS interview Committee. She has also regularly been an OSCE examiner, MMI panellist, STIR program supervisor, and Alberta Innovates grant reviewer. Her academic interests feature Quality Improvement in Medical Education, Feedback & assessment in medical education, innovative educational tools including simulation, blended courses, and using different technology in medical education. 

Her collaborative work with Peter S. Allen Research Centre, Neuroscience Institute and Surgical Simulation Research Lab [SSRL] at the University of Alberta produced around 150 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, in addition to international presentations and conference organizing committees. Her clinical research in the domains of hearing, balance, and inner ear has been funded by several grants, and she herself has been a reviewer and grant adjudicator. She is an Associate Editor on Frontiers Education and the International Journal of Team-Based and Active Learning. She has supervised innumerable students' projects as a scholarship on quality improvement in the health care system and CanMEDS roles. Quality Improvement in clinical as well as educational settings of Competency-based medical education [CBME]. She has mentored several multi-disciplinary students and residents in these domains. 

Outside the University of Alberta, she is a Physician Councillor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, a Fellow and Assessor of Fellowship at the Academy of Medical Educators, U.K., a Senior Fellow in Advanced Higher Education (SFHEA). Additionally, being featured in American Scientist as a Distinguished Speaker 2026-2027; she is a Sigma Xi [a Scientific Research Honour Society] member and Lead for the University of Alberta Chapter. 

Her fellowship was at the University of Iowa, U.S. In addition, she earned a Quality Improvement in Education training through a European Commission grant in the United Kingdom [UK], Certificate of Patient Safety Quality Management [PSQM] in health care; University of Calgary; 2019, Higher Education Teaching Certificate, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, Boston, MA, US; 2023, Professional Director Certificate in Governance 2026. 

 

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Research

Most Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications: 

• Kamran H, Jimoh Z, Issa T, Gomaa NA. Molecular Biomarkers in Meniere's Disease: A Scoping Review of Current Evidence. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2026 Aug 17. doi: 10.1002/ohn.70401. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42606302. 
• Dalmeida D, Gomaa N, Prabhakar E. Recommendations for Training Faculty in Generative AI Use: Crafting Higher-Order Application Exercises in Team-Based Learning. Clin Teach. 2026 Oct;23(5):e70489. doi: 10.1111/tct.70489. PMID: 42530226; PMCID: PMC13422018.
• Hafeez A., Cavalcanti K., Robinson J, Gomaa N.A: Congenital Syphilis and its Impact on Neonatal Hearing Loss: Scoping review of hearing loss attributed to congenital syphilis. PLoS ONE (2024): 19(4): e0302452. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302452 
• Jimoh Z, Marouf A, Zenke J, Leung AWS, and Gomaa N.A.: Functional Brain Regions Linked to Tinnitus Pathology and Compensation During Task Performance: A Systematic Review. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 2022: 1-15 PMID: 37522290. 
• Tawfik HE, Cascio MA, and Gomaa N.A.: Recommendations for implementing value-based practice in medicine. Clin Teach;19(3):192-196, 2022. 
• Gomaa NA, Tawfik HE. A 3-step practical method for educators to teach Social Accountability in Medical Education (Handout). Proceedings of the Innovation in Medical Education [IME] Conference, Keck Medical School, USC. 2022. https://sites.usc.edu/imeconference/files/2022/03/IME-2022-Conference-Proceedings-3-5-22- sm.pdf 
• Zenke J., Samiha Rahman S., Qi Guo Q., Leung A. W. S., Gomaa N (2021): Central Processing in Tinnitus: fMRI Study Outlining Patterns of Activation Using an Auditory Discrimination Task in Normal Versus Tinnitus Patients. Otol & Neurotol. Vol. 42, No. 8: e1170-1180. DOI: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000003194 
• Gomaa N.; Jimoh Z, Campbell S, Zenke J., Szczepek A (2021): Biomarkers for Inner Ear Disorders: A Scoping Review on the Role of Biomarkers in Hearing and Balance Disorders. Diagnostics, 11, 42: 11-42. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11010042
• Davila-Cervantes A., Foulds J.L., Gomaa N., Rashid M. (2020): Experiences of Faculty Members Giving Corrective Feedback to Medical Trainees in a Clinical Setting. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. [JCEHP]: 41 (1): 24-30. www.jcehp.org . DOI: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000322 
• Openo J., Laverty C., Kolomitro K., Borin P., Goff L, Stranach M., & Gomaa N. (2017). Bridging the divide: Leveraging the scholarship of teaching and learning for quality enhancement. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8, (2) 6. 

Invited letters and writings: 

• 2026: Higher Education between Autonomy, Quality and Fatigue. Encyclopedia of Higher Education/ Chapter. In Review 
• 2025: Editorial: Interdisciplinary or interprofessional learning as catalyst of change in healthcare and Higher education. Gomaa N, Quinn D, Wang A. 
• 2023, 2025: Dear Appy [Blogging]: Team-Based Collaborative. Higher Education Newsletter. 
• 2024: Alberta Health Services blogging. 
• 2011: Provincial STE Reports: Middle Ear Implants for the Treatment of Hearing Loss. 

Recently Accepted Abstracts and Presentations:

• Gomaa N: Artificial Intelligence in Otolaryngology training. Panel Discussion. International Federation of Oto-Rhino-laryngological Societies (IFOS) Conference, XXIII. World Congress, Fall 2026
• Gomaa N: From the Classroom to the Operating Room: Postgraduate Education for Sustainable ORL-HNS Surgery. Panel Discussion. International Federation of Oto-Rhino-laryngological Societies (IFOS) Conference. XXIII. World Congress, Fall 2026.
• Vinh Nguyen, Gomaa N: Can Brain Imaging Identify Tinnitus Subtypes that clinical tests miss? A Machine Learning Study. Young IFOS presentation. International Federation of Oto-Rhino-laryngological Societies (IFOS) Conference. XXIII. World Congress, Fall 2026
• Prabhakar E, Dalmeida D, Gomaa N., 2026: Building Competence Together: Implementing TBL in CBME Curricula". TBL Annual Conference. Vancouver, B.C.
• Prabhakar E, Dalmeida D, Gomaa, N, 2025: AI-Crafted Application Exercises for Higher-Order Thinking in Team-based Learning. TBL Annual Conference, 2025.
• Gomaa N, Tawfik HE. TBL in Faculty Development: Is it a developmental strategy? TBLC 2024 Annual Conference. Collin College, McKinney, Texas (Workshop)
• Gomaa N., Tawfik H. Optimize your interprofessional retreats. All Together for Better Health, 2023 [An international conference]. University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
• Gomaa N., Tawfik H: Possible Role of interprofessional multisource rating in learners’ competency assessment. All Together for a Better Health, 2023. University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
• Tawfik H., Gomaa N: Social accountability is an underrated competency in IPE / IPP. All Together for a Better Health, 2023. Pearls of wisdom. University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
• Tawfik H., Gomaa N: Feedback in the interprofessional world. All Together for a Better Health, 2023 [An international conference]. Pearls of wisdom. University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar. 
• Gomaa N.,Tawfik H: A new vision of patient centered care through an interprofessional lens. [Pre-conference workshop]. Conference: All Together for a Better Health, 2023 University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
• Gomaa N, Tawfik HE. A New Vision of Patients-Centered Care Through an Interprofessional Lens. 11th International Conference on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Doha, Qatar. 2023. (Workshop).
• Gomaa N; Tawfik H: Reviving Social Accountability in Medical Education Decision on JCEHP-22-0266 - [EMID:cc05222796109c48]
• Gomaa N; Tawfik H.: A 3-step practical method for educators to teach social accountability in medical education. Innovations in Medical Education Conference (2022). LA, U.S.A. Presented by: Nahla Gomaa. 
• Gomaa N; Tawfik H: Values-Based Practice in Medical Education: Practical Considerations. Innovations in Medical Education Conference (2020). LA, U.S.A. [Workshop Presentation]

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Teaching

The fundamentals of my teaching philosophy are providing equal opportunities for success to my students as future physicians and colleagues, fulfilling their main roles of being advocates for patients. Therefore, a lot of my teaching strategies may be dynamic, guided by my students' needs, keeping in mind enriching their health and patient advocacy roles.

As a clinician educator, a mentor, quality improvement specialist, and an editor I try to balance my teaching between providing knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the best practice of my learners as future physicians, and maintaining these three areas of growth and development till the learners are acquainted with the momentum to self-maintain them. Additionally, Value-based practice is a central component of my teaching. 

My educational skills were shaped early enough by thriving into the quality enhancement of medical education trends. In addition, I took the opportunity of the add-on skills that I enjoyed learning; such as tools for quality improvement in health care practices, leadership skills, along with the basic CanMED concepts to enrich clinical teaching. Resilience and the ability to set priorities according to benchmarks in a dynamic world that is changing by the day make up a supportive toolkit for the educational and mentorship processes. These tools are enhanced with the students' feedback and reflections. In that sense, the educational process is a cycle of dynamic evolution and adaptation.

 

A senior status at the Academy of Medical Educators. 

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2024-10-15 to 2024-10-15

This international award is offered to Faculty and academics who prove consistency and strive to make spectacular transformations and visible improvements in the status quo of leadership in senior positions.

Deborah Dalmeida, Nahla Gomaa, Elizabeth Prabhakar

The Clinical Teacher. 2026 October; 10.1111/tct.70489

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Aleena Amjad Hafeeez, Karina Cavalcanti Bezerra, Zaharadeen Jimoh, Francesca B. Seal, Joan L. Robinson, Nahla A. Gomaa

PLOS ONE. 2024 April; 10.1371/journal.pone.0302452

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Zaharadeen Jimoh, Azmi Marouf, Julianna Zenke, Ada W.S. Leung, Nahla A. Gomaa

Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. 2023 December; 10.1002/ohn.459

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Julianna K. Zenke, Samiha Rahman, Qi Guo, Ada W. S. Leung, Nahla A. Gomaa

Otology & Neurotology. 2021 September; 10.1097/mao.0000000000003194

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Julianna K. Zenke, Samiha Rahman, Qi Guo, Ada W. S. Leung, Nahla A. Gomaa

Otology & Neurotology . 2021 May; 42 (8):E1170-E1180 DOI: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000003194

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Nahla Gomaa *, Zaharadeen Jimoh, Sandra Campbell, Julianna Zenke, Agnieszka J. Szczepek *

Diagnostics MDPI. 2021 January; Accepted 24/ 12/ 2020 (11; 42):1-19 10.3390/polym13010063

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Andrea Davila-Cervantes, Jessica L. Foulds, Nahla A. Gomaa, Marghalara Rashid

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. 2021 January; 10.1097/ceh.0000000000000322

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MPDI Diagnostics . 2020 December; https://org/10.3390/polym13010063

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Davila-Cervantes, Andrea MD, MEd; Foulds, Jessica L. MD, FRCPC; Gomaa, Nahla A. MBBCH, MSc, MD, PhD; Rashid, Marghalara PhD

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions [JCEHP]. 2020 December; Published ahead of print [TBD] https://doi.org/10.1097/ceh.0000000000000322

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ournal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions [JCEHP]. 2020 December; https://doi.org/10.1097/ceh.0000000000000322

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Nahla A. Gomaa, Zaharadeen Jimoh, Sandra Campbell, Julianna K. Zenke, Agnieszka J. Szczepek

Diagnostics. 2020 December; 10.3390/diagnostics11010042

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Innovation in Medical Education conference LA, CA, USA. 2020 February;

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Innovation in Medical Education Conference [IMEE]. . 2019 January;

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Festival of Teaching & Learning University of Alberta. 2017 January;

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The 69th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Winnipeg, MB. 2015 January;

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The 30th Politzer Society Meeting/ 1st world Congress of Otology, Japan.. 2015 January;

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Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. 2013 September; 10.1177/0194599813496044a241

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Clinical Medicine Insights for Ear, Nose and Throat: 6, 17-20. 2013 January;

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Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. 2013 January; 10.1186/1916-0216-42-49

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Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-faciale. 2012 April;

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Ear and Hearing. 2003 December; 10.1097/01.aud.0000100208.26628.2d

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