Dr. Mark Varvares specializes in head and neck ablative and reconstructive surgery. A 1986 graduate of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Varvares completed his residency in otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School in 1991 and went on to complete clinical fellowships in both Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear. He was faculty at Mass Eye and Ear for 9 years before becoming the Chairperson of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in 2003 a position he held for 12 years. He joined the full-time faculty of Mass. Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School again in 2015. As Associate Chair of Administration, he oversees clinical and research program development in the Department of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Varvares' clinical interests include squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, free flap reconstruction of head and neck defects, skull base surgery, surgery of the parotid, thyroid and parathyroid glands, surgery of the larynx and cancer of the nose and paranasal sinuses. He also conducts a productive research program in head and neck oncology, studying how surgical pathology of head and neck tumors impact survival. Other research interests include a variety of topics in head and neck reconstruction, the role of oncolytic adenoviruses as a possible therapeutic modality to treat head and neck cancer and the role of music therapy as an intervention in cancer management.