Dr. James Alan Cowthran

Meet Dr. James Alan Cowthran, a native of Houston, Texas, who has a devoted passion for serving his community and changing lives through medicine. His academic journey to become a physician first began at Baylor University, where he graduated Cum Laude to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology. Dr. Cowthran continued his education by earning his medical degree from the McGovern Medical School at University of Texas Health Science Center in 2016. While attending, he was first introduced to Otolaryngology, and discovered the opportunity to enrich the quality of life for all patients suffering with disorders of the head and neck. As a medical student, he became the recipient of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Diversity Endowment Grant, which helped minority students obtain relevant exposure and experience in specific medical subspecialties. After completing medical school, Dr. Cowthran was the first and only African American in his class to matriculate into the surgical subspeciality residency training at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. His love for Otolaryngology also led him to conduct formal research at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, which was later presented at the internationally recognized Rhinoworld Conference. His profound research findings were presented to some of the most respected and renowned otolaryngologists worldwide and was published in multiple articles related to the nose and paranasal sinuses. More recently, Dr. Cowthran has focused his clinical interest in treating migraines and chronic headaches as they pertain to the nose and sinuses. Under the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Kevin Smith, he has received exclusive training to become the nation’s first Migraine Specialist at the Smith Sinus Migraine Institute in Houston, Texas. While Dr. Cowthran enjoys caring for patients, in his spare time, he also enjoys spending time with family, traveling, playing golf and volunteering for many charitable organizations.