Physicians

Dr. Karen Stierman came to Austin to practice Otolaryngology in July 2001. She received her residency training and medical education at the University of Texas at Galveston where she graduated with honors. During her career, Dr. Stierman has received many awards including being elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, being a member of the UTMB Dean's list, receiving the Joseph H. Stjepcevich Acedemic Scholarship, and being cited by the Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Award for Academic Achievement. She has also participated in research and published many papers in the field of Otolaryngology. she is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery and has numerous professional affiliations.
Dr. Stierman received her bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University in Electrical engineering with honors. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Stierman was employeed by Motorola in Austin as a semiconductor circuit design engineer.

Dr. Stierman enjoys caring for patients in Austin and surrounding communities. She is committed to providing the highest quality of care while treating diseases of the ears, nose and throat. She uses her technical background combined with her ability to relate well to patients to deliver personnel service and state of the art medical and surgical care. She welcomes patient involvement in their care.

Dr. Russell D. Briggs was born and raised in Winter Haven, Florida. As a youth, he played competitive tennis against the likes of Jim Courier and Andre Agassi. He attended Davidson College in North Carolina where he captured Southern Conference tennis titles in singles and doubles play and was named the player of the year for the conference in 1994. After graduating from Davidson with a combined degree in economics and philosophy and with Phi Beta Kappa honors, Dr. Briggs attended the University of Florida for his medical training. He graduated in the top 3 of his class in 1998 and was elected into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. While at the University of Florida, he participated in ground breaking ear research which earned him research honors upon graduation as well. He moved to Galveston, Texas, in 1998 and completed his one-year general surgery internship as well as a four-year otolaryngology residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch. While at UTMB-Galveston, he published mutiple peer-reviewed research papers in the ENT field and was a regular presenter of his research to his colleagues at national ENT conferences. He joined a private practice ENT group in his hometown of Winter Haven, Florida, upon graduation from his residency training and moved to Austin in 2006 where he has been practicing since that time. He is board-certified in otolaryngology and has been elected as a fellow in the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Briggs is an avid saltwater fly-fisherman with special interests in pursuing tarpon but also finds time to keep up his tennis game. He is married to Julie Ermis Briggs, a fifth generation Austinite, and has a daughter, Annabel, born in 2002.