The Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University School of Medicine has a 116-year history of leadership in the treatment of disorders of the ear, nose and throat in both adults and children. It has established a reputation of excellence in clinical care, and has developed strong foundations in basic science and clinical research and teaching. The former Center Institute for the Deaf research faculty and programs in hearing and deafness in the Harold W. Siebens Hearing Research Center, which includes the Fay and Carl Simons Center for Biology of Hearing and Deafness and the Center for Childhood Deafness and Adult Aural Rehabilitation, merged with Washington University School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology in 2003 and are now named CID at Washington University School of Medicine. They continue to advance CID's mission to help people with hearing loss under the name CID at Washington University School of Medicine. Twenty full time scientists and clinician scientists contributed to what is now one of the largest Otolaryngology Research departments in the United States with 25 active research programs, creating an international powerhouse in the field of hearing and deafness. Clinical care is provided by 21 board-certified physicians (including six women), most of whom are recognized in their field of specialization. We also have 16 clinical and research audiologists and two speech pathologists.
Our patients are treated at our three main clinical practice sites located at the Center for Advanced Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hospital and West County Office location which offer a full range of Otolaryngology services.
Our research laboratories are house in the McMillan Building and the CID Research Building. The Department's Research Center for Auditory and Vestibular Studies is housed at the CID Research Building and provides resources and core facilities for Washington University investigators. This facility is comprised of four research cores: Molecular and Digital Imaging Core, Histology Core, Sensory Functional Testing Core and Human Subjects Core.
We are equally proud of our outstanding resident education program, and we are committed to the learning experience of our resident to provide excellent patient care. We are home to 29 residents each year. We offer two tracks for our residents, a 5-year Clinical track which includes three months of research time and a 7-year Research track which includes two years of protected research training supported by an NIH T32 training grant. We strive to enhance professionalism, medical ethics and leadership for all of our graduates.
The Department of Otolaryngology provides academic oversight of graduate degrees in the hearing sciences through its Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences offering a PhD. degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences, and AuD degree in Audiology, and a M.S. degree in Deaf Education. These programs, formerly in the Central Institute for the Deaf moved to Washington University in 2003. Our relationship with CID, which continues to operate a school for the deaf, continues to be strong. CID also provides faculty and practicum sites for the programs in deaf education and audiology and collaborates on applied research studies involving children with hearing loss. Additionally, the Spencer T. Olin Hearing Clinic, on the CID campus, is in our Division of Adult Audiology.
With the extraordinarily talented group of faculty in the Department of Otolaryngology who provide superb care of our patients, and expand the boundaries of knowledge in our discipline, we are resolute in our pursuit of excellence in clinical care, teaching and research.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Chole, MD, PhD
Lindburg Professor and Head