Washington University Departments of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and Neuroscience co-hosted a conference featuring the latest advances in auditory research, November 18-19. The event was held at both the Eric P. Newman Education Center and the Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Building on the medical school campus.
The conference featured presentations by global leaders in hearing loss, genetics and gene therapy, cortical mechanisms of hearing, cytomegalovirus ototoxicity, and cognitive impairment. Invited guest speakers included:
- Karen Avraham, PhD, the Drs. Sarah and Felix Dumont Chair for Research of Hearing Disorders at Tel Aviv University
- Frank Lin, MD, PhD, Director, Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Tobias Moser, MD, Professor of Auditory Neuroscience, University Medical Center Göttingen
Attendees were impressed with both the breadth and depth of current research in the field of hearing science.
“The presentations covered the expanse of auditory research, and yet were accessible to all participants,” said WashU Associate Professor of Otolaryngology Rosalie Uchanski, PhD. “I learned so much, including some amazing techniques in imaging of the cochlea and fascinating new developments in identifying genetic causes of hearing loss.”
Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Kate McClannahan, PhD, also appreciated the breadth of the presentations.
“All the talks were excellent,” she said. “I really enjoyed Shihab Shamma’s highlighting of some groundbreaking but perhaps less well-known WashU scientists!”
Conference co-organizer and Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Jinkyung Kim, PhD, indicated that one of the goals of the organizing committee was to showcase the true depth of current auditory research.
“The conference was a huge success,” she said. “It spanned broad areas in the field, from genes to policy and from cochlea to cortex – I thought it was an absolute blast!”
Department of Otolaryngology contributions
The research efforts of WashU Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology were well represented at the conference through the following presentations:
Congenital Cytomegalovirus and Antiviral Immunity in the Developing Mouse Cochlea
Song Zhe Li, Alex Larson, Daniel Romano, Shelby Payne, William Britt, and Keiko Hirose
In Vivo Tracking of Ototoxic Drug Transport into the Cochlea
Jinkyung Kim and Anthony Ricci
Self- and Informant-Reported Hearing Difficulties in Adults With Mild Dementia
Kate McClannahan, Maggie Zhang, Jonathan Peelle and Mitch Sommers
Sex Dependent Effects of AMPA Receptor Composition on Synaptopathy and Cochlear Function
Maolei Xiao, Indra Pal, Ning Hu, Song-Zhe Li, Keiko Hirose, Steven Green, Juan Goutman, Maria Rubio, and Mark Rutherford
From Riverside to Bedside: Zebrafish Insights Into Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss
David S. Lee , Angela Schrader , Jiaoxia Zou , Wee Han Ang , Mark E. Warchol, and Lavinia Sheets
Electrocochleography-Guided Insights in Cochlear Implants: Mapping Place Coding and Intensity-Driven Tonotopic Changes
Amit Walia and Craig Buchman
Cytoskeletal Response to Ototoxic Injury in the Vestibular Maculae: Implications for Sensory Regeneration
Mark Warchol