A board member for the Central Institute for the Deaf, James Seeser, PhD, is a champion, volunteer and donor supporting the Department of Otolaryngology and the Newborn Hearing Screening Program in Missouri and at the national level. Where does your passion for supporting diagnosis and treatments for hearing loss come from? I am a CODA […]
The Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis plans to start recruiting patients this month for three important clinical trials. Clinical Utility of Residual Hearing in the Cochlear Implant Ear Principal Investigators: Amanda Ortmann, PhD, and Oliver Adunka, MD Project summary and aims: It is estimated that only five percent of qualified adult […]
Clinical Nurse Coordinator Diane Athmer, RN, retired in August after nearly 20 years with the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University School of Medicine. “Diane was a highly valued nurse coordinator with our head and neck cancer division,” says Stacia Jansen, RN, clinical operations manager for the Department of Otolaryngology. “Her commitment to patient care […]
Hearing loss is the third most common health condition for older adults in the US, and if untreated, may lead to social isolation, depression, cognitive decline, and fear of being home alone. Sadly, over 48% of seniors who purchase hearing aids cannot adjust to them well enough to use them daily and 31% report never […]
As they approach the end of their first rotations as residents in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University, we checked in to see how things were going with our new interns. Their responses indicate a strong appreciation for the depth of training and collegial support they have encountered. Amrita Hari-Raj, MD Rotation: St. Louis […]
Pawina Jiramongkolchai, MD, MSCI, is a chief resident and surgeon-scientist in the Department of Otolaryngology. As she begins her final year of training at Washington University, she reflects on her work and reveals her outside interests. How long have you been a resident here and what attracted you to WashU’s program? I am in the […]
Sophie Gerndt, MD, is a research assistant supporting head and neck cancer research efforts in the lab of Jose Zevallos, MD. What does your work in the Zevallos lab entail? I am a physician who graduated from medical school in Juarez City, Mexico. For the past year and a half I have been working as […]
Kenneth H. Lee, MD, PhD, is the John W. & Rhonda K. Pate Professor of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Lee specializes in pediatric otolaryngology and serves as director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program at UT Southwestern, director of Pediatric Otolaryngology, UT Southwestern Pediatric Group Plan, and chief of surgery […]
Imagine the feeling of sandpaper dragging across your eyes every time you blink and the inability to produce tears to relieve the pain. This is the suffering that patients with a severe dry eye condition called xerophthalmia often endure. The constant irritation and resultant tissue damage can lead to blindness – unless they’ve found a […]
Surgeon-scientists and researchers in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University have just been awarded $1.7 million in grants to improve understanding and treatment of head and neck cancer. The grants will fund research to: explore the de-intensification of treatments for HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer; identify the genomics of high risk HPV-associated and other cancers; understand […]