WashU ENT specialists attend Combined Sections Meeting

photo of residents at meeting

Ear, nose and throat specialists assembled in San Diego, California January 26-28 for the Triological Society’s annual Combined Sections Meeting. The meeting is one of several annual events sponsored by the society to encourage and assist otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons and other healthcare professionals develop, maintain, and enhance their knowledge and skills in pursuit of […]

Clinician-scientist trainees get a name change

The 2023 cohort of clinician-scientist trainees in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University will have a new name. Formerly known as T32 residents, they will now carry the designation – R25. The change reflects a new funding mechanism adopted by the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) that will provide a […]

Piccirillo leads clinical trial for HHT-epistaxis

Headshot of Dr. Piccirillo with WashU shield

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia or HHT is a rare bleeding disorder caused by arteriovenous malformations that result in telangiectasias, small widened or broken vessels near the surface of the skin that are often accompanied by bleeding. Although HHT can affect any organ or area of the body, epistaxis or nosebleed is the most common recurring symptom, […]

Peng brings immunotherapy experience to head and neck cancer research

photo of Peng lab staff

Guangyong Peng, MD, PhD, has joined the Division of Head and Neck Cancer, bringing with him highly sought expertise in the field of immunotherapy and suppressive tumor microenvironments. Peng’s research adds to an aggressive expansion of cancer research efforts in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis. Head and Neck Division Chief […]

Hearing researchers present latest findings at ARO MidWinter Meeting

Photo of Alexander Larson at ARO poster presentation

The Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) held its 46th Annual MidWinter Meeting Feb. 11-15 in Orlando, FL. The meeting is the largest assembly of hearing and balance researchers in the world and features presentations of basic, applied and clinical science. Hearing scientists from Washington University in St. Louis have for decades maintained a strong […]

Clinical trial seeks to expand criteria for cochlear implants in children

photo of child undergoing word recognition test

Director of Washington University’s Cochlear Implant Program Jill Firszt, PhD, is no stranger to studying single-sided deafness and asymmetric hearing loss in adults. Her previous work demonstrated the benefits of cochlear implants in these patients and helped provide critical data needed to promote the adoption of expanded implant criteria by the FDA. Firszt has now […]

Understanding individual cells to overcome treatment challenges in head and neck cancer

photo of researcher at bench

Sid Puram, MD, PhD, thinks that optimizing personalized cancer treatment requires better knowledge about tumor heterogeneity.  Understanding individual tumor cells will promote better and discrete treatment options for head and neck cancer patients. Head and neck tumors are composed of a variety of cells that have different functions, much like bees in a hive. Some […]

Proteomics collaboration enhances hearing science

Rutherford at microscope

A new collaboration between Washington University hearing scientists and colleagues at Northwestern University hopes to shed new light on both the mechanisms of hearing loss and the optimization of cochlear implant outcomes. The collaboration is an integral part of an NIH grant awarded to WashU Associate Professor of Otolaryngology Mark Rutherford, PhD, and Jeffrey Savas, […]

Clinical trial to restore smell in long COVID patients

Washington University ENT surgeons have launched a clinical trial to help patients who have lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19. The study, led by Department of Otolaryngology rhinologist Nyssa Farrell, MD, hopes to help patients recover olfactory function with injections of a local anesthetic. The study has reached its recruitment goal of 20 […]

Renowned neurotologist Lenarz offers ENT lectureship

photo of WashU neurotologists

Thomas Lenarz, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the department of Otolaryngology at Hannover Medical School (Germany) provided a stimulating Senturia Lecture to the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University School of Medicine on Oct. 26. His talk, “Hearing4All: functional restoration of hearing using auditory devices,” highlighted the broad advances in medicine and technology that […]