The 44th annual Ogura Lectureship and 39th annual Resident Research Day were held June 12 to a capacity crowd at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.
The event, hosted annually by the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at WashU Medicine, celebrates progress in research and patient care broadly in the field of otolaryngology. This year’s guest speaker was Cliff A. Megerian, MD, Jane and Henry Meyer chief executive officer of University Hospitals and distinguished chair of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Megerian provided two presentations as part of the lectureship:
- My Journey with Endolymphatic Hydrops
- What We Give Next: Leadership, Humanity and the Prologue to Medicine’s Future
Megerian’s research on Ménière’s disease and endolymphatic hydrops has focused on the underlying cellular, structural, and physiological mechanisms driving inner-ear deterioration. He suggested current management strategies primarily target episodic vertigo but fail to address progressive cochlear dysfunction. His research shows these losses may be driven by excitotoxic mechanisms within the hydropic inner ear, leading to measurable damage and reduced innervation.
Resident Research showcases trainees accomplishments
Following the main lecture, graduating chief residents each provided a capstone presentation to review research experience and other highlights of their residency training.
Next up on the agenda were research presentations by junior and senior residents and graduate and medical students. Topics covered a variety of disciplines across the spectrum of basic, clinical and outcomes research, including obstructive sleep apnea, hearing loss, head and neck cancer and fungal sinusitis. View the full agenda here »
Winners of the annual Paparella Research Awards for basic and clinical science were announced by Vice-chair for Research Jay Piccirillo, MD, during the graduation celebration that evening.
First place in the basic science category was awarded to Prithwijit Roychowdhury, MD, for his presentation, Live Imaging Excitotoxic Injury of Auditory Nerves. Second place was awarded to Daniel Romano, MD, for his study, Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Heterogeneity and Cell-Cell Interactions of Cholesteatoma Keratinocytes.
In the clinical research category, the winner was Jordan Varghese, MD, for his study, Comparing Low-Frequency Threshold Functions of Intracochlear Electrocochleography and Perioperative Pure Tone Audiometry. Matthew Wu, MD, claimed the second place award for his evaluation of, Autologous vs Cadaveric Rib Cartilage Grafting in Rhinoplasty: A Target Trial Emulation.