Research Ear, Hearing and Vestibular

Otolaryngology researchers present latest science at ARO meeting

Faculty, research staff, and one resident presented their latest science at the 2020 Midwinter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO). This annual meeting is the largest assembly of hearing scientists in the world and features primarily basic and applied science related to hearing, deafness and balance. Overall, 1,328 abstracts were submitted.

The meeting was held in San Jose, CA, for the first time this year.

ARO President Keiko Hirose, MD, receives a certificate of appreciation for her leadership from President-elect Ruth Litovsky, PhD.

“It was a wonderful experience, and we had great attendance from longstanding members and new participants,” said Keiko Hirose, MD, professor of otolaryngology at Washington University. The meeting marked the completion of Dr. Hirose’s term as president of ARO.

One of the highlights of the meeting is the Presidential Symposium on a topic chosen by the acting president. Dr. Hirose organized her symposium on Innate Immunity in the Auditory System. Her hand-chosen speakers included fellow faculty member Mark Warchol, PhD, who shared his work on Innate Immune Cells in the Inner Ear: Macrophage Interactions with Hair Cells and Afferent Neurons.

“Many of our faculty were featured in other important symposia, podium sessions, workshops, mentorship sessions, poster sessions, and serve in leadership roles at ARO,” said Dr. Hirose.  “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve our society and to be involved in decisions about the future of ARO.  It remains an important home for investigators and physicians who dedicate their careers to the study of hearing and balance.”

Jeff Lichtenhan, PhD, and fellow researchers enjoyed a San Jose Sharks hockey game.

The meeting always represents the culmination of the year’s scientific progress, but also allows participants to catch up with colleagues from around the world and share the experience with lab members.

“This year I did two things I’d never done before,” said Jeff Lichtenhan, PhD. “I ate a chocolate-covered grasshopper, and I attended an NHL hockey game. ARO is certainly a memorable way to network and bond with colleagues that have become friends over the years.”

PGY5 resident, Jay Gantz, MD, and Postdoctoral Research Associate Shannon Lefler both received travel awards to attend the meeting.

“I think ARO is a terrific yearly reminder of how much exciting work is happening to advance the fields of hearing, balance and speech,” said Dr. Gantz. “Personally, I enjoy learning from, and interacting with, both scientists and physician scientists. ARO is a unique opportunity to connect the clinical and basic science communities and I look forward to attending again next year!”

Shannon Lefler, AuD, presents her work on the origins of auditory signals.

Otolaryngology faculty serve in a number of leadership roles for ARO:

  • Keiko Hirose, MD: President
  • Mark Warchol, PhD: Member, ARO Council; Co-chair, Awards Committee
  • Jeff Lichtenhan, PhD: ARO Travel Awards Committee
  • Kevin Ohlemiller, PhD: Member, ARO Program Committee
  • Lavinia Sheets, PhD: Member, External Relations Committee

The full list of presentations offered by otolaryngology faculty, residents and research staff are as follows:

Hearing Loss in Congenital CMV Infection: Endocochlear Potential and Lateral Wall Function are Preserved Despite Rampant Inflammation
Keiko Hirose; Song-Zhe Li; Jared J. Hartsock

Spatial Origins of Click-Evoked Cochlear Compound Action Potentials
Shannon Lefler; Shawn Goodman; Choongheon Lee; John Guinan; Jeffery Lichtenhan

Lack of Macrophages Impair Spontaneous Repair of Ribbon Synapses After Synaptopathic Acoustic Trauma in C57BL/6 Mice
Anna C. Clayman; Kevin Ohlemiller; Mark Warchol; Tejbeer Kaur

CACHD1-Deficient Mice Exhibit Hearing and Balance Deficits Associated with a Disruption of Calcium Homeostasis in the Inner Ear
Cong Tian; Jaclynn M. Lett; Robert Voss; Alec N. Salt; Jared J. Hartsock; Kevin Ohlemiller; Kenneth R. Johnson

Time Course of Blood-Labyrinth Barrier Compromise Following Cochlear Implantation
Alec N. Salt; Daniel Smyth; Jared J. Hartsock

Evaluation of the Otoprotective Properties of Dexamethasone and Sodium Thiosulfate in Response to Cisplatin Treatment of Lateral-Line Neuromasts in Larval Zebrafish
Angela Schrader; Allison Saettele; Mark Warchol; Lavinia Sheets

Rapid Macrophage Response to Ototoxic Injury of Zebrafish Lateral Line Neuromasts
Mark Warchol; Angela Schrader; Lavinia Sheets

Effects of Dexamethasone–an Enhancer of Hair Cell Regeneration–on Lateral Line Innervation and Synapse Formation
Allison L. Saettele; Joseph Kwengwa; Lavinia Sheets

All Shook Up: Modeling Noise-Induced Damage and Repair in the Zebrafish Lateral Line
Melanie Holmgren; Mike E. Ravicz; Kenneth E. Hancock; Mark Warchol; Lavinia Sheets

Modulations of Neural Action Potential Rates Can Influence Electrical Properties of Oligodendrocytes and Myelination of Individual Trapezoid Body Axons
Mihai Stancu; Ezhilarasan Rajaram; Hilde Wohlfrom; Tejbeer Kaur; Mark Warchol; Edwin W. Rubel; Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug

YAP1 Signaling is Involved in The Death of Cochlear Hair Cells
Vikrant Borse; Mark Warchol

Hippo Signaling Regulates Inner Ear Sensory Organ Growth and Restricts Regenerative Responses Through the Yap/Tead complex.
Ksenia Gnedeva; Xizi Wang; Melissa McGovern; Matthew Barton; Juan Llamas; Nathaniel Kastan; Litao Tao; Talon Trecek; Tanner Monroe; Haoze Yu; Welly Makmura; James Martin; A. James Hudspeth; Andrew Groves; Mark Warchol; Neil Segil

Influence of Microglia on Spiral Ganglion and Cochlear Nucleus Neuron Survival Following Hair Cell Death in Mature Mice
Van A. Redila; Ling Tong; Robin M. Gibson; Tejbeer Kaur; Mark Warchol; Edwin W. Rubel

 Innate Immune Cells in the Inner Ear: Macrophage Interactions with Hair Cells and Afferent Neurons
Mark Warchol (Presidential Symposium)

Three-dimensional electron microscopy of inner hair cell synapse and afferent morphology from hearing onset to maturation
Shelby Payne; Natalie Skigen; Jason Carlquist; Sonali Gattani; Guhan Iyer; Bethany Davis; Honey Patel; Allison Schwed; Heather Chung; Matt Nester; Atri Bhattacharyya; Mark Rutherford

Position Dependence of Synaptic Volume in the Organ of Corti under Different Conditions
Jay A. Gantz; Jason Carlquist; Babak V-Ghaffari; Mark Rutherford

Effects of Acoustic Trauma on Neurotransmitter Release by Inner Hair Cells
Luis E. Boero; Shelby Payne; Eugenia Gómez-Casati; Mark Rutherford; Juan Goutman

Physiology and Anatomy of Glutamate Receptors at the Inner Hair Cell to Auditory Nerve Fiber Synapse Suggest GluA2-lacking, Ca2+-permeable AMPA Receptors Contribute to Transmission in the Mammalian Cochlea
Juan Goutman; Shelby Payne; Babak V-Ghaffari; Shashank Chepurwar; Adish Dani; Mark Rutherford

Cochlear Excitability and Excitotoxicity
Mark Rutherford

Simulating the Effects of KLT, HCN and M-current Channels in Auditory Nerve Fibers
Ian C. Bruce; Daniel Shields; Laura Green; Babak V-Ghaffari; Mark Rutherford