Professional Training Programs

Research Projects

There are many research projects going on in the Department at each site as well in conjunction with basic scientists at the medical school, many of which are NIH funded, including a major Clinical Center Grant. Each resident is required to complete a research project prior to graduation from the residency program. This experience is intended to provide the resident with an opportunity to conduct laboratory or clinical research in an area of personal interest. The goal is to expose the resident to research methodology and to assist in the development of a critical analysis of the ORL literature. The projects are presented at a departmental forum prior to graduation from the program.

The resident is assisted throughout the project by the Research Committee and by a faculty advisor who is chosen by the resident. The following are just some of the numerous current projects.

• Growth factor signaling of epithelial mesemchymal interactions in developing capsule of the inner ear.
• Generation and repair of mammalian auditory and vestibular hair cells.
• Retinoic acid-induced teratogenicity of the inner ear: mechanism of action.
• Mechanisms of signal transduction during inner ear development.
• Mechanism and protection against cisplatin ototoxicity by L-methionine in a rat model of mammary adenocarcinoma.
• Use of mutant mice to assess gene function in inner ear development.
• Use of antisense oligonucleotides to assess gene function in inner ear development.
• The role of patterning genes in the development of the inner ear.
• Bone-conducted frequency-specific auditory brainstem response assessment
• Communication sequelae of otitis media
• Behavioral audiological assessment of infants and young children.
• Language acquisition in hearing impaired children.
• Clinical applications of otocoustic emissions.
• Maturation of bone-mediated hearing; effects of masking on ABR to bone-conducted tones.
• Multiple projects involving cortical event-related potential.
• Frequency specificity of the auditory brainstem and middle latency response.
• Prediction of hearing loss using tone evoked otoacoustic emissions.
• Auditory evoked potential correlates of binary processing.
• Objective signal to noise measures for detection of ABR and MLR.
• Regulation of human papilloma virus (HPV) expression.
• Effects of HPV E5 expression on growth regulation of laryngeal epithelium.
• Regulation of HPV expression and replication by cellular factors including cEPBs.
• In Vitro Efficacy of Antisense Oligonucleotides to Prevent HPV DNA Persistence.
• Effects of indole-3-carbinol on estrogen metabolites as a modulator of HPV expression and transformation capability.
• Use of the rabbit papillomavirus model system to study viral latency and activation.
• Intraoperative photodynamic therapy to prevent tumor recurrence after resection with positive margins – An animal model.
• Photodynamic therapy for laryngeal papillomatosis, including both a clinical trial and extensive related laboratory research.
• Efficacy and outcome of neonatal screening to detect hearing loss.
• Genetic identification of risk and improved diagnosis of paragangliomas
• Multiple case studies, retrospective studies, etc.
• Virtual surgery of the sinuses and temporal bone.
• Laser-tissue interaction in the head and neck
• Gene chip investigation into head & neck cancer characterization.
• Evaluation of the endoscopic sinus surgery simulator as a teaching/learning tool.
• Assessment of laryngeal and vocal throat functions.
• Immune regulation in Meniere's Disease.