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Kresge Hearing Research Institute

Department of Otolaryngology

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Research Rotations

Research training in various aspects of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery are available in the Department of Otolaryngology and the Kresge Hearing Research Institute. Research rotations of 6 months to 2 years or more provide opportunities for trainees to learn research skills in the context of specific ongoing research programs. These rotations are available to Otolaryngology Residents and to Graduate Students in Neuroscience, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biopsychology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, and various other graduate programs throughout the University of Michigan. Research rotations are available to medical students and undergraduates through the Student Biomedical Research Program, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and various other programs at the University of Michigan.

The following list summarizes the research directions of various faculty in the Department of Otolaryngology and the Kresge Hearing Research Institute and provides websites and contact information for individuals seeking further details.

Richard Altschuler, Ph.D.

  • Email: shuler@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-0060
  • Professor, Otolaryngology
  • Professor, Cell & Developmental Biology
  • Senior Research Scientist, Otolaryngology

The Auditory Anatomy Laboratory research staff examine the cochlear response to stress and the intracellular molecular pathways that lead to protection, repair and recovery, and studies how the central auditory pathways react and adapt to deafness at the genetic, molecular, neurochemical, and morphological levels.

David Anderson, Ph.D.

  • Email: dja@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-5417
  • Professor, Biomedical Engineering
  • Professor, Electrical & Computer Science
  • Professor, Otolaryngology

The Neurophysiology Laboratory develops multichannel recording and stimulation technology. We implant, record from and analyze neural data from medium count (up to 32) multichannel devices applicable to cochlear implants, CNS stimulation and mapping, MR imaging of auditory function and cochlear nucleus multichannel recording.

Sanford C. Bledsoe, Jr., Ph.D.

  • Email: sbledsoe@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-4341
  • Research Associate Professor, Otolaryngology

Researchers in the Neuropharmacology/Physiology Laboratory develop acute and chronic drug-delivery systems, determine the role of descending (efferent) neural pathways in cochlear damage (excitotoxicity) and central acoustic processing, understand mechanisms of brain adaptability after deafness, and elucidate the characteristics of central auditory system activation associated with cochlear prosthetic stimulation.

Carol Bradford, M.D.

  • Email: cbradfor@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 936-8003
  • Associate Professor, Division of Head and Neck Surgery
  • Chief, Division of Head and Neck Surgery
  • Co-director, Head and Neck Oncology Program, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

The goals of the Head and Neck Oncology Program are to improve the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer through the development of improved selection of appropriate therapy for each individual and to develop more effective organ sparing and curative therapies. The focus of Dr. Bradford's research program is to develop genetic and cellular markers that predict response to therapy and to devise methods of overcoming resistance to existing organ sparing treatments.

Thomas Carey, Ph.D.

  • Email: careyte@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 764-4371
  • Professor and Distinguished Research Scientist, Associate Chair for Research
  • Co-director, Head and Neck Oncology Program, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Researchers in the Cell Biology and Immunology Laboratory are studying the basis for autoimmunehearing loss, including the detection of pathogenic antibodies,identification of the inner ear target antigen, and developmentof new diagnostic tests.

The focus of the Head and Neck Oncology Research Laboratory (co-directed with Dr. Bradford) is to identify genetic and molecular markersassociated with tumor progression and resistance to therapy andto develop novel treatment strategies based on these genetic features.

Douglas B. Chepeha, M.D., MSPH, FRCS(C)

  • Email: dchepeha@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 936-3172
  • Assistant Professor and Director, Microvascular Surgery

The goal of the microvascular program is to improve the quality of head and neck reconstruction through the design of sophisticated flap templates, application of new devices, and bioengineering. Dr. Chepeha also directs the clinical research study group which consults, develops, and runs cross-sectional and prospective research. Currently, the focus is on the diagnosis and treatment of, and molecular alterations associated with metastases from head and neck cancer, as well as the optimal diagnostic tests and optimal response level in organ preservation therapy.

David Dolan, Ph.D.

  • Email: ddolan@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 936-3172
  • Assistant Professor and Director, Microvascular Surgery

The Auditory Physiology Laboratory researchers study the normal transduction processes within the inner ear and how they are altered by various forms of trauma or efferent activation.

Keith Duncan, Ph.D.

  • Email: rkduncan@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-2129
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology

The Molecular Physiology Laboratory takes a molecular approach to studying the excitability of sensory cells in the cochlea. Our laboratory uses molecular biology, histology, and electrophysiology to address the structure and function of hair cell ion channels. We are particularly interested in mechanisms that regulate ion channel behavior, in the normal, regenerative, and pathological cochlea.

W. Michael King, Ph.D.

The Vestibular & Oculomotor Laboratory studies the processing of neural signals in vestibular and oculomotor pathways using behavioral methods and signal cell neurophysiological recordings. The laboratory is particularly interested in neural adaptation and plasticity in these pathways, visual-vestibular interactions, and the binocular control of eye movements.

David Kohrman, Ph.D.

  • Email: dkohrman@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-9653
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Human Genetics

The Molecular Genetics Laboratory research staff is interested in the identification and analysis of genes affected in mouse models of inherited inner ear dysfunction.

Marci M. Lesperance, M.D.

  • Email: lesperan@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-9507
  • Associate Professor, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

Researchers in the Human Genetics Laboratory identify changes in genes that cause hearing loss by analyzing DNA and studying families with hearing loss in order to develop better ways to diagnose and treat genetic hearing loss.

Margaret Lomax, Ph.D.

  • Email: mlomax@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-9653
  • Research Professor, Department of Otolaryngology
  • Research Professor, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology

The Molecular Biology Laboratory at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute is involved in molecular studies to identify genes involved in development of the avian inner ear, as well as in the response of both the avian and mammalian cochlea to noise overstimulation, which leads to regeneration and repair in birds, but not in mammals.

John Middlebrooks, Ph.D.

The Central Systems Laboratory research focuses on sensory representation in the auditory cortex, including representation in normal listeners of the locations of sounds and in deaf listeners of electrical stimuli presented through cochlear implants.

Josef Miller, Ph.D.

  • Email: josef@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-5098
  • The Lynn and Ruth Townsend Professor of Communication Disorders
  • Professor, Karolinska Institute

The goal of studies in the Cochlear Signals and Tissue Engineering Laboratoryis to define new drug interventions that can prevent noise induced hearing loss (the #1 cause of acquired deafness) and treatments that can promote auditory nerve survival and regrowth after deafness (differentiation) to enhance the benefits of cochlear prostheses in the severely hearing impaired.

Bryan Pfingst, Ph.D.

The goals of the research in the Auditory Prosthesis Perception and Psychophysics laboratories (human laboratory and animal laboratory) are to understand the mechanisms of electrical hearing and to identify ways to improve speech recognition and quality of life for patients with auditory prostheses.

Yehoash Raphael, Ph.D.

  • Email: yoash@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 936-9386
  • Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology

Research in the Otopathology Laboratory investigates protection, repair and regeneration of auditory and vestibular hair cells and neurons, and on gene transfer methods for inner ear applications.

Jochen Schacht, Ph.D.

  • Email: schacht@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 763-3572
  • Professor of Biological Chemistry in Otolaryngology
  • Director, Kresge Hearing Research Institute

The Biochemistry Laboratory investigates the biochemical and molecular events that regulate the normal function of the inner ear and the mechanisms by which drugs and noise can cause hearing loss. These studies lead to the design of protective therapies for drug- and noise-induced hearing loss.

Susan Shore, Ph.D.

  • Email: sushore@umich.edu
  • Phone: (734) 647-2216
  • Research Associate Professor of Otolaryngology

The objectives of the Auditory Brainstem Physiology Laboratory are to study neural connections from auditory and somatosensory nuclei to the cochlear nucleus and their role in the coding of complex sounds, as well as their role in neural plasticity and tinnitus.