Innovations in Ear, Nose & Throat | Summer 2024
In his2024 State of University Hospitals Research Address,Daniel I. Simon, MD,President of Academic & External Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer, highlighted the burgeoning hearing research partnership between University Hospitals and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED).
Alejandro Rivas, MD
Viral Tejani, AuD, PhDIt is a collaboration that unites the region’s expertise in peripheral and central hearing loss, fostering cohesion between the two research groups. Dr. Simon underscored how the symbiotic partnership is impacting both basic and clinical science and is significantly amplifying the efficacy of new research grants.
“University Hospitals has a strong center for hearing sciences, led by Kumar Alagramam, PhD, that is conducting research primarily focused on the auditory pathway from the outer ear to the brainstem, whereas the NEOMED team focuses on everything that happens past the brainstem to the auditory cortex of the brain,” says Alejandro Rivas, MD,Division ChiefofOtology andNeurotology,Director of the UH Cochlear Implant Center and the Richard W. and Patricia R. Pogue Chair in Auditory Surgery and Hearing Sciences, University Hospitals. “By working together, we can maximize our research efforts to more fully understand the entire auditory pathway to better care for patients and unlock new potential for hearing restoration.”
Proposals Garner Funding
Participants recently held their first symposium and identified joint interests that sparked plans for further collaboration, plans that include the study of the cortex and central auditory pathway in animal models and the implications of hearing loss on children’s behavior. They presented current projects, and four proposals were awarded the opportunity for funding. Other proposals are in development.
“The partnership brings together Northeast Ohio’s leaders in auditory research from both institutions and has become a wonderful mechanism to inspire inquisitive minds as we train UH and NEOMED students,” Dr. Rivas says.
This summer, a group of medical students from NEOMED are participating in basic and clinical research initiatives under way at University Hospitals. “We have a strong clinical infrastructure and volume to offer,” says Viral Tejani, AuD, PhD, Senior Cochlear Implant Clinical Research Audiologist within the University Hospitals Ear, Nose & Throat Institute.
Dr. Tejani is mentoring a student analyzing data gathered through UH’s nationally renowned cochlear implant program. “She will be exposed to the clinical outcomes and some of the factors that are evolving within our cochlear implant patients,” he says. “Specifically, we are looking at how well we’re able to preserve some of the cellular and neural integrity within the auditory system with newer designs of cochlear implants and how patients are doing in terms of word-understanding outcomes, as well as some of the finer details about the electrical circuitry of the implant itself.” Two other NEOMED students are working with University Hospitals and School of Medicine researchers in basic science labs.
Partnering for Innovation
With a research focus on cochlear implant electrophysiology, Dr. Tejani is excited to share knowledge with an audiology faculty member at NEOMED. “The way you advance science and fill in missing links or research gaps is through partnerships,” he says. “This collaboration benefits both institutions by providing opportunities to faculty and students that drive innovation and ultimately help patients.”
The novel partnership is paving the way for the two institutions to bring together additional faculty scholars in other areas of otolaryngology. With one of the largest cochlear implant programs in the nation and a large ENT patient volume, including robust adult and pediatric otolaryngology clinics, University Hospitals offers an ample patient pool for future research endeavors. For example, a current NEOMED researcher is interested in ear infections and can benefit from tapping into University Hospitals’ large clinical caseload treating this condition.
“We want to be recognized not only for our national and international collaborations but also for our regional ones,” Dr. Rivas says. “Hopefully, we will be able to extend these opportunities to colleagues and students in other areas of ENT and beyond.”
For more information about University Hospitals’ partnership with NEOMED and ongoing auditory research, contact Dr. Rivas at Alejandro.Rivas@UHhospitals.org or Dr. Tejani at Viral.Tejani@UHhospitals.org.
Contributing Experts:
Alejandro Rivas, MD
Division Chief, Otology and Neurotology
Director, Cochlear Implant Center
Richard W. and Patricia R. Pogue Chair in Auditory Surgery and Hearing Sciences
University Hospitals
Professor
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Neurological Surgery
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Viral Tejani, AuD, PhD
Senior Cochlear Implant Clinical Research Audiologist
University Hospitals Ear, Nose & Throat Institute
Assistant Professor
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
