CI2020 Online - Session 3

Oliver Adunka
MD

Oliver Adunka, MD, FACS, has joined the Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Nationwide Children's, while serving as Director of Otology, Neurotology and Cranial Base Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Adunka specializes in otology, neurotology and lateral skull base surgery and will share his time between The Department of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital as full Professor, the Division Director for Otology, Neurotology, and Cranial Base Surgery and the Director of the University's Hearing Program. Financial – Oliver Adunka is a paid employee of The Ohio State University. Non-Financial – No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

Kevin Brown
MD, PhD

Kevin Brown, MD, PhD, is Associate Professor, Otology/Neurotology and Medical Director, The Children’s Cochlear Implant Center at UNC.

Sarah Coulthurst
MS

Sarah Coulthurst, MS is a pediatric audiologist in the Audiology Department at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. Sarah has been a part of the Cochlear Implant Team at Children’s Hospital Oakland since 2000 and has served as their Clinical Director since 2008. She works with a diverse multi-disciplinary CI team to identify and manage newborns through 21 year olds with hearing loss. At her clinics they see varying degrees and types of hearing loss but many complex cases. She also mentors audiology extern students, pediatric residents and presents to hospital staff and residents in training.

Jill B. Firszt
PhD

Dr. Jill B. Firszt is Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at Washington University School of Medicine. She is also Adjunct Professor in the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences at Central Institute for the Deaf at Washington University. She earned her BS in Speech and Hearing Science, MA in Educational Audiology, and PhD in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 

Dr. Firszt has been working with cochlear implant adult and pediatric patients in clinical and research studies since 1985. She has directed three cochlear implant programs in three different states over a span of 30 years and currently directs the Cochlear Implant Program at Washington University with an emphasis on clinical and research interactions. Her research Lab is focused on studies of asymmetry in hearing, including adults and children with unilateral hearing loss, and studies that explore optimization of cochlear implant performance.  She is the recipient of a K23 award, two R01s and a U01 grant from the NIH/NIDCD. Her previous research has been supported by the Deafness Research Foundation, the American Hearing Research Foundation, and the McDonnell Science Foundation. Dr. Firszt has numerous publications related to adults and children with hearing loss using cochlear implants and hearing aids.

Bruce J. Gantz
MD

Bruce J Gantz, MD is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He received his Bachelor of Science and Masters degree in Otolaryngology from the University of Iowa, where he completed medical school. His surgical internship was served at the University Of Utah College Of Medicine. He returned to the University of Iowa for his Otolaryngology residency. Upon completing a Neurotology Clinical Fellowship at the Universitätsspital Zürich, Otorhinolaryngologische Klinik und Poliklinik, in Zürich, Switzerland, he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. His research interests include: cochlear implant clinical research, management of facial paralysis, hearing preservation in acoustic tumor surgery, and management of chronic otitis media with Cholesteatoma. He is the principal investigator of the Iowa Cochlear Implant Clinical Research Center, funded by the NIH since 1985. Dr Gantz is a member of many otolaryngology professional societies and has Board Certification from the American Board of Otolaryngology, as well as subspecialty certification in Neurotology from the ABO. Some of his honors include being named the Brian F McCabe Distinguished Chair in Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery by The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine; receiving The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award for Achievement in 2005; and being elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2000. His publications include over 180 papers and contributions to over 50 book chapters.

Rene Gifford
PhD

René H. Gifford, PhD, CCC-A, is a Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences with a joint appointment in the Department of Otolaryngology. She is currently the Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center in the Division of Audiology as well as the Director of the Cochlear Implant Research Laboratory. Her current research interests include combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) with cochlear implantation, hearing preservation with cochlear implantation, preoperative prediction of postoperative outcomes, speech perception for adults and children with cochlear implants, and spatial hearing abilities of individuals with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants. Dr. Gifford is currently the principal investigator (PI) on two NIH R01 grants centered on outcomes with cochlear implants. Dr. Gifford has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, multiple book chapters, and she authored a book, now in its 2^nd edition, entitled “Cochlear Implant Patient Assessment: Evaluation of Candidacy, Performance, and Outcomes.” She was the 2015 recipient of the ASHA Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement based on her work with hearing preservation implant recipients. She was a featured scientist on the National Public Radio, Science Friday broadcast entitled Breakthrough: Portraits of Women in Science—Hearing a Whole New World (aired live September 9, 2016). Video documentary and recorded live broadcast. Finally, Dr. Gifford received a 2017 Chancellor’s Award for Research, which recognizes excellence on the part of faculty for published research, scholarship, or creative expression.

David Haynes
MD

David S. Haynes, MD, is Professor of Otolaryngology and Hearing and Speech Sciences, Chief of the Neurotology Division, Program Director, Neurotology Fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Fellow, American College of Surgeons.

Aaron Moberly
MD

Aaron C. Moberly, M.D., is Assistant Professor in the Division of Otology, Neurotology, & Cranial Base Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, and he completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Purdue University. He obtained his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed residency training in Otolaryngology - Head & Neck surgery at Indiana University in Indianapolis, followed by a two-year fellowship in Neurotology in the Department of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University. Dr. Moberly’s clinical focus is diseases of the ear and cranial base. He has a special interest in cochlear implants and rehabilitation of hearing after cochlear implantation. His research focus is two-fold: evaluation of speech perception in patients with cochlear implants, and development of artificial intelligence software to enhance otoscopic diagnostic skills.

Lisa Park
AuD CCC-A

Dr. Park is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her clinical research focuses on expanding cochlear implant indications for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. She investigates optimal programming for children who are considered non-traditional pediatric cochlear implant recipients, and associated outcomes on measures of speech perception, spatial hearing, and quality of life.

Aniket Saoji
PhD

Aniket Saoji is the Director of Cochlear Implants at the Mayo Clinic located in Rochester, Minnesota. He got his PhD in Hearing Sciences, from the State University of New York in 2004. He got his Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from All India Institute of Speech and Hearing in 1999. 

Fred Telischi
MD

Fred F. Telischi, MD, MEE, FACS is Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology, Professor of Neurological Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Telischi is board certified by the American Boards of Otolaryngology (1990) and Neurotology (2010). He is a graduate of Cornell University with bachelors and masters degrees in electrical and biomedical engineering. He received his M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine. His fellowship training in ear and skull base surgery was completed at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. Dr. Telischi has almost 30 years experience practicing all aspects of otology and neurotology in an academic setting, training many resident and fellows.  Dr. Telischi is a fellow, member or holds leadership positions in the following medical societies: American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, American Otology Society, American Neurotology Society, North American Skull Base Society, American College of Surgeons, Association for Research in Otolaryngology. Dr. Telischi sits on the editorial board or is manuscript reviewer for many of the major peer-review journals in the specialty. He is Southern Section Vice President for the Triological Society, and Chairman of the AAO Implantable Hearing Devices Committee. Dr. Telischi received the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery’s Distinguished Honor Award for contributions in teaching instructional courses and participation in scientific activity at AAO conferences. He has written ABOto Board Examination questions and prepared educational materials for the Academy.  Dr. Telischi’s research (as principle or co-investigator) has been funded by the NIH NIDCD, Deafness Research Foundation and industry. He has authored many peer reviewed publications, book chapters, and monographs. His research interests involve treatment of hearing losses, cochlear function, cochlear implantation, skull base disorders, imlantable hearing devices, otoacoustic emissions, hearing testing interoperatively, facial nerve disorders.

Paul van de Heyning
MD, PhD

Paul van de Heyning, MD, PhD, is consultant otology-neurotology, and Em. Professor and em. chairman at University Department of Otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Antwerp University Hospital, and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Antwerp, Belgium. He was President of the 15^th International Conference on Cochlear Implantation and Other Auditory Implantable Technologies (CI 2018) in Antwerp, Belgium.

Dr. van de Heyning's main research focus is on inner ear pathology including cochlear implantation. He was (co)author of over 550 publications and supervisor of 65 PhD thesis.

Nancy Young
MD

Nancy M. Young, M.D., is the Lillian S. Wells Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She is Medical Director of the Department of Audiology and Cochlear Implant Programs at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Young founded the Lurie Children’s pediatric cochlear implant program, one of the largest in the United States. She co-edited, with Karen Iler Kirk PhD, Pediatric Cochlear Implantation: Learning and the Brain, a text published in 2016. Dr. Young’s is principal investigator of an NIH/NIDCD funded study of brain neuroimaging to predict cochlear implant outcome. She is also lead PI of “Expanded Indications in the MED-EL Pediatric Cochlear Implant Population”, a multicenter FDA clinical trial.