ARO NEWS
Fall 1995

President's Report

Midwinter Meeting Highlights

The midwinter meeting program has been completed. The transition to a standing program committee has been smooth, largely due to the organizational skills of Charlie Liberman and Jerry Popelka. All abstracts were received and processed to their appropriate reviewer by October 4. The subcommittee reviewers worked effectively to organize their portion of the program into platform and poster sessions. There was communication among reviewers and reviewers and reviewers and researchers to develop the appropriate mix. On October 9, Donata Oertel, Charlie, and I met in Chicago to balance sessions; make sure there were few, if any, competing podium and poster sessions; and finalize the program. The final process only took five hours! We are in a learning phase, but believe that a standing committee will ensure more appropriate programming in the future. This system might allow us to move the abstract deadline to November 1.

The number of abstracts received was only marginally greater than last year at 844 (a 5% increase). We appreciate the number of members who self-selected poster presentations. We were able to accommodate most requests and did not have to make arbitrary reassignments.

The Presidential Symposium will be a full day program on Sunday entitled "Plasticity in the Auditory Pathways: Cellular, Theoretical, and Applied Issues." The symposium is intended to provide a state-of-the-art overview of auditory plasticity, demonstrate how electrical stimulation of the auditory pathway can provide a mechanism for the study of auditory plasticity, and examine ways of measuring auditory plasticity in humans. Other program highlights include targeted sessions on aging, cochlear prostheses, and sound localization, plus the following workshops:

€Hearing and Acoustic Behavior of Cetaceans
organizers: Arthur Popper, William Dolphin,
Harold Hawkins

€Recent Advances in Human Temporal Bone Histopathology
organizers: Joseph Nadol, Jr, Harold Schuknecht,
Saumil Merchant

€NIH Research and Research Training Support
organizers: Earleen Elkins and NIDCD Staff

€Science, Scholarship and Communication via the Internet; Introduction & Advanced Topics
organizer: Gerald Popelka

Two new features have been added to the program for this year. A Presidential Lecture, supported by Elsevier Publishing, will be delivered by James Battey, MD, PhD, Scientific Director, Division of Intramural Research NIDCD. This lecture, entitled "Present and Future Research Directions in the NIDCD Intramural Research Program," will be immediately prior to the business meeting on Monday. The other addition to the program is a new series that is intended to provide researchers with an overview of significant clinical problems that need renewed research directions. The series will be entitled "Clinical Dilemmas in Otolaryngology" and the first workshop will be "Ménière's Disease" by George Gates, MD. We hope these lectures will stimulate new ideas about underlying mechanisms and eventual treatment regimens. We have not had anything new to offer patients with Ménière's Disease for more than twenty years.

The ARO is fortunate to have secured a five-year NIH grant to fund speakers for our programming. This year, the Presidential Symposium and travel awards for residents, medical students, and minority trainees will be funded by the grant. The American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and the Deafness Research Foundation have again agreed to partially support travel of residents for the upcoming meeting. This added support adds to the overall quality of our meeting. Please thank these organizations for their continued generosity.

The Midwinter Meeting questionnaire has been a subject of concern for the ARO Council since long range planning has been partially dependent upon its outcome. For several years the Council has tried to entice the membership to complete and return the questionnaire. Last year, only 165 questionnaires were completed by 1250 attendees. This year, demographics and nominations for the award of merit will be included on the registration form. A comment box will be displayed on the registration table for your comments about the meeting. A questionnaire will not be used for the 1996 meeting.

One final note, last year the weather was miserable. To combat the cold, coffee was made available on almost a continuous basis. The extra cost was as bad as the weather. We were charged $10,000 extra for coffee! This year we will only have coffee available at designated breaks. The weather has to be better this year. See you in February.

Bruce Gantz
President

Editor's Column

It is now possible to send a single e-mail message to all of the ARO members simultaneously. Currently about 70% of the members have an e-mail address and these addresses have been updated with the recent directory update form you completed. To prevent overuse of this significant capability and to prevent e-mail boxes from getting cluttered up, the Executive Council decided that as a matter of policy, the current president controls the use of this capability. If you wish to send a message to all of the members of the ARO, simply contact the current president or Michele Johnson at the ARO office. If approved, your message, which can originate as regular mail, a fax, e-mail, or a telephone call will then be sent immediately. Any ARO member can use this service even if he or she does not have access to an e-mail system.

I am continuing to develop the ARO home page on the world-wide-web. The internet site now contains a variety of information and provides some new functions not otherwise available. The technology allows direct e-mail access to an individual ARO member and to individual members of the US legislature and it is possible to submit an abstract for the ARO meeting electronically. Portions of the ARO publications are made available prior to publication of the paper version. Some sections such as the Calendar of Events and Positions Available are updated very often, every two weeks or so. The abstracts for the 1996 Midwinter Meeting have been available since October 14, only two weeks after the submission deadline and several months prior to the meeting.

The world of publishing has changed radically in the time I have been editor. Only a few years ago, the publications were prepared only for printing, and occasionally some of the information was made available electronically. Now, all of the publications of the ARO, the ARO NEWS, the MidWinter Meeting Program Summary, the ARO Abstracts, and Membership Directory are being created continuously. At various times, an electronic version is made available on the internet prior to printing the paper version. In this manner, both versions contain the same information.

Gerald R. Popelka
Editor

Current Issues

Winners of Travel Awards Announced

Seventeen residents and eight medical students were selected to receive Travel Awards to attend the ARO 1995 Mid-Winter Meeting. Winners of the ARO 1995 Travel Awards were: Jennifer K.B. Ankerstjerne, M.D., University of Pittsburgh; Carol M. Bier-Laning, M.D., University of Minnesota; Nicholas Y. BuSaba, M.D., Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary; John P. Carey, M.D., University of Washington, Seattle; Kay W. Chang, M.D., University of Washington, Seattle; Kingsley Chin, M.D., University of Pennsylvania; Troy S. Gates, M.D., Johns Hopkins University; Glenn E. Green, M.D., Wayne State University; Jason M. Hanson, M.D., Washington University, St. Louis; Joseph L. Hegarty, M.D., University of Iowa; Akira Ishiyama, M.D., UCLA; Marty Janning, M.D., Southern Illinois University; Shawn D. Newlands, M.D., University of Washington, Seattle; Randal S. Regehr, M.D., University of Kansas; Hinrich Staecker, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Peter A. Solz, M.D., Southern Illinois University; Jeff Hung N. Kim, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine. Medical Student winners were: Jon Hernandez, UCLA; Robert T. Harvey, University of Pennsylvania; Derek R. Armfield, University of Pittsburgh; Jonathan Kil, University of Virginia; William W. LeCates, Johns Hopkins University; Ian M. Purcell, University of Texas Medical Branch; Kenneth H. Lee, Boston University; James W. Mims, University of North Carolina.

The Travel Awards Committee selects the awardees based on participation in ARO meeting, demonstrated ability, desire, participation in an ACGME accredited program in Otolaryngology, career goals directed toward academic practice and recommendation of department chair. The travel award is supported by a grant from the American Academy of Otolaryngology‹Head and Neck Surgery, National Institute of Health, and the Deafness Research Foundation. Matching funds of and equal amount were provided by the respective chairs of departments.

This program has been in place for 6 years and hopefully will be able to continue in the future. The deadline for applications are in mid Fall, usually around November 13. To help prepare for next year, the application process is listed here.
1.) A letter from the applicant stating desire, need and qualifications for the award.
2.) A copy of the submitted abstract for poster or paper presentation at the Midwinter Meeting.
3.) A Curriculum Vitae.
4.) A letter of recommendation from the department chair including a guarantee of matching funds of equal amount.
5.) If more than one applicant comes from a program, the chair must prioritize the applicants.

Applications should be sent to: J. Gail Neely, M.D., F.A.C.S.; Washington University School of Medicine; Department of Otolaryngology; 517 South Euclid, Box 8115; St. Louis, MO 63110.

New Electronic Mailing List Announced

The OTOHNS mailing list was recently started at the Baylor College of Medicine for on-line discussion of otolaryngology issues. There are approximately 130 subscribers, mostly otolaryngologists and researchers interested in otolaryngology. People who wish to subscribe simply need to forward their e-mail address and a brief note describing their relation to the field of otolaryngology to: ronaldk@bcm.tmc.edu

Dr. James Jerger Receives Howard P. House Award from Sertoma International

Sertoma International, a civic service organization headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, has awarded its Howard P. House Award to James Jerger, Ph.D., of Houston, Texas.

Dr. Jerger is renowned internationally for advancing the diagnosis and treatment of auditory disorders. Since 1968, Jerger has worked at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston as professor and director of audiology. His extensive research has resulted in 260 scientific papers and 6 major books in audiology, all of which have been published.

Every other year, Sertoma distinguishes an outstanding professional in the field of speech and hearing with the Howard P. House Award, named after the founder of the famous House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, California. Sertoma honored Jerger at its 75th International Convention, held in Richmond, Virginia, the last week of July. It as during this event that Jerger received the award.
Sertoma is an acronym for Service to Mankind. About 27,000 men and women volunteers belong to 800+ Sertoma Clubs across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For more information about the organization call 1-800-5WE- JOIN.

The Deafness Research Foundation Awards Two Research Fellowships to Talented Medical Students

The Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) announced that it has awarded fellowships of $13,500 each to two third-year medical students for their outstanding research proposals focusing on disorders of the ear. The recipients, Henry C. Baggett, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and David H. Chi, University of Michigan Medical School, will take one year out of their medical school curricula to embark upon this year of supervised study.

The Fellowship Program was started in 1985 due to the Foundation's concern over the shrinking number of young doctors entering the field of otologic research (study of the ear). In the ten years since this program began, DRF has awarded nearly $500,000 to 33 talented medical students. Fellowship recipients not only learn valuable research skills, but they also emerge form this year with a sense of confidence and enthusiasm for the field of otology. The success of this program is evidenced by the fact nearly 75% of those participating have gone on to pursue careers in this specialty. This program is supported with funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Harry T. Treace International Fellowship in Otology Fund and others. The 1995 DRF Otologic Fellowship recipients are as follows:

Henry C. Baggett, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Mr. Baggett will study the pathophysiology of chronic otitis media. At least 70% of all children experience at least one bout of otitis media, also known as middle ear infection, before their third birthday. Otitis media is the most common cause of acquired hearing loss in children. Mr. Baggett will conduct his project under the supervision of Jiri Prazma, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

David H. Chi, University of Michigan Medical School. Mr. Chi will develop and test a new polymer glue with neuroactive factors which can be coated on the cochlear implant to encourage the growth of nerve fibers to the implant. The cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that can give the profoundly deaf a perception of sound. Richard A. Altschuler, Ph.D., Professor and Research Scientist, Department of Otolaryngology will oversee Mr. Chi's year of study.

Since 1958, the Deafness Research Foundation has been devoted to helping the 28 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals in this country by supporting research into the causes, treatment and prevention of deafness and other serious ear disorders. In addition to its Fellowship program, DRF has awarded more than 17 million dollars in "seed" grants to over 1,500 promising scientists exploring innovative directions in ear research. For more information about DRF call (800) 535-DEAF (V/TDD).

Conference Abstracts Available

The 1995 Conference on Implantable Auditory Prostheses was held August 20- 24 at Asilomar Conference Center, located in Pacific Grove, California. As the seventh in a series of biennial international conferences, the meeting focused on basic research in al disciplines related to the field of cochlear implants. The abstract book includes abstracts of 41 invited presentations by leading researchers from around the world and 32 contributed poster abstracts. Papers describe recent findings from research in physiology, pathology, mathematical modeling, psychophysics, signal processing, speech reception, speech production and plasticity. To receive the abstract book, please send in the amount of $5.00 to: House Ear Institute, 2100 West 3rd Street, Fifth floor, Los Angeles, CA, 90057, Attention: Alena Wilson.

Ryals and Dooling Present S. Richard Silverman Lecture

Recovery from Deafness: The Parakeet's Story" was the title of this year's S. Richard Silverman Lecture in Hearing and Deafness sponsored by Central Institute for the Deaf (CID). The lecture was given on October 2, 1995, at the Washington University Medical Center, by Brenda Ryals, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Communications Sciences at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Pennsylvania, and Robert Dooling, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland‹College Park.

The parakeet, like other birds, can biologically repair its inner ear after injury by toxic agents such as exposure to noise. Ryals and Dooling described their elegant collaborative research, which includes measures of birds' abilities to perceive and produce sounds after self-repair.

Ryals received her doctorate in Audiology and Hearing Science in 1981. Dooling received his doctorate in Physiological Psychology in 1975. She has published and presented widely on birds' self-repair of the inner ear. As a graduate student as St. Louis University, he conducted research at CID, resulting in five professional publications. He is a leading expert on the auditory function of birds.
The S. Richard Silverman Lecture in Hearing and Deafness is made possible through an endowment fund started in 1976 by the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Foundation. Mr. Olin asked that the fund be named to honor S. Richard Silverman, Director of Central Institute for the Deaf from 1947-1972. In addition to financing the lecture, money given to this fund supports research at CID. For information, call James D. Miller, Ph.D., the S. Richard Silverman Chair in Hearing and Deafness, at (314) 977-0271, or E-mail at jdm@cidmv1.wustl.edu

Gordon Hughes Elected Centurion President

At the Fall meeting of the Executive Committee of the Deafness Research Foundation Centurions, Gordon B. Hughes, M.D., was elected President for a two year term.

Dr. Hughes completed his residency training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in 1979 and then pursued a one year fellowship in Otology-Neurology with Michael E. Glasscock, III, M.D., Nashville, Tennessee. For the past 15 years he has been a member of the Professional Clinical Staff at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation where he is Director of Education in the Department of Otolaryngology and Communicative Disorders.

Founded in 1963 the Centurions of the Deafness Research Foundation is a national group of nearly 2000 prominent otolaryngologists, researchers, audiologists, medical societies, and ear product corporations whose annual dues help defray the administrative costs of the Foundation, permitting the organization to allocate a greater portion of its income base directly to otological research.

David J. Lim, M.D., Appointed Executive Vice President of Research at House Ear Institute

David J. Lim, M.D., has been appointed to direct the research programs at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles. As Executive Vice President of Research, Dr. Lim will develop cell and molecular based research programs to address fundamental structure-function of the inner ear sensory cells.

He will also direct studies of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of diseases affecting hearing and balance. The House Ear Institute is a private, non-profit organization known for its pioneering efforts in otology and applied hearing research and education. In his new position, Dr. Lim will administer eight research departments and direct 58 investigators in their ongoing programs which include auditory implants, electrophysiology, hearing aid development, morphology and neuroanatomy.

Dr. Lim, a leader in the field of cell biology of the ear, will continue to pursue his life-long research interest, the pathogenesis of otitis media. He believes that by learning the cellular events and reactions that occur in the development of an ear infection, he may one day be able to identify the antigen that will lead to the development of a vaccine against otitis media in young children.

Results of the 1995 Midwinter Meeting Questionnaire

ARO's Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) prepares a questionnaire each year that is included in the ARO Midwinter Meeting (MWM) registration packet. The ARO Business Manager, Michele Johnson, compiles responses to the questionnaire, including a summary of all suggestions and comments. The results are then distributed to ARO officers, Council members, and committee chairs. These individuals are asked to report to the LRPC any actions that have taken place as a result of members' comments. In addition, questionnaire results are discussed at the September Council meeting, which is held in conjunction with the ARO/AAO- HNS Research Forum. ARO members can request a summary of the results of the 1995 MWM questionnaire from Michele Johnson, or from the LRPC chair, Judy Dubno.

At the 1995 MWM, there were 1250 attendees and we received 165 responses to the questionnaire (13%). Unfortunately, the rate of return is very low, and declines each year. At its September meeting, the Council considered other ways of getting information from members about themselves and about their opinions of the MWM. Beginning with the 1996 MWM, demographic information about members and other attendees will be obtained from a newly-modified MWM registration card which is mailed
(as usual) to the ARO Business Office along with the registration fee. Specific comments or suggestions about the MWM continue to be encouraged. Comment forms and a "Comment Box" will be displayed at the MWM registration desk at the Tradewinds.

Here are some highlights of the results of the 1995 MWM questionnaire:

What MWM attendees liked:

€95% of respondents rated the overall meeting as good or excellent.

€Contributed papers and posters were rated as good or excellent by 82% and 92% of respondents, respectively. Symposia were rated as good or excellent by 78% of respondents.

€80% rated hotel accommodations as good or excellent. This figure has been declining steadily over the last three years.

€85% of respondents supported the policy implemented in 1994 requiring that an ARO member or applicant sponsor each submitted abstract (with each member or applicant limited to sponsoring only one abstract).

€When asked what members liked most about the meeting (an open-ended question), the most common response was "opportunity to talk to colleagues, open and informal atmosphere, collegiality." Other common responses were "posters," "symposia," and "the science."

Common complaints of MWM attendees:

€By far, the most common complaint about the meeting site was the temperature and location of the poster sessions in the Banyan Breezeway, a direct result of the unusually cold weather during the 1995 meeting.

€There were several complaints about the lack of strict enforcement of time limits on slide presentations.

€There were various negative comments about hotel accommodations, or that the meeting is getting too large for the meeting site.

Helpful suggestions from MWM attendees:

€The Awards Committee received 74 suggestions for Award of Merit winners.

€When asked what program adjustments should be made to accommodate the increased number of papers submitted, the most popular solution was "larger poster sessions." The next two most popular selections were "more concurrent sessions" and "limit the number of papers from a given laboratory." The three least popular choices were "increase the number of meeting days," "fewer symposia," and "longer podium sessions." The ordering of selections was largely unchanged from the 1994 MWM questionnaire.

€Several respondents suggested that the number of evening sessions should be reduced, or that they be scheduled later (i.e., after dinner).

€With regard to the ARO News, there was strong support for accepting paid advertisements from for-profit organizations, but little support for charging fees to not-for-profit organizations to print position announcements or announcements of scientific meetings. Most members think the ARO can afford the newsletter and that the portion of their dues allocated for this member benefit is appropriate.

€Although many members commented on the growth of the MWM, there was a mixed response to the question of whether the MWM should move to a new location. When attendees were asked to suggest specific locations, three cities received the most votes, Sarasota (11%), San Diego (9%), and New Orleans (8%), followed by southern Florida (8%), although the total number of suggestions was small. Approximately 25% of the comments suggested maintaining the current location for the near future, making adjustments when necessary. Some 15% of the comments were appeals to "move only if absolutely necessary."

ARO responds:

€Regarding accommodations for posters, the Banyan Breezeway will continue to be used for posters, but every effort will be made to improve the environment, including installing additional heaters. The hotel was also instructed to use heavier plastic for the side walls. The Banyan space is large enough to accommodate some growth in numbers of posters. If necessary, however, the next available area for posters is the Garden Courtyard (where the tennis courts used to be) which could be enclosed with a tent and heated.

€Once again, the instructions given to slide session chairs will include a reminder that it is important to keep sessions on time and to allow ample time for discussion. Letters sent to individuals giving slide presentations will emphasize the need to allow time during their presentations for discussion.

€The ARO News will begin accepting paid advertisements from for-profit organizations.

The LRPC would like to continue hearing what attendees find satisfactory and unsatisfactory about the MWM and other ARO functions. At the 1996 meeting, let us hear your opinions by placing them in the "Comment Box" at the MWM registration desk. We will continue to respond, whenever possible, to suggestions of the membership.

Judy R. Dubno
Chair, Long Range Planning Committee

New Members

Active

Edward Aboujaoude, MD
John Allum, D.Sc.
Ronald Baken, Ph.D.
Sujana Chandrasekhar, MD
David Edelstein, MD
Keijiro Fukazawa, MD
Glenn Green, MD
Steven Green, Ph.D.
Richard L. Goode, MD
John W. Hawks, PhD
Hiroshi Hesoi, PhD, MD
Tomoyuki Hoshina
Shun-Ichi Imamura, MD
Naoyuki Kanoh, MD
Isao Kato, MD
Masahiro Kawana, MD
Hideyuki Kawauchi, MD, PhD
Alan Langman, MD
Qin Liu, PhD
Paul Micevych, PhD
Robin Michaels, PhD
Alan Miller, PhD
Cynthia Morton, PhD
Robert Orlikoff, PhD
Linda Pierson, PhD
Sunil Puria, PhD
Katsuro Sato, MD
Toru Seo, MD
Gavin Setzen, MD
Amiram Shneiderman, MD, PhD
David Stanforth, BA
Terry Takahashi, PhD
Sherard Tatum, MD
Mark Zrull, PhD

Associate

Peter Benson, B.A.
Robert Burger Jr., BA
Richard Caldwell, MD
Terry Donat, MD
John Doucet, PhD
Seiichi Nakata, MD
Vincent Ostrowski, BS
Karen Robinson, BS
David White, BS
Cheng-Yuan Wu, MD
Jun Yan, MD

Corresponding

Masahiko Adachi, MD
Mohamed M.K. Badr-El-Dine, MD
Dianne Broussard, Ph.D.
Bernd Faulstich
Tomoyuki Hoshino, MD
Satoshi Iwasaki, MD
Ken McAnally, PhD
Hiroshi Miyashita, MD
Michel Mondain
Grit Taschenberger