Current Research

Neurodevelopmental Research in Children

Our group is currently studying the effects of temporary conductive hearing loss due to otitis media with effusion (OME) on long term listening strategies in children.  OME is one of the most common diseases of childhood, and is by far the most common cause of acquired conductive hearing loss in children.  OME occurs most frequently in early childhood, often before the age of 3 years, a time that overlaps significantly with the critical period for speech and language development.  Because the effects on hearing are often fluctuating or transient, they can be easily overlooked. Our lab tests children between the ages of 4-7 years on a variety of auditory tasks, aiming to compare typically developing children to those with a history of hearing loss during the critical period of speech and language development earlier in childhood.  Using an interactive touch-screen interface designed for children in a sound-proof booth, we can investigate whether measures such as amplitude modulation (AM) detection and tone in noise are impaired in children with a history of OME-related hearing loss, even after normal hearing is restored.  

NIH-Sponsored Research

• The Development of Vestibular-Perceptual Adaptation Paradigms For Treating Persistent Vertigo & Perceived Disequilibrium
  K23: 08/01/2020 – 07/31/2025
  PI: Eric Anson, Ph.D.
• Multi-modal Vestibular Perception
  R01: 12/01/2014 – 12/31/2024
  PI: Benjamin T Crane, MD, PhD
• Behavioral and Physiological Consequences of Auditory Nerve Loss
  R01: 07/01/2019 – 06/30/2024
  PI: Kenneth S Henry, PhD
• Synaptic Mechanisms of Mammalian Vestibular Efferent Responses
  R01: 03/01/2018 – 02/28/2023
  PI: J. Christopher Holt, PhD
• Convergent Natural And Prosthetic Vestibular Signals
  R23: 04/01/2020 – 03/21/2022
  PI: Shawn Newlands, MD, PhD, MBA

Recently Concluded Industry-Sponsored Clinical Trials

• A Phase 2a, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multi-Center Study to Evaluate the Effect of GB001 in Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis With or Without Nasal Polyps
  5/16/19 – 8/5/20
  PI: Li-Xing Man, MD MPH

• A Prospective, R, DB, PC, MC, Phase 3, S & E Study of OTO-104 Given as a Single Intratympanic Injection in Subjects with Unilateral Meniere’s Disease
  Otonomy, Inc.: 05/01/16 – 04/30/17
  PI: Benjamin T Crane, MD, PhD
• A 6 Month, MC, Phase 3, OL Extension Safety Study of OTO-104 Given at 3 Month Intervals by Intratympanic Injection in Subjects with Unilateral Meniere’s Disease
  Otonomy, Inc.: 08/19/16 – 09/30/17
  PI: Benjamin T Crane, MD, PhD
• Efficacy and Safety of AM-111 as Acute and Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Treatment (ASSENT)
  Auris Medical, Inc.: 09/01/16 – 11/30/2017
  PI: Benjamin T Crane, MD, PhD