ANS Research Grant Award

Established: 2014/2015
First awarded: 2015
Funding provided by: the ANS Endowment Fund

NEXT FUNDING CYCLE - JULY 1, 2027- June 30, 2028
Please click here for ANS Grant submission instructions 
ONLINE GRANT APPLICATION DUE
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2027 - MIDNIGHT P.T. 

IMPORTANT! For the next ANS Grant Application cycle, NIH-Style Biosketches may be submitted 
EITHER in traditional word document format OR in the new online NIH SciENcv format


Click here for Fast Facts about the ANS Research Grant

WE ARE PLEASED TO AWARD FOUR RESEARCH GRANTS IN 2026!

Congratulations to the 2026 ANS Research Grant Award recipients
(in alphabetical order)

Jumah G. Ahmad, MD was selected as a 2026 ANS Research Grant recipient, with funding provided in partnership with the Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA) and ANS for his grant titled, “Assessing Vestibular Dysfunction in Older Cochlear Implant Patients and Identifying High Risk Candidates.” Dr. Ahmad is currently a Neurotology and Lateral Skull Base Surgery Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Utah. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Biomedicine and Chemistry from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and completed his medical training at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He then completed residency training in Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston/MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Ahmad will join the faculty at Duke University, where he plans to develop an academic research program focused on technology-forward approaches to clinical and translational research in cochlear implantation and vestibular schwannoma. Under the mentorship of Richard K. Gurgel, MD, and with collaborators in physical therapy, his research will prospectively evaluate older adults undergoing cochlear implantation using patient-reported dizziness measures, wearable motion sensors, and otolith function testing. This study aims to characterize early postoperative vestibular dysfunction, identify patients at increased risk for balance decline and falls, and inform future strategies for perioperative counseling, electrode selection, and vestibular rehabilitation. Outside of work, Dr. Ahmad enjoys fútbal, table tennis, hiking, and spending time with his family.

Peter Dixon, MD MSc was selected as a 2026 research grant recipient for his grant titled, "Health Trajectories Across the Adult Lifespan After Cochlear Implantation." Dr. Dixon is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, SC. He completed his medical training and his MSc in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Toronto, followed by fellowship training in Neurotology at the University of California San Diego. His research links a prospective cochlear implant candidacy registry with population-wide longitudinal health records - a dataset uniquely capable of tracking health and healthcare use across decades - to evaluate whether cochlear implantation is associated with preserved aging in place among confirmed adult candidates. Using an emulated target trial framework, this work measures the association between cochlear implantation and "time alive at home" free from institutionalization and acute care and characterizes how associations vary across baseline risk. Outside of work, Dr. Dixon and his wife, Sarah, are kept happily busy by their three young boys. 

Nicole T. Jiam, MD was selected as a 2026 ANS Research Grant recipient for her grant titled, "Early Cortical Biomarkers of Acoustic–Electric Integration in Single-Sided Deafness Cochlear Implant Users." Dr. Jiam is a surgeon-scientist and Assistant Professor in the Division of Otology, Neurotology, and Skull Base Surgery within the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. She earned her bachelor's degree in neuroscience and her medical degree at Johns Hopkins, completed residency training in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at UCSF, and a fellowship in Otology/Neurotology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear. Her funded project uses high-density EEG to identify early cortical markers of interhemispheric integration during the first months after cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness, with the goal of developing objective, biomarker-guided tools to predict and improve rehabilitation outcomes. Her broader research program seeks to define the perceptual and neural mechanisms underlying variable cochlear implant outcomes and to translate them into precision, patient-oriented sensory restoration and rehabilitation - uniting psychophysics, electrophysiology, machine-learning prediction, and complex sound and music perception.

Matthew Steinhart, MD, PhD was selected as a 2026 research grant recipient for his grant titled, "Cell-State–Specific Transcriptional Programs Associated with Differential Growth of Vestibular Schwannomas". Dr. Steinhart is currently a PGY3 otolaryngology resident at Indiana University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University and completed his MD-PhD at Indiana University School of Medicine. This research project focuses on using single-cell transcriptomic sequencing to investigate molecular pathways associated with fast- and slow-growing vestibular schwannomas. This study aims to identify growth-associated signaling programs and potential therapeutic targets for patients with vestibular schwannoma. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family.

GRANT SUBMISSION INFORMATION

The purpose of the American Neurotology Society (ANS) Research Grant is to encourage and support academic research in sciences related to the investigation of otology and neurotology.  Appropriate areas of research include diagnosis, management, and pathogenesis of diseases of the ear and/or skull base. Grants that focus on addressing clinical gaps are especially encouraged.  Grants may involve cell/molecular studies, animal research, or human subjects research.

The maximum award request is $25,000 per year (US dollars) and is annually renewable on a competitive basis. ANS may distribute up to three $25,000 grants each funding cycle.  Indirect costs (overhead), salary support are not allowed. Grants are available to physician investigators in the United States and Canada only. We particularly encourage those individuals without a history of K08, R03, R21, or R01 funding to apply. 

If you would like to submit a grant for consideration in 2026-27, the deadline for applications is March 2, 2026. The grant application and reference letters are to be submitted via email in ONE PDF to Dr. Aaron Remenschneider, Chair of the American Neurotology Society Research Committee, [email protected] and Kristen Bordignon, Administrator for the American Neurotology Society, [email protected] 

The American Neurotology Society Research Fund only accepts grant applications and reference letters electronically. Please prepare your application electronically and have everything including reference letters contained within one PDF. Please submit your final PDF application by email.  Reference letters may be electronically prepared and signed as PDF documents, or may be scanned as PDF documents, in order that they may be included as part of the grant application. 

IMPORTANT! For the 2026 ANS Grant Application cycle, NIH-Style Biosketches may be submitted EITHER in traditional word document format OR in the new online NIH SciENcv format

The next ANS Grant Application Deadline is March 2, 2026 - 11:59 PM PT   (NO LOI REQUIRED)

NEW IN 2026! 

ANS Community Engagement and Workforce Development
in Otology and Neurotology Grant
CLICK HERE FOR FOA and INSTRUCTIONS
Funds based on project/budget / Up to $10,000 per year

American Neurotology Society/Vestibular Disorders Association Grant collaboration
ANS/VeDA Clinical Outcomes Research Grant
Purpose: To encourage and support academic research in topics aimed at improving clinical outcomes
of patients with vestibular disorders. 

ANS/VeDACOR Grant Topics 

• New treatment methods
• Development of new instruments to gauge outcomes
• Multidisciplinary care delivery models
• Translational research projects
• Basic Research

All projects aimed at improving healthcare outcomes for people with chronic vestibular dysfunction arising from illness or injury to the peripheral or central vestibular system will be considered.

Click here for Fast Facts about the ANS Research Grant!

Please click here for ANS Grant submission instructions

ANS RESEARCH COMMITTEE -Aaron K. Remenschneider, MD, MPH - CHAIR

Aaron Remenschneider, MD, MPH
Christine Dinh, MD
Courtney Voelker, MD, PhD
Samuel Gubbels, MD
Theodore McRackan, MD
Jason Brant, MD
Andrew McCall, MD
Rick Nelson, MD, PhD
Ana Kim, MD
David Friedmann, MD, MSc
James Saunders, MD
Divya Chari, MD
Charlotte Hughes, MD (DI Committee representative) 

MULTIPLE $25,000 RESEARCH GRANTS MAY BE AWARDED

Next Grant Submission Deadline: March 2, 2026

Previous Recipients