ANS Research Grant Award
Established: 2014/2015
First awarded: 2015
Funding provided by: the ANS Endowment Fund
WE ARE PLEASED TO AWARD FOUR $25,000 GRANTS IN 2023!
The ANS Research Committee reviewed 14 applications and recommended to the Council to fund four grant recipients for the upcoming funding cycle, July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024.
Congratulations to the 2023 ANS Research Grant Award recipients
(in alphabetical order)
 Nir Ben-Shlomo, MD was selected as a 2023 research grant recipient for his grant titled, “Sustained Drug Release of Dexamethasone and Neurotrophic Agents from Zwitterionic Thin Film Coatings for Decreased Inflammation and Improved Spiral Ganglion Neuron Survival following Cochlear Implantation.” Nir Ben-Shlomo received his bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and then went on to complete his medical degree at the Ben Gurion University in Israel. He is currently a PGY-2 clinical otolaryngology resident and has completed two years of research as a T32 resident at the University of Iowa. Under the mentorship of Marlan Hansen, MD and C. Allan Guymon, PhD, his research is focused on mitigating the inflammatory response associated with indwelling implants by applying a zwitterionic hydrogel coating to alter the surface characteristics of implantable biomaterials. By applying these coatings to cochlear implant electrode arrays the aim is to minimize both insertional trauma and the foreign body response. The focus of this project is on embedding a controlled drug release mechanism within the thin film coating that can supply the inner ear with sustained doses of either dexamethasone or neurotrophic agents after cochlear implantation. When he is not in the hospital or the laboratory, Nir enjoys gardening, cooking, backpacking, chess, and puns.
 Dr. Janet Choi was selected as a 2023 research grant recipient for her grant titled, “Big Data to Personalized Hearing Health: Developing an Open Database for Hearing Devices and a Matching System”. Dr. Choi is currently a neurotology fellow at the University of Minnesota and will be joining the University of Southern California as an Assistant Professor. She earned her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering at the University of California San Diego and her medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed her residency training at the University of Southern California. Her research goals encompass improving accessibility to hearing care and its utilization via technology-based strategies that have direct and immediate clinical impact on patients. She and her multidisciplinary research team is currently developing an integrated hearing data processing system connecting a one-page hearing test report to a full range of hearing device options. In this proposal, she aims to establish a comprehensive open hearing device database and a device matching algorithm. The proposed system has implications in raising awareness of wearable and implantable hearing device options and in providing hearing health navigation support for patients with hearing loss.
 Adam C. Kaufman, MD, PhD was selected as a 2023 research grant recipient for his grant titled, “The Role of Sweet Taste Receptors in Middle Ear Mucosal Defense.” Dr. Kaufman is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore. Dr. Kaufman earned his BA degree in Biochemistry from Columbia University. He completed his MD/PhD at the Yale School of Medicine. He went on to complete his residency training in otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and fellowship in neurotology/Skullbase surgery at Stanford University. His research interests include better understanding chronic otitis media microbiology and how the innate immune system fails to control these infections. His passions include patient education and advocacy as well as education for residents and mentorship for medical students. When he is not working, he can be found running along the Baltimore harbor.
Yin Ren, MD, PhD was selected as a 2023 research grant recipient for his grant titled "Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Tumor Inflammation Markers in Aggressive Vestibular Schwannomas". Dr. Ren is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Otology, Neurotology and Cranial Base Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. His clinical interests include treatment of hearing loss, tumors of the skull base, and implantable devices such as cochlear implants. He is active in both basic science and clinical research and collaborates extensively with colleagues from neurosurgery, pathology, biomedical engineering and radiology. As the associate director of the ACGME-accredited neurotology fellowship at Ohio State, Dr. Ren is also actively involved in the education of residents, fellows, medical and audiology students. A NIH-funded surgeon-scientist, his research is primarily focused on the development of tumor-targeted nanotechnology and identification of novel biomarkers in vestibular schwannomas. Dr. Ren received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT. He earned his MD-PhD degrees at Harvard Medical School and MIT in the Health Sciences and Technology program. He completed residency training in Otolaryngology at the Harvard Combined Otolaryngology Program / Massachusetts Eye and Ear, followed by fellowship in otology and neurotology at University of California, San Diego. Dr. Ren joined the Ohio State University Department of Otolaryngology in August 2021.
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 finding cycle. Indirect costs (overhead) 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 2024-25, the deadline for applications is March 1, 2024. Email a cover letter and application to Dr. Ronna Hertzano, [email protected], Chair of the ANS Research Committee and ANS Admin, Kristen Bordignon.
ANS Grant Application Deadline is March 1st - 11:59 PM PT
(NO LOI REQUIRED)
Click here for Fast Facts about the ANS Research Grant!
Please click here for ANS Grant submission instructions (revised in 2021)
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.
The grants and reference letters are to be submitted via email to Dr. Ronna Hertzano, Chair of the American Neurotology Society Research Committee, [email protected] and Kristen Bordignon, Administrator for the American Neurotology Society, [email protected]
ANS RESEARCH COMMITTEE - Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD - Chair
Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD
Susan Emmett, MD, MPH
Aaron Remenschneider, MD (Chair-Elect)
Matthew Crowson, MD, MPA, MASc
Christine Dinh, MD
Courtney Voelker, MD, PhD
Samuel Gubbels, MD
Theodore McRackan, MD
Jason Brant, MD
Michael Hoa, MD (D/I Committee representative)
MULTIPLE $25,000 RESEARCH GRANTS MAY BE AWARDED
Grant Submission Deadline: March 1
Previous Recipients
|
Christine T. Dinh, MD
University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine
Miami, FL
|
Cochlear irradiation and dosimetry: apoptosis, necrosis and hearing loss
|
$25,000 |
2015 |
|
Harrison W. Lin, MD
University of California-Irvine
Orange, CA
|
Chronic implantation of the facial nerve for selective facial muscle contraction |
$25,000 |
2016 |
|
Michael S. Harris, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI
|
Verbal Memory as Outcome Predictor in Adults Receiving Cochlear Implants |
$25,000 |
2017 |
|
Ksenia A. Aaron, MD
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
|
Modelling and Restoring Hearing and Vestibular Deficit of Non-Syndromic Deafness |
$25,000 |
2018 |
|
Dunia Abdul-Aziz, MD
Massachusetts Eye & Ear
Boston, MA
|
Targeting Epigenetic Modifying Enzymes for Hair Cell Regeneration |
$25,000 |
2019 |
|
Tatiana Correa, MD, MPH
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
|
Comparison of Surgical Routes for Localized Inner Ear Viral Vector-Mediated Gene Therapy in the Guinea Pig Using Helper-Dependent Adenovirus Type 5 |
$25,000 |
2020 |
| Courtney C.J. Voelker, MD, PhD
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
|
In Vivo Neuronal Mapping of the Auditory Pathway in Pediatric Patients with Congenital Unilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss and those with Normal Hearing |
$25,000 |
2020 |
|
Douglas Bennion, MD and Megan (Foggia) Jensen, MD
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
|
Durable Zwitterionic Thin Film Coatings for Cochlear Implant Biomaterials |
$25,000 |
2020 |
|
Ashley E. Kita, MD
University of California, Los Angeles
|
Prolonged Elution of Cytokines for Inner Ear Rehabilitation
|
$25,000 |
2021 |
| Bing Teh, MD
Columbia University
New York, NY
|
Impact of Vestibular Dose on Post Gamma Knife Balance Function |
$25,000 |
2021 |
Aida Nourbakhsh, MD, PhD
University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine
Miami, FL |
Molecular Mechanisms of Hypofractionation and Radiation Resistance in Vestibular Schwannoma |
$25,000 |
2022 |
Vivian F. Kaul, MD
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH |
Improving Patient Satisfaction and Quality of Life Outcomes for Cochlear Implant Patients Through an Interactive Web and Mobile-Based Patient Education Platform |
$25,000 |
2022 |
Amit Walia, MD
Washington University
St. Louis, MO |
Predicting Performance in Background Noise for Cochlear Implant Recipients using Electrocochleography |
$25,000 |
2022 |
|
