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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health

EARssentials: Concepts and Techniques of Contemporary Hearing Research 2019

Event Date: July 15, 2019 - July 19, 2019
Time: Check event schedule
Location: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Thanks to all who attended the 2019 EARssentials course. The next EARssentials course will be held July 20-24, 2020. Registration will open in the late spring or early summer.

Videocasts of the 2016 EARssentials lectures and Q&A sessions cover core content from the course and remain available for viewing online:

  • Day 1 (Monday, 7/18/16): Course introduction. Introduction to the auditory system. Auditory mechanics and the traveling wave. History of auditory research. 
  • Day 2 (Tuesday, 7/19/16): Introduction to the vestibular system. Development of the inner ear. Spiral ganglion. 
  • Day 3 (Wednesday, 7/20/16): The stereocilia bundle and mechanotransduction. Hair cells/hair cell death/age-related hearing loss/protection. 
  • Day 4 (Thursday, 7/21/16): Hair cell regeneration. The hair cell synapse. Efferent regulation of auditory function. 
  • Day 5 (Friday, 7/22/16): Lateral line. Genetics of hearing loss. Clinical treatments. Introduction to gene profiling and bioinformatics. 

A Free, Introductory Course for Scientists and Those Interested in Science

EARssentials 2018 promotional poster
Promotional poster; please
distribute widely! (3.73MB PDF)

Join us for EARssentials 2019, to be held July 15-19! Registration is now closed for all lab sessions, but you can reserve a seat at a lecture by contacting Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D., NIDCD intramural chief of staff.

This free, week-long course, hosted and taught by scientists at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides students with an overall conceptual view of the auditory system as well as hands-on exposure to laboratory techniques unique to research on the inner ear.

The primary audience for this course is new intramural NIDCD trainees, including post-doctoral, graduate, post-baccalaureate, and summer students. Scientists from other institutions are welcome to attend as well. The course is also useful for others who want to learn about concepts related to the auditory system.

The class is divided into two segments:

  • Lecture sessions in the mornings, in which scientists introduce and discuss a wide array of concepts related to the auditory system. Lectures are open to all who register. Contact Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D. for more information.
  • Hands-on laboratory sessions in the afternoon. Each session will feature a different technique commonly used in hearing and balance research. The lab sessions are now full.

Lectures will be held in building 49 (1A51/1A59) on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and building 60 (Rathskeller) on Thursday and Friday, on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. All laboratory sessions begin from building 35A. Campus map.

Monday, July 15
Time Presentation
8:30-9:00 a.m

Course introduction—Elyssa Monzack
(30 min)
9:00-10:00 a.m.

Lecture: Introduction to the auditory system—Elyssa Monzack
(60 min)
10:00-10:15 a.m. Break
(15 min)
10:15-11:15 a.m.

Lecture: Auditory mechanics and the traveling wave—Julie Cohen
(60 min)
11:15-11:25 a.m. Break
(10 min)
11:25 a.m.-
12:10 p.m.

Lecture: History of auditory research—Matthew Kelley
(45 min)
12:10-12:30 p.m.

Break
(20 min)
12:30-1:30 p.m.

Pre-lab lecture/bring your lunch
(1 hour)
1:30-6:00 p.m.

Laboratory session: Mouse auditory brainstem response/distortion product otoacoustic emissions—Tracy Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Bernhard, Kate Fernandez
(4.5 hours)

Laboratory session: Human auditory brainstem response/distortion product otoacoustic emissions—Carmen Brewer, Talah Wafa
(4.5 hours)
Tuesday, July 16
Time Presentation
8:30-9:30 a.m.

Lecture: Introduction to the vestibular system—Christopher Zalewski
(60 min)
9:30-9:40 a.m. Break
(10 min)
9:40-10:35 a.m.

Lecture: Development of the inner ear—Doris Wu
(55 min)
10:35-10:45 a.m. Break
(10 min)
10:45-11:40 a.m.

Lecture: Spiral ganglion—Lisa Goodrich
(55 min)
11:40 a.m-
1:00 p.m.

Lunch
(1 hour, 20 min)
1:00-6:00 p.m.

Laboratory session: Scanning electron microscopy—Inna Belyantseva, Mhamed Grati
(5 hours)

Laboratory session: Confocal and live imaging microscopy—Elizabeth Driver, Loksum Wong
(5 hours)

Laboratory session: Transmission electron microscopy—Ron Petralia
(5 hours)
Wednesday, July 17
Time Presentation
8:30-9:30 a.m.

Lecture: Hair cells and mechanotransduction I—Gwenaëlle Géléoc
(60 min)
9:30-9:40 a.m.

Break
(10 min)
9:40-10:40 a.m.

Lecture: Hair cells and mechanotransduction II—Gwenaëlle Géléoc
(60 min)
10:40-10:50 a.m. Break
(10 min)
10:50-11:50 a.m.

Lecture: Hair cells/hair cell death/age-related hearing loss and protection—
Lisa Cunningham
(60 min)
11:50 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Lunch
(1 hour, 10 min)
1:00-6:00 p.m.

Laboratory session: Scanning electron microscopy—Inna Belyantseva, Mhamed Grati
(5 hours)

Laboratory session: Confocal and live imaging microscopy—Elizabeth Driver
(5 hours)

Laboratory session: Transmission electron microscopy—Ron Petralia
(5 hours)
Thursday, July 18
Time Presentation
8:30-9:30 a.m.

Lecture: Hair cell regeneration—Matthew Kelley
(60 minutes)
9:30-9:40 a.m.

Break
(10 min)
9:40-10:40 a.m.

Lecture: The hair cell synapse—Paul Fuchs, Catherine Weisz
(60 min)
10:40-10:50 a.m.

Break
(10 min)
10:50-11:50 a.m.

Lecture: Efferent regulation of auditory function—Paul Fuchs, Catherine Weisz
(60 min)
11:50 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Lunch
(40 min)
12:30-1:15 p.m.

Lecture: Introduction to gene profiling and bioinformatics—Daniel Martin Izquierdo
(45 min)
1:15-6:00 p.m.

Laboratory session: Dissection of cochlea and utricle—Matt Kelley and Lisa Cunningham labs
(4 hours, 45 min)

Laboratory session: Inner ear paint fill demonstration—Doris Wu
(4 hours, 45 min)
Friday, July 19
Time Presentation
9:00-
10:00 a.m.

Lecture: Genetics of hearing loss—Tom Friedman
(60 min)
10:00-10:10 a.m. Break
(10 min)
10:10-11:10 a.m.

Lecture: Lateral line—Katie Kindt
(60 min)
11:10-11:30 a.m.

Break
(20 min)
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Lunch-and-learn panel (bring a lunch): Clinical treatments—Wade Chien, Michael Hoa, Carmen Brewer
(60 Min)
12:30-12:45 p.m.

Break
(15 min)
12:45-6:00 p.m.

Laboratory session: Mouse genetics—Isabelle Roux
(5 hours, 15 min)

Laboratory session: Zebrafish orientation—Katie Kindt lab
(5 hours, 15 min)

Faculty

Inna Belyantseva, M.D., Ph.D.
Elizabeth Bernhard, B.S.
Carmen Brewer, Ph.D.
Wade Chien M.D., FACS
Julie Cohen, Au.D
Lisa Cunningham, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Driver, Ph.D.
Katharine Fernandez, Au.D., Ph.D.
Tracy Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
Thomas Friedman, Ph.D.
Paul Fuchs, Ph.D.
Gwenaëlle Géléoc, Ph.D.
Lisa Goodrich, Ph.D.

Mhamed Grati, Ph.D.
Michael Hoa, M.D.
Daniel Martin Izquierdo, Ph.D.
Matthew Kelley, Ph.D.
Katie Kindt, Ph.D.
Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D.
Ronald Petralia, Ph.D.
Isabelle Roux, Ph.D.
Talah Wafa, Au.D.
Catherine Weisz, Ph.D.
Loksum Wong, Ph.D.
Doris Wu, Ph.D.
Christopher Zalewski, Ph.D.

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