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

EARssentials: Concepts and Techniques of Contemporary Hearing Research 2024

Event Date: July 08, 2024 - July 25, 2024
Time: Check event schedule
Location: Virtual or in-person attendance

Join us for EARssentials 2024, with lectures to be held online July 8-12 (mornings) and virtual/hybrid workshops offered July 23-25 (afternoons)! EARssentials provides students with an overall conceptual view of the auditory system as well as exposure to laboratory techniques unique to research on the inner ear. In the eleventh year of this free course, hosted and taught primarily by scientists at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), all lectures, panels, and some interactive workshops will be accessible virtually. Live captioning will be available. In-person attendance (RSVP required) is available for those at NIH or through a separate application process for extramural registrants.

The primary audience for this course is new intramural NIDCD trainees at all levels. Attendees from institutions outside NIH are welcome to attend virtually in 2024. The course is also useful for others who want to learn about concepts related to the auditory system.

utricular hair cell bundles taken from a scanning electron microscopeSource: Mhamed Grati

a microscopic image of a whole-mount organ of CortiSource: Runjia Cui

a microscopic image of a cross section of the inner earSource: Cathy Sung

a microscopic image of the organ of Corti with staining for bicellular and tricellular tight junctions and actinSource: Kevin Isgrig

a microscopic image of sensory hair cells within the zebrafish lateral lineSource: Saman Hussain

2024 Course Format

The course will kick off in Week 1 (Monday-Friday mornings, July 8-12) with introductory mini lectures, with each lecture followed by a live interactive Q & A with the course faculty. Friday morning’s session will be a “clinical day,” focusing on current treatments for hearing loss and providing insights from patients treated by NIDCD clinician-scientists.

In Week 2 (Tuesday-Thursday afternoons, July 23-25), workshops will be available virtually or in a hybrid format. Features include a mouse genetics lab and a workshop on the gEAR (gene Expression Analysis Resource) portal.

If you would like to participate in this year’s EARssentials course, please email Karen Fischer before July 1 to register.

Course Schedule (Eastern time zone)

Week 1: July 8–12, Lectures

All lectures from Monday to Thursday will be followed by a live Q & A session.

Monday, July 8

  • Course Introduction: Elyssa Monzack, 9:30–9:50 a.m.
    • Q & A, 9:50–10:00 a.m.
  • Tour of the Auditory System: Melanie Barzik, 10:05–10:25 a.m.
    • Q & A, 10:25–10:35 a.m.
  • Introduction to the Auditory System: Kelly King, 10:50–11:10 a.m.
    • Q & A, 11:10–11:30 a.m.
  • Auditory Mechanics and Traveling Wave: Kelly King, 11:35–11:55 a.m.
    • Q & A, 11:55 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

To access extended video content on the relevant topics, you may view the video on the course introduction, the Introduction to the Auditory System, and on the Auditory Mechanics and Traveling Wave. Video source: 2016 EARssentials course.

Tuesday, July 9

  • The Evolution of the Auditory System: Matthew Kelley, 9:30–9:50 a.m.
    • Q & A, 9:50–10:10 a.m.
  • Development of the Inner Ear: Doris Wu, 10:15–10:35 a.m.
    • Q & A, 10:35–10:55 a.m.
  • The Stereocilia Bundle: Angela Ballesteros, 11:10–11:30 a.m.
    • Q & A, 11:30–11:50 a.m.
  • Mechanotransduction: Angela Ballesteros, 11:50 a.m.–12:10 p.m.
    • Q & A, 12:10–12:30 p.m.

To access extended video content on the relevant topics, you may view the full-length video on the evolution of the auditory system, the video on the development of the inner ear, the Part I video on mechanotransduction, and the updated Part II video on mechanotransduction, prior to the discussion. Video sources: 2016, 2020, and 2023 EARssentials courses.

Wednesday, July 10

  • Electrophysiology Basics and the Hair Cell Synapse: Cat Weisz, 9:30–9:50 a.m.
    • Q & A, 9:50–10:10 a.m.
  • Spiral Ganglion: Kirupa Suthakar, 10:15–10:35 a.m.
    • Q & A,10:35–10:55 a.m.
  • Hair Cell Death: Lisa Cunningham, 11:10–11:30 a.m.
    • Q & A, 11:30–11:50 a.m.
  • Hair Cell Regeneration: Matt Kelley, 11:55 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
    • Q & A, 12:15–12:35 p.m.

To access extended video content on the relevant topics, you may view the video on ion channel biology and efferent regulation of auditory function, the updated video on the hair cell synapse, the updated video on the spiral ganglion, the updated video on hair cell death, and the video on hair cell regeneration prior to the discussion. Video sources: 2016, 2020, and 2023 EARssentials courses.

Thursday, July 11

  • Introduction to the Vestibular System: Christopher Zalewski, 9:30–
    9:50 a.m.
    • Q & A, 9:50–10:10 a.m.
  • Genetics of Hearing Loss: Tom Friedman, 10:15–10:35 a.m.
    • Q & A, 10:35–10:55 a.m.
  • Zebrafish Lateral Line: Katie Kindt, 11:10–11:30 a.m.
    • Q & A, 11:30–11:50 a.m.
  • Immunology of the Inner Ear: Cathy Sung, 11:55 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
    • Q & A, 12:15–12:35 p.m

To access extended video content on the relevant topics, you may view the video on the vestibular system, the video on the genetics of hearing loss, and the updated video on the zebrafish lateral line prior to the discussion. Video sources: 2016 and 2021 EARssentials courses.

Friday, July 12

  • The Clinical Approach to the Patient with Hearing Loss: Ronna Hertzano, 9:30–10:00 a.m.
  • Audiology/Otology Clinical Vignettes: Noelle Allemang, Ronna Hertzano, Gayla Poling, 10:20–11:05 a.m.
  • Hearing Loss and Hearing Restoration: A Patient Perspective: Ronna Hertzano, Gayla Poling, TBD, 11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

To access extended video content, you may view the video on clinical treatments prior to the discussion. Video source: 2016 EARssentials course.

 

Week 2: July 23–25, Virtual/Hybrid Workshops

Tuesday, July 23

  • Workshop: Introduction to gEAR: Ronna Hertzano and Joshua Orvis, 1:00–3:15 p.m. For additional content relevant to this workshop, you can watch the updated video on gene profiling and bioinformatics in advance or following the session. Video source: 2021 EARssentials course.
  • Pre-lab lecture for the Introduction to Mouse Genetics lab: Isabelle Roux, 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24

  • Introduction to Confocal Microscopy: Elizabeth Driver, 1:00–2:00 p.m. Precedes an in-person laboratory session, but virtual participants are welcome to attend this introductory session.

Thursday, July 25

  • Pre-lab lecture for the Mouse and Human ABR/DPOAE labs: Tracy Fitzgerald, Talah Wafa, 12:00–1:00 p.m. Precedes an in-person laboratory session, but virtual participants are welcome to attend this introductory session.
  • Laboratory session: Introduction to Mouse Genetics: Isabelle Roux, 3:00–5:00 p.m. Space is limited; all interested participants must register with Elyssa Monzack, NIDCD Training Director, to attend this lab.
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