Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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

EARssentials: Concepts and Techniques of Contemporary Hearing Research 2018

Event Date: July 16, 2018 - July 20, 2018
Time: Check event schedule
Location: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Thanks to all who attended the 2018 EARssentials course. Information about the 2019 EARssentials course is available.

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! (1.89MB PDF)

Join us for EARssentials 2018, to be held July 16-20! The application deadline for lab courses has now passed. Registration for lectures is still open; contact Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D., NIDCD intramural chief of staff, to reserve a seat.

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 postdoctoral, graduate, postbaccalaureate, 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. Space in the lab courses is limited, and the registration deadline has passed. 

All lectures will be held in building 60 (Cloisters), room B1A199C (Rathskeller), on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. All laboratory sessions begin from building 35A. Campus map.

Monday, July 16
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—Andrew Griffith
(60 min)
10:00-10:15 a.m. Break
(15 min)
10:15-11:15 a.m.

Lecture: Auditory mechanics and the traveling wave—Kelly King
(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 17
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—Thomas Coate
(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, Evan Krystofiak
(5 hours)

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

Laboratory session: Transmission electron microscopy—Ron Petralia
(5 hours)

Laboratory tutorial: Inner ear paint fill demonstration—Doris Wu
(5 hours)
Wednesday, July 18
Time Presentation
8:30-9:30 a.m.

Lecture: Mechanotransduction I—Robert Fettiplace
(60 min)
9:30-9:40 a.m.

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

Lecture: Cochlear tuning II—Robert Fettiplace
(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, Evan Krystofiak
(5 hours)

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

Laboratory session: Transmission electron microscopy—Ron Petralia
(5 hours)

Laboratory tutorial: Inner ear paint fill demonstration—Doris Wu
(5 hours)
Thursday, July 19
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—Robert Morell
(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)
Friday, July 20
Time Presentation
8:30-
9:30 a.m.

Lecture: Genetics of hearing loss—Thomas Friedman
(60 min)
9:30-9:40 a.m. Break
(10 min)
9:40-10:40 a.m.

Lecture: Lateral line—Katie Kindt
(60 min)
10:40-10:50 a.m.

Break
(10 min)
10:50-11:35 a.m.

Lecture: Clinical treatments—Wade Chien
(45 Min)
11:35 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Lunch
(1 hour, 10 min)
12:45-6:00 p.m.

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

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

Faculty

Inna Belyantseva, M.D., Ph.D.
Elizabeth Bernhard, B.S.
Carmen Brewer, Ph.D.
​Wade Chien M.D., FACS
Thomas Coate, Ph.D.
Lisa Cunningham, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Driver, Ph.D.
Katharine Fernandez, Au.D., Ph.D.
Robert Fettiplace, Ph.D.
Tracy Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
Thomas Friedman, Ph.D.
Paul Fuchs, Ph.D.
Andrew Griffith, M.D., Ph.D.

Matthew Kelley, Ph.D.
Katie Kindt, Ph.D.
Kelly King, Au.D., Ph.D.
Evan Krystofiak, Ph.D.
Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D.
Robert Morell, Ph.D.
Ronald Petralia, Ph.D.
Kerianne Richards, M.S.
Isabelle Roux, Ph.D.
Talah Wafa, Au.D.
Catherine Weisz, Ph.D.
Doris Wu, Ph.D.
Christopher Zalewski, Ph.D.

* Note: PDF files require a viewer such as the free Adobe Reader.

Last Updated Date: