Project Summary The otolaryngology specialty requires a wide variety of expertise and scientific strategies for understanding and treating communication disorders. Our program’s goal is to train and develop physicians who will advance the field of otolaryngology and serve as its future innovators and leaders. We aim to provide a solid foundation for medical student and resident participants’ futures in otolaryngology research by 1) providing tailored mentored research experiences for otolaryngology residents and medical students interested in matching with otolaryngology residency programs; 2) leveraging our diverse institutional resources to provide professional development training and research skill-building to prepare participants for clinician-scientist careers; and 3) enhancing recruitment of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to careers in otolaryngology research. We will provide the research training, communication, and professional skills that will enable our graduates to become creative contributors to the future of otolaryngology and the treatment of associated communication disorders. Two residents per year will enter into 18 continuous months of research training in their third year of residency. Additionally, 2 medical students per year will be recruited for 9 months of research training. These students will be paired with near-peer resident mentors. These trainees can choose from a wide and deep selection of research themes both within the department and in associated laboratories at Hopkins and elsewhere. Mentoring teams will include preceptors and co-preceptors with a history of training clinician- scientists and early healthcare professionals, academic achievement, and competing for research funding. Research topics include, but are not limited to: basic mechanisms of, and therapeutic innovation for dizziness and balance; studies of the auditory nervous system; pathogenesis of sinusitis, laryngotracheal stenosis and respiratory papillomatosis; outcomes, quality and safety in otolaryngology; molecular biology and epidemiology of head and neck cancers; surgical robotics; and public health studies in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Program participants will benefit from access to state-of-the-art research facilities, a highly collaborative and diverse research environment, and substantial institutional resources. Participants will also complete a curriculum focused on safety and compliance, rigor & reproducibility, research skill-building, grantsmanship, laboratory management, and navigating careers as clinician-scientists. The program will build upon 33 years of successful research training in our T32 program, which has produced many clinician-investigators and leaders in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

Project Narrative This program will provide research and professional development training in otolaryngology to residents and medical students. The research education planned as part of this award is critical for their development as clinician-scientists who will ultimately contribute to the understanding and treatment of conditions that affect communication and the senses of hearing, balance, taste, and smell.