ANS Research Grant Award
Established: 2014/2015
First awarded: 2015
Funding provided by: the ANS Endowment Fund
WE ARE PLEASED TO AWARD THREE $25,000 GRANTS IN 2024!
The ANS Research Committee reviewed 8 applications and recommended to the Council to fund three grant recipients for the upcoming funding cycle, July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025.
Congratulations to the 2024 ANS Research Grant Award recipients
(in alphabetical order)
 Douglas M. Bennion, MD, PhD was selected as a 2024 research grant recipient for his grant titled, "Characterizing the Translational Treatment Potential of Losartan After Acoustic Trauma". Dr. Bennion is a neurotology fellow at the University of California San Diego. He earned his BS degree in Neuroscience from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. He pursued his MD-PhD training at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, where he completed his dissertation work studying the protective effects in ischemic stroke of renin angiotensin system blockade. He underwent residency training in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery at the University of Iowa prior to commencing his neurotology fellowship at UCSD. Dr. Bennion’s research is focused on characterizing the renin angiotensin system as a target for existing and novel pharmacologic agents in protecting against hearing loss. His team is currently exploring the impact of treatment with losartan at reducing synaptopathy and associated threshold shifts in a preclinical model of noise-induced hearing loss. In their proposed experiments, they anticipate identifying an optimal dose at which losartan may induce otoprotection and assessing whether treatment starting in the hours after acoustic trauma may induce protective effects similar to those that pre-exposure treatment affords. The translational potential of their findings is of increased significance in consideration of the widespread use of losartan for other indications and its relatively few adverse effects. Dr. Bennion’s other research endeavors include optimizing intraoperative assessments of cochlear nerve function during vestibular schwannoma microsurgery that may predict subsequent cochlear implant performance, and defining patient and tumor factors associated with optimal outcomes following tumor removal by hearing preservation and non-hearing preservation approaches. He enjoys all kinds of activities that involve spending time with family and friends: cycling, hiking, fly fishing, string quartet and choir ensembles, and family movie night.
 Alexander Chern, MD was selected as a 2024 research grant recipient for his grant titled, “Psychometric Validation of an Item Bank and Development of a Profile Instrument Assessing Music Enjoyment in Individuals with Hearing Loss.” Dr. Chern is a neurotology fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He graduated from Yale College with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and completed his medical training at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He went on to complete his residency training in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia/Weill Cornell). His primary research interests include music perception, cochlear implantation, and the effects of hearing loss on the brain. When he is not working, he can be found cooking and eating with friends, playing the violin, and making coffee.
 Ankita Patro, MD, MS was selected as a 2024 research grant recipient for her grant titled “Developing a Validated Adult Cochlear Implant Referral Guideline Using Machine Learning.” Dr. Patro is currently a neurotology fellow at Vanderbilt University, where she also completed her residency training in otolaryngology. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in biology from Stanford University and then went on to complete her medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Patro’s research is focused on optimizing access to and outcomes related to cochlear implants and hearing health using machine learning and implementation science frameworks. She will be working closely with a multidisciplinary team and her mentors Dr. Aaron Moberly and Dr. Naweed Chowdhury in executing her proposed ANS project.
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 funding cycle. Indirect costs (overhead), salary support 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 2025-26, the deadline for applications is March 3, 2025. The grant application and reference letters are to be submitted via email in ONE PDF to Dr. Aaron Remenschneider, Chair of the American Neurotology Society Research Committee, [email protected] and Kristen Bordignon, Administrator for the American Neurotology Society, [email protected]
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.
ANS Grant Application Deadline is March 3rd - 11:59 PM PT (NO LOI REQUIRED)
 
American Neurotology Society/Vestibular Disorders Association Grant collaboration
ANS/VeDA Clinical Outcomes Research Grant
Purpose: To encourage and support academic research in topics aimed at improving clinical outcomes
of patients with vestibular disorders.
ANS/VeDACOR Grant Topics
- New treatment methods
- Development of new instruments to gauge outcomes
- Multidisciplinary care delivery models
- Translational research projects
- Basic Research
All projects aimed at improving healthcare outcomes for people with chronic vestibular dysfunction arising from illness or injury to the peripheral or central vestibular system will be considered.
Click here for Fast Facts about the ANS Research Grant!
Please click here for ANS Grant submission instructions
ANS RESEARCH COMMITTEE -Aaron K. Remenschneider, MD, MPH - CHAIR
Aaron K. Remenschneider, MD (Chair)
Christine T. Dinh, MD
Courtney C.J. Voelker, MD, PhD
Samuel Gubbels, MD
Theodore R. McRackan, MD
Jason A. Brant, MD
Andrew A. McCall, MD
Rick F. Nelson, MD, PhD
Ana H. Kim, MD
Michael Hoa, MD (D/I Committee Chair)
MULTIPLE $25,000 RESEARCH GRANTS MAY BE AWARDED
Next Grant Submission Deadline: March 3, 2025
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 |
|
Nir Ben-Shlomo, MD
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
|
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
|
$25,000 |
2023 |
|
Janet Choi, MD, MPH
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
|
Big Data to Personalized Hearing Health: Developing an Open Database for Hearing Devices and a Matching System
|
$25,000 |
2023 |
|
Adam C. Kaufman, MD, PhD
University of Maryland
Baltimore, MD
|
The Role of Sweet Taste Receptors in Middle Ear Mucosal Defense
|
$25,000 |
2023 |
|
Yin Ren, MD, PhD
Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
|
Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Tumor Inflammation Markers in Aggressive Vestibular Schwannomas
|
$25,000 |
2023 |
|
