Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:This study examined the medical school experiences of current U.S. otolaryngology residents to better understand gender biases that may persist within the specialty and to inform strategies that could improve workforce excellence. METHODS:-value < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: < .0005). CONCLUSIONS:Persistent gender disparities continue to shape otolaryngology residents' experiences and perceptions, from mentorship access to perceptions of bias. Key targets for intervention include gender-concordant mentorship, early medical school exposure, and addressing inherent bias through educational and department-wide initiatives. Meaningful progress requires collective institutional commitment to structural and cultural change to ensure a more supportive environment for all trainees. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:4.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the impact of prolonged unaided duration of deafness (DoD) on speech perception outcomes following cochlear implantation in adults. METHODS:A retrospective review was performed of adult cochlear implant recipients at a single high-volume center between 2012 and 2023. Patients with ≥ 5 years of documented unaided deafness meeting cochlear implant (CI) criteria were stratified into three groups (5-9, 10-19, and ≥ 20 years DoD). The primary outcome was CNC word recognition scores at 3 and 12 months post-operatively. RESULTS:Forty-one patients met inclusion criteria. At 3 months, patients with ≥ 20 years DoD demonstrated lower CNC word recognition scores compared with shorter duration groups. No significant differences were observed between groups at 12 months. Patients without measurable pre-operative hearing thresholds were more likely to be device non-users or fail to achieve open-set speech perception. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Patients demonstrated meaningful speech perception outcomes across a range of deafness durations, though longer DoD was associated with slower early improvement. Absence of measurable pre-operative hearing thresholds may identify a subgroup at higher risk for limited functional benefit and should be considered during pre-operative counseling.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:This study aims to validate vocoders as acoustic models of cochlear implants by determining whether they capture both perceptual sound quality and speech performance. We hypothesize that valid acoustic models of cochlear implants require listener-specific amounts of frequency mismatch between input filters and output tones or noise bands. DESIGN/METHODS:Forty-four adult single-sided deaf cochlear implant users were tested 1 to 5 times for a total of 73 sessions at different time points after initial stimulation. Participants had a cochlear implant in one ear and normal or near-normal hearing in the contralateral ear, allowing within-subject comparisons. In Experiment 1, participants used a method-of-adjustment procedure to select acoustic models most similar to their cochlear implant by adjusting three parameters: low- and high-frequency cutoffs of the acoustic output, and channel interaction (overlap among output sound carriers). In Experiment 2, participants rated the perceptual similarity of five acoustic model types using questionnaires assessing overall similarity and four acoustic dimensions (intelligibility, pleasantness, harshness, and loudness). The five model types included the self-selected model, two all-channel frequency-matched vocoders (tone and noise), and two six-channel frequency-matched vocoders (tone and noise). Frequency-matched acoustic models had output noise bands or tones that were frequency-matched to the analysis filters. In Experiment 3, speech perception was evaluated under six conditions: with the cochlear implant alone and with each of the five acoustic model types presented to the normal hearing ear. RESULTS:Nearly all participants (69 of 73 sessions) selected acoustic models with frequency ranges different from their clinical frequency allocation tables. The low-frequency edge of self-selected models was significantly higher than clinical allocations (456 Hz for Cochlear Ltd. and 266 Hz for MED-EL). Over 80% of selections used minimal channel interaction (tones, nonoverlapping noise bands, or adjacent noise bands). Self-selected models received significantly higher similarity ratings (mean of 6.11, where 6 means "somewhat similar" and 7 "very similar") compared with all frequency-matched models, which were rated around 3 ("not very similar"). Self-selected models were rated most similar to the cochlear implant across multiple acoustic dimensions and were the only models not rated significantly different from the cochlear implant on any dimension. For speech perception, all-channel frequency-matched models significantly overestimated performance compared with the cochlear implant for both words and sentences. Self-selected models provided speech scores closest to cochlear implant performance. Joint analysis of similarity ratings and speech perception scores demonstrated that self-selected models were the only acoustic models achieving both perceptual similarity to the cochlear implant (rating of 6.11 with 7 being "very similar") and comparable speech perception scores (within five percentage points). CONCLUSIONS:Frequency-matched acoustic models fail to replicate the sound of a cochlear implant and all-channel frequency-matched acoustic models also significantly overestimate speech perception. In contrast, self-selected acoustic models incorporating listener-specific perceptual frequency mismatch provide substantially better matches in both subjective sound quality and speech intelligibility. However, variability in similarity ratings across individuals may suggest that additional perceptual components remain unaccounted for in the current parameter set. These findings question the validity of frequency-matched acoustic models of cochlear implants in research applications.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To assess the survival and complication rates of 140 monolithic zirconia implant-supported full-arch fixed complete dental prostheses (IFCDPs) with an up to 8-year follow-up at a private practice setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:A total of 140 edentulous jaws underwent complete-arch fixed implant treatment with a digital workflow and were rehabilitated with monolithic zirconia IFCDPs. The primary outcome was to assess survival and complication rates, whereas the secondary outcome was to measure the cross-sectional surface area (CSSA) dimensions (prosthetic space) of those 140 monolithic zirconia IFCDPs and to correlate potential technical complications with the prosthetic space dimensions. RESULTS:greater, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Non-fractured maxillary IFCDPs had a mean posterior linear height measurement (prosthetic space) of 10.58 mm, whereas fractured ones measured 9 mm. The 1.58 mm difference was statistically significant (p = 0.018). Non-fractured mandibular IFCDPs had a mean posterior prosthetic space of 11.89 mm, compared to 9.55 mm in fractured ones. The 2.34 mm difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:, and the linear measurements should be more than 10 mm during CAD design of the final prosthesis to ensure zirconia prosthesis strength against fracture.

Cochlear implant stimulus phase duration can vary clinically to ensure adequate loudness growth while avoiding current-source compliance limits. These manipulations are typically done without consideration of any possible perceptual changes beyond loudness. However, limited reports in the literature suggest that changing phase duration can also impact pitch. It is well established that changes in multiple perceptual dimensions may be reported as pitch. In this study, phase duration and electrodes were systematically varied, and a multidimensional scaling paradigm was used to test whether perceptual changes caused by changes in phase duration lie along the dimension of place-pitch when observed.

BACKGROUND:Starting a pediatric subspecialty fellowship presents numerous challenges to trainees. Virtual Symposium of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology of New York (v-SYMPHONY), an educational collaborative organized by 18 pediatric hematology-oncology (PHO) programs, initiated an annual bootcamp in 2022 aimed at easing the transition from pediatric residency to PHO fellowship. METHODS:The bootcamp consisted of virtual clinical lectures and fellow-led panels, which were created with input from diverse program leadership, educators, and past fellows using Kern's six-step module of curriculum development. It was offered to incoming fellows, first in the NY/NJ/CT region, and subsequently expanded nationally. RESULTS:Over 4 years (2022-2025), 147 pediatric residents completed this virtual bootcamp. The number of residents attending the live sessions increased from 19 in 2022 to 62 in 2025. Forty-four participants completed pre- and post-bootcamp surveys over this period, which showed significant improvement in both self-reported medical knowledge and preparedness and reported a decrease in transition to fellowship anxiety scores. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:These results highlight the need and benefits of a standardized orientation program that can be delivered virtually to ease the transition of PHO trainees from residency to fellowship. Such a standardized curriculum is feasible, adaptable, and potentially scalable to a national level.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate cochlear implant (CI) speech perception and usage outcomes in patients after prolonged unilateral deafness. METHODS:Retrospective cohort study at five tertiary academic centers of adult patients with prolonged (> 10 years) unilateral severe to profound hearing loss who underwent cochlear implantation. Main outcome measures included post-operative word recognition scores (WRSs) and average daily usage of CI. RESULTS:A total of 68 patients were analyzed with a median duration of unilateral deafness of 17 years (IQR, 12-35 years). The mean individual average daily CI usage was 8.4 h (SD, 4.5 h) at ≤ 1 year after implantation and 7.1 h (SD, 5.0 h) at > 1 year. The majority of patients (54.5%, 30 patients) had an absolute increase in WRS of ≥ 20% after implantation and 32.7% (18 patients) had an absolute increase of ≥ 50%. Univariate analysis comparing pre- and post-operative speech recognition in patients who completed the same test revealed a clinically and statistically significant improvement, with a mean change of 28.4% (SD 31.6%; p < 0.001) at their latest audiogram. In the analysis excluding those without post-operative data, duration of deafness was not predictive of post-CI WRS on multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS:Most patients with prolonged unilateral auditory deprivation in our study benefited from a CI. Although the duration of auditory deprivation was found to be inconsistently associated with poorer CI speech perception performance, our findings support individualized CI candidacy assessment and suggest that prolonged deafness alone should not be used as an absolute exclusion criterion for cochlear implantation.

BACKGROUND:Posterior circulation large-vessel occlusion strokes have significant morbidity and mortality, but patient selection for acute interventions remains understudied. Multiple computed tomography (CT)-based scores exist, including the CT perfusion-based critical area perfusion score (CAPS), CT angiography-based basilar artery treatment management and posterior circulation CT angiography scores, and CT angiography source image or noncontrast CT-based posterior circulation Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, but their predictive values for long-term outcomes after thrombectomy have not been directly compared. METHODS:We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of patients with basilar artery occlusions treated with endovascular thrombectomy. Four CT-based scores were assessed: posterior circulation Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, basilar artery treatment management score, posterior circulation CT angiography score, and CAPS. The primary outcome of interest for the study was a favorable functional outcome at 3 months (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-3). We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and generated receiver operating characteristic curves measuring area under the curve (AUC), which were compared with nonparametric methods. RESULTS:=0.23, respectively). CAPS ≤3 demonstrated 100% sensitivity and negative predictive value (95% CI, 92.6-100.0%; 95% CI, 75.7-100.0%, respectively) for good outcome but had low specificity (24.0% [95% CI, 14.3-37.4]). CONCLUSIONS:The CT perfusion-based CAPS had the best performance for predicting good functional outcome at 3 months and had high sensitivity and negative predictive values though our finding is limited by the small number of patients who had CAPS >3. The CAPS should be validated in prospective studies.

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a chronic, progressive myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by bone marrow fibrosis, ineffective blood cell production, and neoplastic extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) occurring primarily within the spleen. To explore the molecular mechanisms underlying splenic EMH, we performed single-cell transcriptional and chromatin profiling of cells from MF spleens that had been surgically removed. We demonstrate significant expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, coupled with aberrant differentiation toward the erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages, associated with a significant enrichment of inflammatory pathways with enhanced NF-κB signaling and IFN responses, as well as dysregulation of the inferred function of differentiation-defining transcription factors. Finally, we report a significant remodeling of the immune microenvironment in MF spleens, characterized by emergence of dysfunctional T cell subsets and inflammatory memory B cells, suggesting the concomitant establishment of a pro-inflammatory and immune-tolerant tumor microenvironment within the spleen that influences hematopoietic cell differentiation and impairs tumor immune surveillance.