department of otolaryngology Archives

Vanderbilt Voice Center’s Professional Voice Conference brings medical professionals and vocal athletes together

Apr. 11, 2023—A Vanderbilt Voice Center conference will focus on wellness, readiness and resilience for vocal professionals and will touch on topics such as vocal hygiene, recovery after injury, allergies, surgery, respiration, life on the road, and more.

Moberly extends impact of cochlear implantation research, quality of life outcomes

Feb. 27, 2023—Vanderbilt's Aaron Moberly, MD, is developing an adult cochlear implant research/clinical program that aims to tailor rehabilitative treatment protocols to individual patients based on their auditory, linguistic and cognitive profiles.

Silas LaCagnin gazes at his mother, Ansley LaCagnin, while she sings to him.

Study finds sensitivity to musical rhythm supports social development in infants

Nov. 3, 2022—A new study shows engaging infants with a song provides a ready-made means for supporting social development and interaction.

Former patient Herbert Christopher poses for a photo with Elizabeth Perkins, MD, the first Christopher fellow of Otolaryngology.

Gifts bolster otolaryngology, Alzheimer’s disease programs

Sep. 15, 2022—Herbert Christopher, a grateful Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery patient who received cochlear hearing implants from David Haynes, MD, has funded the training of otolaryngology fellows and leaders in Alzheimer’s disease care through several outright endowed gifts and additional gift planning with his estate.

During the pandemic, Michael Topf, MD, and Amy Whigham, MD, created virtual four-week rotations to help recruit students interested in matching into the Department of Otolaryngology’s residency program.

Virtual tours boost Otolaryngology resident recruiting

Feb. 17, 2022—When the pandemic began, Vanderbilt's Amy Whigham, MD, MS-HPEd, developed a plan to turn the Department of Otolaryngology's medical student education and residency recruitment efforts into a virtual experience.

Thanks to the treatment she received at VUMC, Meredith Watson is able to pursue a career as a ‘professional nose.’

Treatment sharpens sense of smell for ‘professional nose’

Jan. 13, 2022—Surgery at Vanderbilt helped 25-year-old Meredith Watson pursue her dream of becoming a professional nose — someone specially trained in combining ingredients to create fragrances.

The team studying smell and taste loss associated with COVID-19 includes, from left, Rakesh Chandra, MD, Justin Turner, MD, Timothy Trone, MD, and Nikita Chapurin, MD, MHS.

Study tracks smell, taste loss associated with COVID

Sep. 23, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers are studying ways to better evaluate and predict who is at risk of persistent smell and taste loss after COVID-19 infection.

Belcher named to newspaper’s list of 40 under 40

Feb. 11, 2021—Ryan Belcher, MD, assistant professor Pediatric Otolaryngology at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has been named by Nashville Business Journal to the 2021 class of 40 under 40.

New bone anchored hearing implant enhances patient’s life

Dec. 2, 2020—Although Elisabeth Mouw, 23, knew she would benefit from having a bone-anchored hearing implant, she put off getting one for several years. Aside from being concerned about the aesthetic of wearing an external hearing device, she was worried it would interfere with her ability to play sports.

Trial to test nasal irrigation to treat COVID

Aug. 27, 2020—by Kelsey Herbers Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center are conducting a clinical trial to determine whether nasal saline irrigations can reduce viral shedding and symptoms in patients with COVID-19. Prior studies have shown that using simple, over-the-counter nasal saline irrigations can decrease viral shedding in upper respiratory infections — including other coronaviruses — helping...

Risk marker for repeat sinus surgery

Aug. 11, 2020—An inflammatory factor in mucus could be a biomarker of treatment-resistant chronic sinusitis used to determine which patients are at risk for repeat sinus surgery.

Rene Gifford, PhD, works with patient Davy Hillis to program his cochlear implant.

Team to create customizable cochlear implant programming

Aug. 6, 2020—A team of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers has received a $3.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to develop advanced, patient-specific cochlear implant stimulation models for customized implant programming.