How long have you been an ARO member?
I attended the second meeting at the Happy Dolphin. We were a small crew, with everyone comfortably fitting into a single symposium room. I've been a member in attendance ever since.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?
The science. The colleagues and friendships renewed every year.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?
St Pete Beach by far.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.
Meeting 'Batman,' the blind person who navigates the world through sound. He showed us one can do all kinds of things they are told they will never do. 'Blind people don't ride bikes or climb trees.' Batman does both and teaches other blind people what is possible.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.
I make the case for the far-reaching impact of sound, showing how hearing engages how we think, feel, move, and combine our senses. I contribute to the body of knowledge showing how the sounds of our lives engage our biological health for better (musicians, bilinguals) and for worse (concussion, language disorders, autism, HIV, hearing loss). It has impressed me to witness first-hand (in single neurons and humans) how engaging with sound can change the brain. Because hearing, more than any other sense, affects our interactions with others, I place a premium on communicating the scientific rationale for engaging in activities to strengthen the hearing brain and our sonic world. My book OF SOUND MIND How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World communicates this message to any interested reader. It is conversationally written, yet thoroughly referenced, with 80 original illustrations done in partnership with an artist - science is an art. OF SOUND MIND is my love letter to sound, how sound connects us, its biological impact on making us us, and how it affects the world we live in.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?
Making music (guitar, piano, drums, harmonica, singing harmony) mostly with my family, cooking, and being the best nonna I can be to my grandson.

Tweets by brainvolts

How long have you been an ARO member?

Twenty two years

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Collegiality, ARO transpires spirit of collaboration and service to the community

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Clearwater Beach Florida

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

At one ARO meeting my four presentations I submitted were accepted as podium speaker

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My research is focused to understand the molecular pathology of the labyrinthine blood barriers of the human inner ear at the ultrastructural level

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I am an Argentine tango dancer and a martial artist

Tweets by IvanShotokan

How long have you been an ARO member?

I am a new member, for only a few months since I joined in February 2022 for the Midwinter Conference. Although, in this time, I have joined the JARO Research News committee of spARO.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The community of PIs, students, doctors, and everyone involved in research is really refreshing. Not only is everyone willing to contribute what they know and eager to learn from others, but we all seem to be constantly trying to improve the experience and tools for everyone else. Everyone is eagerly problem solving not just in their labs but also for designing conferences and workshops, and it's invigorating to be a part of this group.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I am an engineer by training and focused on research areas that could utilize these skills: developing surgical imaging devices and simulators for ENT procedures. I have since worked on and learned a lot about fluorescence as a medical tool by developing fluorescent endoscopes and imaging dyes with a focus on otitis media and ear infections. I have built upon already existing and common ENT instruments to enhance their abilities for specific targets utilizing various optical properties. I have also worked to develop a cholesteatoma gerbil model where we studied the diseased tissue's auto fluorescent signature. Using that information, we developed a novel imaging method for assistance in cholesteatoma's surgical removal, with the goal of improving differentiation and reducing recurrence rates. Aside from these projects, I have expanded my knowledge to mouse anatomy (cochlea and middle ear) as well as some drug delivery methods. We are currently working on a project that studies cisplatin's effect on hearing loss since it is a common chemotherapy drug, and how we can topically deliver targeted otoprotective medication to prevent that hearing loss by developing our own liposomes. We are able to penetrate the tympanic membrane without damaging the structure through a thorough understanding of its chemical and physical properties.

How long have you been an ARO member?
I have abstracts that go back to 1988, but I suspect that I was a member well before then. Back then, we didn't keep computer records...

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?
Interacting with other members at the meeting and hearing what is going on in the field of auditory research.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?
I believe the earlier meetings in Florida (Tampa region) were more enjoyable, both from the venue and the smaller size.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.
My Award ceremony in 2016. Finally the profound impression that not all I had written had vanished into a vacuum.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.
I spent more than 40 years studying the auditory organs of lizards and birds, both their anatomy and physiology. We mostly used classical methods of light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and single-unit nerve cell recordings from the auditory nerve. Together with some additional work on Caiman and frogs and earlier work on the middle ear of mammals, I gained a deep insight into many aspects of the evolution of vertebrate middle and inner ears and focused much of my later work on further elucidation of that issue. Since about 1990, we carried out a lot of measurements of otoacoustic emissions, especially in lizards, which produces robust emissions in every species so far studied (more than 30). In my retirement I have gained more interest in human ears and continue to cooperate with other labs to learn more about human hearing and its evolution.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?
Traveling, gardening, writing and reading.

How long have you been an ARO member?

Since about 1982. So long ago, I can't remember accurately!

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

ARO is the major global professional body for hearing research. I have made many friendships, started collaborations, hired students and staff, and generally kept current about our field through my ARO membership.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

There have been too many memorable ones to decide but, in recent years, seeing several of my colleagues and friends receiving the Award of Merit. I also was pleasantly surprised by San Jose as a new location for the meeting.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Bob Shannon's House Ear Institute parties at the Tradewinds

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I study development and plasticity of the auditory system from a systems, translational and clinical perspective. Recently, our team has demonstrated that children with listening difficulties, but normal audiograms, have essentially normal auditory system function up to the cortex, but a highly speech specific, functional connectivity problem in a broad range of cortical areas. Our other current interest is using smartphone technology to deliver hearing health care in low and middle income countries. In this South Africa based research, we have shown great potential for community health workers to use a smartphone to perform a valid clinical test of hearing and to fit high quality hearing aids to people who typically receive no other hearing health care.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Travel, bike riding, hiking and cooking

How long have you been an ARO member?

I have been an ARO member since 1996.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

I enjoy being part of a community of top scientists addressing hearing and balance problems. The midwinter meeting is a highlight, when we can connect, learn from each other, and collaborate.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

St. Petersburg Beach and San Diego.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

I really enjoyed the music/symphony outing at one of the San Diego meetings.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My research is focused on of cochlear implants, devices surgically placed in the inner ears of patients with severe hearing loss.Despite their success, there remains substantial variability in the overall speech perception outcomes for the children and adults who receive them. The main goals of my research are: i) to improve our understanding of how cochlear implants affect the developing auditory system, ii) apply that knowledge to test new methods for programming children and adults, and iii) to study how long it takes listeners to adapt to new cochlear implant programs over the short- and long-term. The results will improve our understanding of how the deafened auditory system develops with cochlear implant stimulation and advance clinical practice to improve hearing outcomes in cochlear implant listeners.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I am a co-director of the Audiology division at Mass Eye and Ear and am leading education efforts for future audiologists through a new, collaborative Doctor of Audiology program at the MGH Institute of Health professions in partnership with Mass Eye and Ear. I am also involved in the Speech and Hearing, Biosciences and Technology doctoral program at Harvard.

How long have you been an ARO member?

49 years

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

My Colleagues that conduct hearing research

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

St Petersburg, Florida

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Being aloud to Present the Award of Merit Address to my colleagues

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

During my long career I have focused my efforts on the development and plasticity of the inner ear and central auditory pathways.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Scuba diving with my ARO colleagues.

How long have you been an ARO member?

28 years

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Learning about advancements in science of hearing

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

St. Petersberg Beach FL was always something to look forward to.Hasn't been the same since.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Watching the first videos of dancing hair cells!

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My lab uses an auditory specialist, echolocating bats, to investigate how local circuits in auditory cortex create tuning for natural sounds.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

In addition to the neuroscience, we spend a lot of time in the field studying communication behaviors in natural conditions. We also specialize in building Tiki bars, carving Tiki's and making steady improvements in Tiki drinks.

Tweets by mike_smotherman

How long have you been an ARO member?

I signed up as a member in 2015

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Be able to communicate and share the latest research results with fellow researchers

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Baltimore

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

In 2015, I shared the research progress of our group on GJB2-related deafness at ARO Conference. At the same time, I met many colleagues in hereditary deafness research.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

Our team has been focusing on the phenotype, pathology and deafness mechanism of GJB2-related hereditary deafness, and trying to rescue GJB2-related deafness by drug combined with gene therapy. At the same time, we also explored the relationship between GJB2 gene and its coding products and age-related deafness, hoping to find a new mechanism of age-related deafness.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Read novels and travel

Tweets by mike_smotherman

How long have you been an ARO member?

Since the ARO MidWinter Meeting, January 2020

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The ARO is a rich community that not only concentrates on either clinical work or basic research, but has a focus on both of them and the integration -from bench to bedside- and has attention for kinds of other aspects accompanying the work as an evolving clinician and researcher.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

My first MidWinter Meeting in San Jose, CA

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

Our current research focuses on the development of an artificial balance organ, the vestibular implant. In 2007, before I started working in Maastricht, the Geneva-Maastricht group were the first to perform a vestibular implantation in a patient with bilateral vestibulopathy. Ten years later, I was hired to aid in the development of a clinically applicable device, with a specific aim on the electrode design and the surgical technique to improve electrode placement and minimize inner ear damage. I combine this PhD work with a residency in Otorhinolaryngology. Additionally, I participate in research in vestibulology and (neuro-)otology. I appreciate sharing our experiences and findings with national or international colleagues as well as, and sometimes even more, with patient groups as (future) benificiaries of our work.

Tweets by Buchters

How long have you been an ARO member?

I have been a member twice in the years 2020 and 2022

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The annual midwinter meeting

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

San Jose CA

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Unfortunately I have only attended online so far. I received good feedback on my poster although it was scarce.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I focus on the assessment and possible training of auditory processes, peripheral and central as well as the interface with cognitive and motor processes. I am particularly interested about audiometer interaction in the service of purposeful action. Together with the University of California Brain Game Center, we have developed a portable automatic rapid testing (PART) tool for assessment of sensory (auditory and visual) and cognitive (attention, memory, executive processes) function. Part of the work I am doing now is help in localizing our tools for Spanish-speaking population. Specifically, I collaborate with the Psychiatry (INP) and Neurology (INNN) National Institutes in Mexico City with the aim of implementing and testing our tools in Spanish, and with different clinical populations. Moreover, I have done work with a perceptual learning video-game designed to train on basic auditory function such as spectra-temporal sensitivity and spatial hearing to promote benefits in speech in noise intelligibility. We have had some initial success with young populations without hearing concerns, and now we look to experiment on large samples including older population with and without hearing loss.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I like to go on road-trips with my bicycle, I like to explore/play novel indie video-games, I like having wild ideas about research Im never going to conduct but might write down as a series of short stories about the science that could have been...

Tweets by DrSebasllm

How long have you been an ARO member?

I first joined about a month in to the second year of my PhD at UCL, in January 2013. I've been a student or postdoc member ever since.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Meeting people who do what I do and are interested in what I'm interested in. There's nothing more fun than making friends you can nerd out with in the pub.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

For my own science, Baltimore, 2015. That was the year where my own research really came together, and I had so much foot traffic at my poster I didn't get to leave it, at all, and the next morning I had people ask me to come show it some more. And San Diego 2016, was when I really got to meet a lot of people in a lot of different labs, and start to build my friends and colleagues. But I've also heard many stories about just how fantastic the St. Pete, Florida, AROs were, sadly a little before my time.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Baby me, at my first ever ARO, in 2013, defending my first ever poster. Coming from my left, is Ed Rubles, and coming from my right, is Charlie Liberman. They meet each other at my poster, which is on noise induced cochlear synaptopathy and RIFE with references to Charlie's work, and proceed to spend the next 45 minutes talking to me about my work. I surely looked like a deer in the head lights, and it was all I could do not to shake. After Charlie moved along, Ed gave me a hand shake and said I did really well, to calm me down. I pretty much left right afterwards to go to my supervisors' (David McAlpine and Roland Schaette) rental for dinner. When I got there, I must have still been white as a sheet, and this lovely man who I didn't yet know took me in to the kitchen and had me cook with him and talk about music (The Rat Pack, Bobby V, Buble) for the next hour. For those who know him, it could only have been Tino. It really cemented to me why this community can be so amazing.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

IMost of my research has focused on quantifying the precise neuronal mechanisms that are damaged from noise exposure, primarily so called hidden hearing loss levels of noise exposure. My PhD found how auditory neurons in the IC adapt to noisy environments, and how that adaptation is compromised by noise exposure (some of the ability to adapt is destroyed completely!). At the moment, I'm looking at how noise exposure affects neural coding of speech in the IC and Cortex, and I'm doing it in parallel with some human research collaborators, so we can really tie together my animal work with the human work they are doing.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

There seem to be three things that always seem to come up very quickly when I meet new people: 1) I'm a huge music nerd, and have a lot of opinions on everything from Mozart to The Police to Taylor Swift. 2) I live on a boat, and love to take my boat out for a day sail with friends aboard (obviously with music playing) and 3) My cat looks very adorable in her life jacket.

How long have you been an ARO member?

20 years

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The community, the meeting and the focus on auditory cognitive neuroscience.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Baltimore and St Petersburg, FL

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

As a PhD student, meeting for the first time the people who are even now my colleagues and collaborators.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I'm mostly interested in spatial hearing, both localization and spatial release from masking, and how it is affected by attention and vision. Distance perception and its neural mechanisms, adaptation and learning, as well as crossmodal interactions are all my interest.

Tweets by upjspcl

How long have you been an ARO member?

Almost 4 years. I joined ARO after finishing my Ph.D. studies.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Attend the MWM and serve on the spARO Steering Committee.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

42nd MWM at Baltimore, 2019. This is the first MWM I attended and it is within walking distance.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

My poster is selected for podium presentation in the 45th virtual MWM. I have 12 minutes to present my work, but I finished everything within 9 minutes probably due to nervousness. "What are you planning to do in the remaining 3 minutes?" the modulator asked me. "Q & A," I answered. Surprisingly, I got lots of useful feedback during Q & A.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I am studying sound localization. Specifically, I am searching for a cortical map of auditory space, modulating spatial processing in the auditory cortex with contextual effects, and training a spiking neural network to localize sound locations. To answer those questions, I use a battery of tools, including wide-field calcium imaging, two-photon calcium imaging, extra- and intra-cellular recording, animal behavior, computational modeling, and machine learning.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I am one of the mentorship program coordinators in the spARO Steering Committee where we matched mentees to mentors. I am also an author of Biomedical Odyssey Blog, an award-winning blog owned and managed by Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Tweets by ChenggangC

How long have you been an ARO member?

Since 1976

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The People

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Happy Dolphin inn

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Being President

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

Sound-source localization

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Golf, tennis, being with free

How long have you been an ARO member?

Over 15 years

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

To be part of the top research community of the field and to be updated constantly of the state-of-art studies and activities.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I am a Research Associate, in the laboratory of Prof. Karen Avraham, at Tel Aviv University, in charge of the human genetics of hearing loss studies. I am working on identifying and characterizing genes involved in deafness in the Jewish population, combining experimental and computational techniques in order to detect all the ‘deafness genes’ in the Jewish population and reach a comprehensive view of the roles these genes play in hearing and deafness.

How long have you been an ARO member?

Since about 2000 when I was a graduate student

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Getting together with colleagues and meeting new members in the field, especially trainees. Learning about new work from posters and having great discussions about them.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

St. Petersburg, San Diego, Colorado

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Memorial for David Mountain

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

We focus on the acoustics and mechanics of the human ear. Our work involves working with how sound is transmitted from the outer, middle, and inner ear. Projects vary, such as answering basic science questions about form and function of the human cochlear partition. We are developing implantable microphones to enable totally implantable hearing devices such as fully implantable cochlear implant. We're also developing non-invasive diagnostic methods that can automatically diagnose various mechanical pathologies of the ear.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as the Director of DEI for our graduate program at Harvard Medical School SHBT, and as Vice Chair of DEI for the Dept. of OHNS at Mass Eye and Ear, Boston.

How long have you been an ARO member?

I've been an ARO member for almost 2 years.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

My research background from Ph.D. was vision science. After a career break, I joined the current hearing research group in 2018 as a research fellow returning to science. As we had been hit by COVID-19 and travel restrictions were imposed, it has been difficult to meet and learn about hearing/balance research happening globally. I joined ARO after learning that ARO2021 was virtual, and it was an opportunity to learn about other research happening in the hearing and balance field. I attended the virtual ARO 2022. Now that some international travels are resuming, I hope to attend the ARO2023 in-person to join the community in person. I also had opportunities to attend some of spARO/ARO Coffee hours, although it's been hard to join due to time differences. It has been nice to be able to meet with people virtually.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Only been to the virtual one last two years, but will look forward to attending future ARO in-person!

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

We appreciated being able to join the 2022-2021 ARO virtual from oceania, considering exiting travel restrictions from Covid.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My research aims to understand the role of the purinergic signaling pathway in the inner ear. The signaling pathway mediated by extracellular ATP plays diverse roles throughout the body. My research has found one of the purinergic receptors to show very high expressions in the inner and outer hair cells of the cochlea. I am currently investigating its function in the context of inner and outer hair cell physiology in the hope this will help us understand inner/outer hair cell homeostasis and how we can protect them from injuries associated with aging/inflammation.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

In New Zealand, we have an indigenous population of Māori, with Te Reo Māori as the official national language. Providing equitable hearing care for Maori and non-Maori is an extremely important goal for us in New Zealand. As a scientist of the hearing system, I participate in science outreach to raise awareness of the importance of hearing research in the Māori community in the hope of hearing and incorporating their voices in our future research design.

Tweets by HarunaSK

How long have you been an ARO member?

I've been an ARO member for the past 2 years.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Being able to interact and collaborate with a diverse group of clinicians and researchers, enrich my knowledge in translational and basic research and learn more about Otology and Auditory Sciences from global leaders in the field.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to attend a MWM yet.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to attend a MWM yet.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I'm an MD, DMD working in Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck Surgery research and ultimately I'd love to see myself becoming a Physician-Scientist, after pursuing training in ENT. My previous experiences are mostly in Head and Neck Oncology (Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Salivary gland cancer) but through ARO I had the opportunity to enrich my knowledge and gain a better understanding of hearing & balance. Otology & Hearing research is definitely one of the most exciting fields in Otolaryngology, with numerous impactful contributions in patients' lives, over the past decades. During my clinical rotations at Case Western/UH Hospitals and the UNC I had the chance to see first-hand the dramatic impact of hearing disorders in patients and the treatment options ENTs are now able to offer thanks to decades of research effort in the field. Through my work in ARO's Education and Membership Committees & the spARO Steering Committee I'm trying to contribute towards ARO's mission and serve our research community.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I'm an avid runner. I also enjoy American & European Cinema and occasionally cooking (with a particular preference for the Italian/Mediterranean cuisine).

Tweets by JasonTasoulas

How long have you been an ARO member?

Since the mid-1970s The "Happy Dolphin Days"

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The wide diversity of research interests that are applied to the study of human hearing and balance.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

The Happy Dolphin Inn and the Holiday Inn in Clearwater Beach FL

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

I used an early MWM to recruit John Ferraro to join the faculty at the KUMC Hearing and Speech Department. He made to move from Sweedish Hospital in Denver and has been a Jayhawk ever since. I don't think he regrets the move.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

I use behavioral experiments, usuall called psychoacoustics, to study human hearing capabilities in those with normal and those with impaired hearing. Often, the goal is to test a computational model of human auditory provessing, but some projects have a more practical purpose, such as testing the ability of humans to detect alarm sounds. In August 202, thanks partly to the pandemic, I retired from the tenure track and I am now a part-time, temporary professor emeritus.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I am a long-time ham radio operator and I serve as the faculty advisor and license trustee for W8LT the amateur radio club at Ohio State.

How long have you been an ARO member?

at least 30 years

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Attending MW meetings, looking at posters and talking with others in my field

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

First favorite: St Pete's Beach, FL. Second favorite: San Diego CA

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Walking on the beach at Trade Winds, St Pete's Beach and discussing cochlear tuning

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My research concerns investigating the molecular mechanisms of transduction in auditory hair cells, comparing different vertebrate species.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Bird watching and photography - excellent in San Diego

How long have you been an ARO member?

Since 2014

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Connecting with people in the auditory research field

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

San Diego, CA

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

During my first ARO meeting in 2014, a discussion lead to a strong collaboration and a publication

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My lab is interested in identifying novel genes required for normal development and function of mammalian cochlea. We utilize a variety of mouse genetics, cellular, molecular, imaging and electrophysiological techniques in studying cochlear development and maturation in different genetic mouse models carrying single or multiple gene deletions. Our ultimate goal is to identify novel genes involved in hearing and translate our research into therapeutic techniques to treat hearing loss.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Teaching Neurosciences to graduate students

Tweets by Mike_Ebeid

Tweets by lina_reiss

How long have you been an ARO member?

I've been an ARO member since 2001, halfway upon my PhD training in auditory physiology, though later during that decade, I was academically exposed to radiation oncology and molecular immunology, thus briefly away from ARO for 3-4 years.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

Remain connected to the auditory research enthusiastic cohort, and stay current by getting first-hand understanding of the ongoing research focus in the field.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Probably the 2010 Anaheim meeting, my daughter was born shortly after that meeting.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Interestingly, the due dates of both my daughters fell into the time frame of ARO MWM meetings, but both of them managed to come outside the time windows, allowing me attending both meetings, with one after the meeting and the other before the meeting.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My research is primarily focused on inner ear protection, damage and repair, from a variety of ototoxic insults, including but not limited to noise, aminoglycoside antibiotics and antineoplastic cisplatin.Confounding factors such as age, genetic variation, implants, and disease conditions are considered. In particular, I am interested in the intracochlear trafficking routes/mechanisms of ototoxicants under normal and pathological conditions.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Probably long-distance running, these days.

Tweets by Hongzhe51f

How long have you been an ARO member?

On and off for over 30 years.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

Saint Petersburg Beach, Florida.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.

Eating smoked salmon for lunch followed by sushi for dinner with colleagues and famous scientists.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My research has focused on understanding the neural mechanisms for encoding and decoding of social communication sounds in bats. This involves neural recordings from the auditory and frontal cortex and the amygdala. My current work is focused on understanding attentional mechanisms using zebrafish as model organisms.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

Grant proposal and manuscript reviews. I have served on the ARO diversity committee and also teach about the auditory system to graduate and medical students.

Tweets by jkanwal1

How long have you been an ARO member?
I honestly can't remember! 25 years?

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?              
Discussing science at the MWM

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?     
St. Pete's Beach

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.
I research the physiological bases of normal and impaired human hearing. My current interests include the effects of noise exposure, age, diabetes, and dementia on hearing, with a focus on sub-clinical deficits that are not revealed by conventional audiometry.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?
I teach at undergraduate and post-graduate level. In my private life, I play acoustic and electric guitar, and enjoy walking and climbing.

How long have you been an ARO member?
Not sure, but the oldest abstract I still have is from 1987...

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?
Single meeting bringing virtually all colleagues together.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?
St. Petersburg Beach.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.
My acceptance of the 2016 ARO award.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.
I no longer have my own lab, so I cooperate with others to continue my work on otoacoustic emissions. That currently mostly involves the study of unusual mammals, including humans. I still maintain an interest in non-mammals, however, and have recently published further work, particularly on lizard emissions, e.g., a review of otoacoustic emissions in non-mammals (doi:10.3390/audiolres12030027).

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?
Events at the University of Oldenburg, including of the consortium "Hearing for All".

How long have you been an ARO member?

I've been a member for probably about 15 years, since I was a post-doc. I joined when I was getting into auditory scene analysis research because somehow I found out about all the great researchers in that area who were attending ARO.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?

The conferences are amazing, especially the poster sessions. It's remarkable how a lot of members really engage you at your poster, and I before ARO I really didn't get that experience at other conferences.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?

I really liked ARO in Baltimore, mostly because of the amazing seafood and the Belgian beer bar near the conference venue.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.

My lab uses behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) measures of auditory perception and cognition, with special interests in auditory scene perception and music perception. Projects that recently wrapped up were on identifying neural mechanisms of bistable auditory perception and understanding the development and neural correlates of musical beat perception. Right now I’m focused on several things: 1) mentoring NDSEG fellow Maggie McMullin who’s creating and acoustically analyzing natural auditory scene recordings and beginning to do behavioral and ERP experiments with the scenes to understand how we perceive objects in their natural settings and more global aspects of our acoustic surroundings, 2) working with Colleen Parks at UNLV using computational and ERP measures to understand why visual long-term memory is so much better than auditory long-term memory, 3) working with my colleagues Erin Hannon, Stephen Benning, and Solena Mednicoff on a foundation-funded project at UNLV to study how misophonia develops and how it’s related to other auditory emotional experiences like ASMR and musical chills. I’m also working with colleagues at UNLV on a non-auditory study funded by the Defense Department to use visual ERPs and eye-tracking to understand how amputees process videos of other amputees performing movements that they are trying to learn to make with their new prosthetic limbs. As you can see, I’m very fortunate to have amazing colleagues and trainees at UNLV, and it is a complete thrill to get to help so many different kinds of research projects get done. Now that I’ve been around a few years, I’m also amazed at the accomplishments of former trainees who have moved on to new post-doctoral and faculty positions positions. I can’t help but shout out a few them, like Melissa Gregg, Christina Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden, Nathan Higgins, and Brian Metzger who are now Assistant Professors, and Karli Nave and Samantha O’Connell who are now post-doctoral fellows. I’ve also been amazed with other former trainees like David Little, Vanessa Irsik, and Jessica Nave-Blodgett, who have seamlessly moved into the private sector, a move that would frankly scare the heck out of me if I were to try it. I don’t know what else I’ll get into in the future, but I’m pretty sure it will be a lot of fun discovering new things and helping younger scientists accomplish their career goals!

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?

I bake sourdough pretty much every weekend, and have been doing that for about 7 years. I also play basketball, and started lifting weights a few years ago. I live a pretty simple life, and highly encourage people to find joys outside of science to stay balanced and busy (but not too busy).

https://twitter.com/joelsnyder12?lang=en 

How long have you been an ARO member?
I joined in about 1988, so about 34 years.

What do you enjoy most about being an ARO member?
The ARO conference and the terrific involvement of the ARO members in ARO.  I also like how international the membership is, and the combination of clinical and basic science that is presented at the meeting.

Where has your favorite MidWinter Meeting (MWM) been?
Tradewinds!  But I also did liked Baltimore because the travel was easy for me.  And San Diego was a great spot.  Looking forward to getting back to Florida this year -- I love hitting the Florida warmth in February, coming from the northeast.

Share one memorable experience from a past ARO MWM.
Going swimming in the rather chilly Atlantic with Heidi Nakajima and Mike Ravicz.   On the research side, I remember years ago coming down to my poster one morning and seeing that there was a chair set up so someone could sit and read the poster, I guess from the previous evening.  That was a very gratifying moment.  The posters at ARO have always been a feature of the meeting.

Tell us about your work, with a focus on research efforts.
I work mainly on understanding how the cochlear amplifier functions as a whole.  We know (or think we know) the pieces that go into producing the enhanced motion and tuning in the healthy cochlea.  However, how these pieces fit together to do the job is still a puzzle.  Now we have new tools to observe many more of the intra-organ motions than just a few years ago and that is exciting but with new observations come new puzzles.  It is exciting.  I'm also working on a totally implantable microphone with super smart and productive students and collaborators from MIT and MEEI, who are really moving that project forward.  In my lab we are currently working on how to adapt the microphone for a large animal trial.

Aside from research, what other activities do you participate in?
I garden at my apartment building, which has extensive green space.   I volunteer tutor in middle school math.  I serve as a Hearing Research section editor, and currently am president of ARO.  I like to bike around NYC with a friend, and walk my dog, go to museums and parks.  I pastel paint, mainly when I'm on vacation in Maine.  My three sons are adults but they still come to Maine for a week in August.