Sumit Agrawal, MD is an Assistant Professor and Research Director in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Western University in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Agrawal completed his MD and residency at Western University and his fellowship at Stanford University. His clinical interests include: Neurotology & Skull Base Surgery, Hearing Loss, Cochlear Implants, Lateral Skull Base Surgery, Facial Nerve Disorders, Vestibular Disorders and his research interests include: Surgical Simulation, Tympanic Membrane and Middle-Ear Biomechanics
Disclosures
Financial: employed by Western University
Non-financial: none
Sneha Bharadwaj, PhD, works as an associate professor at Texas Woman’s University. She obtained her doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Dallas – Callier Center for Communication Disorders. Her research interests include (a) examining speech, language, and literacy outcomes in children with hearing loss who use hearing aids, cochlear implants and auditory brainstem implants; (b) assessing the effects of auditory deprivation on sensory and cognitive functions; (c) exploring predictors of literacy outcomes in children with hearing loss; and (d) investigating the efficacy of interventions to improve literacy outcomes in children with hearing loss. She teaches undergraduate and graduate classes that are offered in the on-campus and in the distance venues. She has served on the undergraduate curriculum and PRC committee at the department level; and on the undergraduate and graduate councils at the university levels. She serves as an Ad- Hoc reviewer for many national and international journals. She also serves her profession as well as the community by being an active participant on committees associated with organizations such as American Speech-Language Hearing Association and the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing School.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by Texas Women’s University
Non-financial: none
Linda Daniel, MS, is a Board Certified, Licensed Audiologist, Listening and Spoken Language Specialist and Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. Specializing in the treatment of severe-profound hearing loss, she has been teaching children and adults to hear and speak since 1974. She evaluates patients seeking cochlear implants and auditory brainstem implants for the Dallas Ear Institute and provides speech and language therapy, aural rehabilitation, and educational support services to individuals with hearing aids and implanted hearing technologies.
Disclosures
Financial: owns private practice, HEAR in Dallas, Texas
Non-financial: none
Jacob Hunter, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Neurotology in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
He earned his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, where he then completed a residency in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery.
He moved on to a two-year fellowship in neurotology with The Otology Group of Vanderbilt, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences in Nashville. He received the American Neurotology Society Trainee Award in May 2016 before joining UT Southwestern later the same year.
Dr. Hunter has investigated, presented, and published research on clinical topics in his specialty, focusing on, among other things, cholesteatoma surgery, cochlear implantation techniques, outcomes and hearing preservation, endoscopic ear surgery, facial nerve disorders, hearing loss, and skull base tumors. He has also contributed numerous articles and chapters on neurotology topics to medical textbooks and reference works.
Dr. Hunter has been an invited lecturer for conferences, graduate programs, grand rounds, and special courses and lecture series at institutions across the U.S. and abroad. He is an Associate Editor of Otolaryngology Case Reports and an ad hoc reviewer for Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology; JAMA Otolaryngology; Journal of the American Academy of Audiology; Journal of Spine & Neurosurgery; and The Laryngoscope.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; participates in research activities with Med El and Advanced Bionics
Non-financial: none
J. Walter Kutz Jr., M.D., is a Professor of Otolaryngology and Neurological Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Kutz is also Co-director of UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) program.
His clinical interests include diseases of the skull base, acoustic neuroma, cochlear implants, otosclerosis, Meniere’s disease, and chronic otitis media.
After his initial medical education and otolaryngology residency training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Dr. Kutz completed a two-year fellowship in otology and neurotology at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. Because the cochlear implant was first developed at the House Ear Clinic, he had a unique opportunity to be active in a busy implantation program during his training.
Dr. Kutz has multiple clinical research interests, including cochlear implants, acoustic neuroma outcomes, neurofibromatosis type 2, and implantable hearing devices. He is also actively involved in resident and fellow education and is the Director of the Neurotology Fellowship and Associate Director of the Otolaryngology Residency Program.
Dr. Kutz is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology with a certificate of added qualification in Neurotology. He was recognized as a Best Doctor in Dallas by D Magazine. Dr. Kutz frequently lectures at both national and international meeting on endoscopic ear surgery, acoustic neuroma, skull base surgery, and chronic otitis media.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Non-financial: none
Emily Lund, PhD, is Associate Professor in the department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Texas Christian University. Dr. Lund received her masters of science in Speech-Language Pathology and her PhD in Hearing and Speech Science at Vanderbilt University. She teaches Research in Communication Science. Teaching Spoken Language to Persons with Hearing Loss and Aural Rehabilitation and is the author of many research publications and book chapters. Her areas of interest include spoken and written word learning in children with hearing loss from monolingual and bilingual homes as well as emergent literacy skills of children with hearing loss. In addition, Dr. Lund is also a certified Speech-Language Pathologist through the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by Texas Christina University; Data described in this presentation was supported by an R03 and an R01 research grant from NIDCD/NIH.
Non-financial: none
Rachel St. John, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician, and a NIC-Advanced certified sign language interpreter through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Dr. St. John completed her MD degree at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and then attended Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC for her residency in pediatrics. Her interests include language access, advocacy, and supporting effective medical home for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Dr. St. John joined the UTSW Department of Otolaryngology in 2012 when offered the exciting opportunity to provide a collaborative and comprehensive care service for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She is the director of the Family-Focused Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children at Children’s Medical Center Dallas/UT Southwestern Medical Center. The FFC provides support for families to make informed decisions regarding language, educational, and developmental opportunities, as well as provides collaborative support to community providers caring for these patients in keeping with national standards. Dr. St. John also is a health education consultant at the state and national level, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Leadership Team, and an AAP delegate to the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Non-financial: none
Melissa Sweeney, MS, is the Director of Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Services at the University of Texas at Dallas Callier Center and the Cochlear Implant Program Manager. Mrs. Sweeney has provided evaluations and treatment for children with hearing loss and their families for more than 21 years. She also teaches graduate level classes in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program at UTD and has provided numerous trainings for professionals, families, and community agencies. Mrs. Sweeney is a certified speech-language pathologist through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as well as a Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory Verbal Therapist.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by University of Texas at Dallas
Non-financial: none
Andrea Warner-Czyz, PhD, focuses her research on the identification of risk and protective factors that influence communication and quality of life in children and adolescents with cochlear implants. A recent paper showed that adolescents with hearing loss self-reported twice the rate of peer victimization (i.e., getting bullied) and four times the rate of social exclusion compared to the general population. Dr. Warner-Czyz also published an article examining the prevalence of device use in children with cochlear implants, and another investigating the effect of sign language exposure on outcomes in children using cochlear implants. Her current work continues to explore the intersection among social communication, speech perception, and speech and language skills to understand components that contribute to peer relationships and quality of life in pediatric cochlear implant users.
Dr. Warner-Czyz earned her bachelor’s degree at University of Illinois and her master’s degrees from the University of Florida and from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She earned her PhD at The University of Texas at Austin.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by The University of Texas at Dallas
Non-financial: none
Kathryn Wiseman, AuD, is a PhD candidate in the dual AuD/PhD program at the University of Texas at Dallas. She received her bachelor of science degree from Brown University in cognitive neuroscience and graduated with her AuD from UT Dallas in 2017. Her research explores the development of speech, language, and hearing skills in children with cochlear implants, with specific emphasis on understanding children who have less success after implantation (e.g., poorer speech perception or language skills, inconsistent device use) to better guide clinical rehabilitation for this population. In addition to being involved in the Children and Infant Listening Lab (CHILL), she is also a part of the CDaCI (Childhood Development after Cochlear Implantation) study, a longitudinal multicenter examination of overall growth and development of pediatric cochlear implant users.
Disclosures
Financial: employed by The University of Texas at Dallas
Non-financial: none
