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Mentoring in Patient-Oriented Research to Optimize Cochlear Implant Outcomes

Award Number: K24DC022692
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/15/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2031

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Mentoring in Patient-Oriented Research to Optimize Cochlear Implant Outcomes - PROJECT SUMMARY Cochlear implants (CIs) are the standard of care for adults with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Unfortunately, a sizeable portion of adults receiving CIs experience relatively poor CI benefit: up to 50% of CI users are unable to use the telephone without captions, and 13% of patients are unable to repeat 10% of the words presented auditorily. I have spent the last 12 years of my career working to identify “top-down” cognitive- linguistic abilities that explain and predict CI outcomes, in addition to “bottom-up” auditory abilities. Extensive evidence suggests that a poor speech recognition outcome may be attributable to deficits in bottom-up processing, top-down processing, or both. However, prior work has not yet led to interventions to improve CI outcomes, especially for poor performers, which the proposed project aims to address. I am also devoted to mentoring the next generation of surgeon-scientists in the field of Otology/Neurotology and specifically patient- oriented research. The number of physicians pursuing patient-oriented research is declining. Maintaining a strong pipeline of surgeon-scientist trainees devoted to patient-oriented research is crucial for continued development of our specialty and scientific advancement. The proposed project will be a clinical trial feasibility study to characterize the top-down and bottom-up profiles of a group of adult CI recipients who demonstrate relatively poor speech recognition outcomes, and to determine the feasibility of two different interventions for these individuals including an “auditory” intervention approach and a “cognitive” intervention approach. Results of this project will advance our basic knowledge of factors contributing to poor outcomes in adult CI users and will form the foundation for a larger randomized controlled trial of auditory and cognitive interventions to optimize outcomes for poor-performing adult CI users, while providing opportunities for surgeon-scientist mentees to develop their skills in patient-oriented research.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $136,911 )
2026	2026	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	2/13/2026	NEW	$136,911
														Subtotal = $136,911

Grand Total All Awards = $136,911

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Mentoring in Patient-Oriented Research to Optimize Cochlear Implant Outcomes

Award Number: K24DC022692

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/15/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2031

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