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Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Otolaryngology
  1. Department of Otolaryngology
  2. Education & Training
  3. Joint Doctoral Program in Audiology
  4. Research Experiences

Research Experiences

A wide variety of doctoral research projects are completed by each student under the mentorship of either SDSU or UC San Diego faculty. Sample list of projects done with UC San Diego mentors:

Bench Science Projects with Dr. Allen Ryan:

  • Effects of Phosphodiesterase (PDE)-V inhibitors on cochlear hair cells and spiral ganglion nerve cells, Barbara Harris, 2009
  • Sox 11 Expression in Developing Inner ears of Mice, Rachel Weichert, 2011
  • The Effect of Surface Modifications of Titanium Substrates on Spiral Ganglia Dendrite Outgrowth. Thomas Wise 2013.
  • Peptides With the Ability to Transit the Tympanic Membrane Do Not Influence Middle or Inner Ear Structure or Function. Kerry Beasley, 2015
  • JNK Isoforms Play Different Roles in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. Joseph Hardeman 2015.
  • Role of Pinocytosis in the Action of Neurotrophins on Spiral Ganglion Dendrite Growth, Shannon Dolittle, 2020.
  • Transtympanic drug deliver to treat middle ear infections. Molly Cooper 2021.
  • Role of antioxidants in the prevention of hair cell damage due to noise exposure. Emily Sereno 2021.

Ototoxicity Studies with Dr. Erika Zettner:

  • Ototoxicity monitoring of adult patients with cystic fibrosis, Aaron Jones, 2008.
  • UHF hearing in patients with cystic fibrosis treated with tobramycin. Carrie Lakin, 2008.
  • Establishment of normative variability in DPOAE and hearing levels for application in assessing acute change in inpatients receiving ototoxic medications, Hang Lam, 2014.
  • Relationship between tobramycin peak/trough values and change in hearing levels, Beth Harris, 2014.
  • Development of an iPad/iPhone application for self-administered ototoxic monitoring. Leah Martin, 2015.
  • Factors associated with ototoxicity in cystic fibrosis patients treated with tobramycin. Suzanne Rotan, 2015.
  • Self-reported balance function and head thrust test results for persons with cystic fibrosis. David Nguyen, 2017.
  • Natural progression of hearing loss in persons with cystic fibrosis without aminoglycosides. Kaitlin Leggins, 2017

Chart Reviews with Dr. Erika Zettner:

  • CHAMP results for patients with possible Menieres disease, Yan Li; 2008.
  • CHAMP: Early and late wave V identification for improved test performance, Sasha Fischang, 2009.
  • Retrospective Chart Review of Exostosis Prevalence and Surgical Procedure, John King, 2009.
  • Success-rate of IT injections for the treatment of hearing in SSNHL, MD & AIED. Kristina Celani, 2010.
  • Laterality of exostosis in surfers due to evaporative cooling effect. John King, 2010.
  • Carhart-notch resolution, Arineh Khatchatoorians, 2011.
  • Hearing loss following gamma knife radiosurgery for acoustic neuroma, Robin Williams, 2013.

Clinical Studies with Dr. Erika Zettner:

  • ECoG: Area under the curve analysis vs. SP/AP ratio, Dave Stewart; 2008.
  • Hearing sensitivity in HIV patients, Nicole Conrad, 2009.
  • Normative values for tests of Eustachian tube function, Ariz Slali: 2009.
  • Effectiveness of a tinnitus seminar, Caton Harris, 2009
  • Comparison of ECoG and CHAMP test results for cochlear hydrops, Jerilyn Dutton; 2009.
  • Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in normal subjects, Colleen Benson, 2010.
  • Response variability of the ocular VEMP, Jasmine Hu, 2012
  • Multifrequency tympanometry in patients with Meniere's disease, Megan Spansail, 2010.
  • Pupilometry as a measure of listening effort in patients with cochlear implants, Stephani Gonzales, 2013.
  • Simultaneous recordings of auditory brainstem response and electrocochleographic response: response parameters and variability in normal hearing adults, Anja Arko, 2013.
  • Susceptance and reflectance in endolymphatic hydrops. Collyn Gallant 2013.
  • StackedABR UCSD normative data. Samantha Barbour. 2014.
  • Efficiency of two SRT methods. Gina Gabrielli, 2014.
  • Feasibility of recording oVEMP using a horizontal surface-recording electrode montage. Laura Rhee, 2015
  • Early Indication of Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Young Adult Users of Personal Listening Devices. Carol Chou, 2015
  • Effect of directional microphone technology on speech perception performance with cochlear implants. Stacey Ochoa Armas, 2017
  • Frequency spectrum of tinnitus, Chris Johnson 2017.
  • Comparison of Benefit Achieved by Noise Reduction Strategies in Cochlear Implants Using 4-and 20-
  • Talker Babble Noise, Alex Rieser 2020
  • Comparative Benefits of Directional Microphone Settings to Cochlear Implant Users for Understanding
  • Speech in Noise, Ellen Smith 2020
  • Clinical Utility of Multifrequency Tympanometry in the Diagnosis of Meniere's Disease and Normative Data. Shelby Smith 2021.
  • Development of 2000 Hz Susceptance Normative Data in Normal Hearing. Taylor Beck 2021.
  • Development of 2000 Hz Susceptance Normative Data in Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Lindsey Bernard 2021.