Biology of the Inner Ear: Experimental and Analytical Approaches

描述（由申请人提供）：大约有3000万美国人患有内耳功能障碍以及相关的听力和平衡问题，随着人口老龄化，这一数字预计还会增长。然而，尽管内耳的听觉和平衡感对社会经济产生了巨大的影响，但在所有感官中，我们对内耳的听觉和平衡感了解得最少。我们理解滞后的一个重要原因是内耳研究的困难。这些困难对希望开始内耳检查的个人来说是相当大的障碍。为了解决这一尚未解决的挑战，我们设计了一个雄心勃勃的三周课程，重点是内耳生物学，将由一组顶尖的科学家和临床医生在2009年、2011年和2013年夏天在马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔海洋生物实验室（MBL）教授。内耳生物学课程于2007年首次开设。采用其他非常成功的MBL课程的重点方法，本课程旨在满足听觉和前庭科学新研究人员的特定需求。该课程将招收研究生、博士后研究人员、临床科学家和其他领域的知名研究人员。这些有才华的学生将在内耳研究的前沿技术和专业方法方面接受指导和实践实验室培训。通过讲座、研究研讨会、圆桌讨论和非正式的互动，在三周的时间里，学生和教师将在实验室并肩工作，课程将培养学生作为研究者的发展，不仅强调已知的东西，而且强调重要发现的机会，创新的新方法，以及将这些发现转化为对人类健康有意义的改善。该课程旨在加强有天赋的、积极进取的科学家进入该领域的渠道；提供能够挑战他们的指导，帮助他们进行独立、严谨和原创的研究，同时引入新颖的想法和方法，并促进建立创新和富有成效的合作，以推进科学发现的步伐，并促进将发现转化为有意义的改善听力和平衡障碍患者的生活。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Inner ear dysfunction and the associated problems with hearing and balance affect about 30 million Americans and that number is expected to grow as the population ages. Yet despite the enormous socioeconomic impact, the inner ear senses of hearing and balance are the most poorly understood of all the senses. One significant reason for the lag in our understanding is the difficulties associated with inner ear research. These difficulties present sizable barriers for individuals who wish to initiate investigations of the inner ear. To address this unmet challenge we have designed an ambitious three-week course focused on the biology of the inner ear that will be taught by a team of leading scientists and clinicians during the summers of 2009, 2011 and 2013 at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. The Biology of the Inner Ear course was first offered in 2007. Using the focused approach that typifies other highly successful MBL courses, this course is designed to meet specific needs of new researchers in auditory and vestibular science. The course will enroll a class comprised of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, clinician scientists, and established investigators from other fields. These talented students will be provided with instruction and hands-on laboratory training in cutting-edge techniques and specialized methods that are unique to investigations of the inner ear. Through lectures, research seminars, roundtable discussions, and informal interactions during the three weeks when students and instructors will work side-by-side in the laboratory, the course will foster the development of the students as investigators, emphasizing not just what is known, but also the opportunities for important discoveries, innovative new approaches, and the translation of those discoveries into meaningful improvements in human health. The course is designed to enhance the pipeline of gifted, highly motivated scientists entering the field; provide instruction that will challenge them and help them undertake independent, rigorous, and original research while introducing novel ideas and approaches, and facilitate the establishment of innovative and productive collaborations, in order to advance the pace of scientific discovery and promote the translation of discoveries into meaningful improvements in the lives of persons affected by hearing and balance disorders.