ARO Science Café — Baltimore, February 8th, 2019

Hi All,

as part of the ARO Annual Midwinter meeting in Baltimore, there will be a science cafe meeting on tinnitus. Not sure it will be worth travelling for, but if you're in the area might be worth having a look...

Our signature Science Café is back! On Friday Feb 8th at 7 PM, hear Dr. Rebecca Lewis from Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard University talk about tinnitus, all while enjoying pizza at HomeSlyce Pizzeria. This event is geared for non-science audiences, so please invite your non-science friends. This is also a great opportunity to mingle with the locals and talk about science.

 

Thanks @David hope the event goes well.

 

@David

Thanks very much for posting. I am a volunteer helping to lead the Maryland ATA tinnitus support group. Is this event open to the public do you know? Or must one pay to register for ARO? If it is free and open then we might want to distribute to our support group members.

 

Hi @lymebite - I don't believe there's a charge or that you need to register for ARO. It is open to the public - the text in italics above is taken from an email ARO sent out. I took it to be a free public dissemination event.

 

@David, @lymebite,

Thanks for getting the word out! Hope it's well attended and the pizza is yummy.

 

Dr. Rebecca Lewis' profile:
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/meei_fellows/people/rebecca-lewis-aud-phd

 

I've posted this on several Facebook groups as well. Maybe the ATA will see it.

 

Here is a public URL with the event:

https://www.aro.org/page/ScienceCafEvent

 

Just to remind anyone in the Baltimore are about this event on Feb. 8th. Will anyone here be going?
Tempt me with Pizza and I will usually be there!! But no can do since I am in CA.

 

As much as I like hearing people talk about it. After 30 years I keep praying for a treatment or cure. I do believe in pray.

 

I just read her profile:
Rebecca Lewis, AuD, PhD
Audiology/Otolaryngology
Inner Ear/Auditory Nerve Research
Stankovic Lab

Rebecca Lewis is a clinical audiologist and neuroscientist who works as a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Dr. Konstantina Stankovic. She completed her AuD and PhD degrees simultaneously at the University of Washington in June 2016. During her predoctoral training, Rebecca studied avian hair cell regeneration to evaluate mechanisms that stimulate hair cell differentiation and proliferation. After receiving her AuD and PhD degrees from University of Washington in June 2016, she continues her pursuit of translational research by studying mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss among patients with vestibular schwannoma. Ultimately, Rebecca aims to develop methods to prevent sensorineural hearing loss and relieve the effects of hearing loss after damage to the cochlea is sustained through the use of targeted therapies to restore damaged structures.


Wonder if she has any views on hidden hearing loss @Contrast has asked about?

 

Is anyone going to this? Neuromod will be there. If anyone lives there, recording a video of their presentation would be amazing.

 

I wonder how the ARO event went yesterday?

Anyone with updates?

 

It’s going on all weekend, with Neuromod presenting today. Decibel Therapeutics and Frequency Therapeutics will be there. Hoping to get some updates soon.

@David will be there.

 

Audio recording from the ARO Science Café. Joyce recorded and posted this

 

Is there anything new in this video without having to listen to it?

 

So I just listened to the entire recording and for me there was nothing new and as you would expect, there was a limit to how far Dr. Lewis could or would talk about the brain. Her talk was very short, not technical and mainly covered the effect of sound on the hair cells of the cochlea and that the brain is trying to fill in the lost information.

The majority of the time was spent on Q&A. I was amused when about three quarters of the way thru the recording there was a question from the audience and I immediately recognized the voice-- it was Professor Josef Rauschecker! It would seem that Dr. Lewis didn't know him and while she acknowledged what he was saying, didn't elaborate on it. The event was targeted to people without a science background.

 

An article from the BTA Chief (@David), reflecting on ARO.

David - any chance of answering some questions from Tinnitus Talk members? Or any other info you can share?

https://www.tinnitus.org.uk/blog/research-blog-aro-midwinter-meeting

 

Happy to try! Although as said, a lot of the information was commercially sensitive or shared in cofndience. The main value was in the networking and building relationships.