Robert J. Wenthold, PhD
Entry Id: TP-84

Overview
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (see http://www.nih.gov/nidcd) has recently developed a three-year training program in clinical and basic research on hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language. The program is open to physicians who have completed their medical training and are either Board certified or eligible otolaryngologists and is designed to provide trainees with the high-quality clinical and laboratory skills that will enable them to pursue careers in academic medicine.

Structure of the Clinical Training Program
The Fellows devote approximately 25% of their time to the NIDCD Otolaryngology Consultation Service at the NIH Clinical Research Center for the intramural clinical program of the National Institutes of Health. Opportunities exist for collaborations with other medical research facilities. The patients under study have a wide variety of otolaryngologic problems associated with communication disorders, (especially hearing and vestibular disorders), cancer, neurologic disorders, cranio-facial anomalies, and genetic disorders affecting the human communication systems. Fellows receive broad instruction in clinical research in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery and have an opportunity to collaborate with clinical scientists throughout the NIH and other collaborating units.

Structure of the Research Training Program
The core of the program is the research training obtained in one of the basic or clinical laboratories of the NIDCD. Approximately 75% of the Fellow’s time is protected for research under the mentorship of one of the MDs or PhDs on the NIDCD senior staff. Individualized research programs are designed to accommodate the Fellow’s interest and available resources. Fellows may chose from a variety of the ongoing research programs.

• Thomas B. Friedman, PhD, Section on Human Genetics; maps and clones genes responsible for congenital and delayed onset hearing impairments and other communication disorders.
• Konrad Noben-Trauth, PhD, Section on Murine Genetics; identifies genes that cause hearing impairment in mutant and wild-type strains of mice.
• Richard Chadwick, PhD, Section on Auditory Mechanics; studies the basic mechanisms relating to frequency discrimination of pure tones and processing of complex sounds in the cochlea using advanced modeling techniques.
• Kuni Iwasa, PhD, Section on Biophysics; investigates the biophysical and electromechanical properties of auditory and vestibular structures.
• John Northup, PhD. Section on Signal Transduction; studies G-protein mediated signaling with emphasis on the roles of G-proteins and G-protein-coupled receptors in sensory cells.
• Bechara Kachar, MD, Section on Structural Cell Biology; investigates the cellular and molecular functions of the inner ear.
• Robert J. Wenthold, PhD, Section on Neurotransmitter Biology; characterizes the molecular mechanisms underlying auditory system function with emphasis on neurotransmission and neuromodulation.
• Carter Van Waes, M.D., PhD, Tumor Biology Section; develops new biologic and immunologic therapies for squamous cell carcinoma which affect human communication and investigates the role of genes in tumor progression.
• Allen R. Braun, MD, Language Section; conducts functional neuroimaging studies on speech formulation and language processing,

Examples of Papers Authored by Program Faculty

• Morell RJ, HJ Kim, LJ Hood, L Goforth, K Friderici, R Fisher, G VanCamp, C Berlin, C Oddoux, H Ostrer, B Keats, TB Friedman (1998) Mutations in the connexin 26 gene (GJB2) among Ashkenazi Jews with nonsyndromic recessive deafness. New England Journal of Medicine 339: 1500-1505.
• Valerie A. Street, Jennifer W. McKee-Johnson, Rosalia C. Fonseca, Bruce L. Tempel, and Konrad Noben-Trauth (1998). Mutations in a plasma Membrane Ca2+-ATPase gene cause deafness in deafwaddler mice. Nature Genetics 19, 390-394.
• Chadwick, R. S (1998).: Compression, gain, and nonlinear distortion in an active cochlear model with subpartitions. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 14594-14599.
• Iwasa KH, Adachi M (1997): Force generation in the outer hair cell of the cochlea, Biophys. J. 73, 546-555.
• Liu, W., Clark, W., Sharma, P. and Northup, J.K. (1998) Mechanism of Allosteric Regulation of the Rod cGMP Phosphodiesterase Activity by the Helical Domain of the Transducin a Subunit. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 34284-34292.
• Frolenkoc, G.I., Atzori, M., Kalinec, F. Mammano, F. and Kachar, B. The membrane based mechanism of cell motility in the cochlear outer hair cells. Mol. Biol. Cell, 9: 1961-1968, 1998.
• Petralia, R.S., Esteban, J.A., Wang, Y.-X., Partridge, J.G., Zhao, H.-M., Wenthold, R.J., and Malinow, R. (1999) Selective acquisition of AMPA receptors during postnatal development suggests a molecular basis for silent synapse. Nature Neuroscience 2, 31-36.
• Z. Chen, I Colon, N. Ortiz, M. Callister, M. Pegram, O. Arosarena, S. Strome, J.C., Nicholson and C. Van Waes 1998 Effects of IL-1a, IL-1RA and neutralizing antibody on proinflammatory cytokine expression by human squamous cell carcinoma lines. Cancer Research, 58:3668-3676.
• Braun, A.R., Varga, M., Stager, S., Shulz, G., Selbie, S., Maisog, J.M., Carson, R.E., and Ludlow, C. L. Altered Patterns of Cerebral Activity During Speech and Language Production in Developmental Stuttering. An H2O-15 Positron Emission Tomography Study. Brain, 120:761-784, 1997.

Other Opportunities
Fellows are eligible to participate in other training opportunities at the NIH and collaborating organizations. Examples are:

• Introduction to the Principals and Practice of Clinical Research offered by the NIH Clinical Center.
• Medical Genetics Fellowship program sponsored by the National Human Genome Research Institute which may lead to Board certification in human genetics.

>Participation in such training programs is left to the discretion of the Fellow.

The NIDCD Otolaryngology Research Training Program is seeking one or two fellows per year. All candidates must be Board certified or eligible otolaryngologists. Fellows are approved for three years with a possible extension to five year. Candidates should apply in the Fall, one year prior to entry in July. Interviews will be held between November and March.

Electronic Application

The quickest and easiest way to find out more about this training program or to apply for consideration is to do it electronically.

The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs.