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Professor Anne Schilder - Director NIHR UCLH BRC Hearing Health Theme & evidENT UCL Ear Institute

I am an ENT surgeon and trialist and lead the translational hearing research programme of the NIHR UCLH BRC Hearing Health Theme.

My research focuses on translation of hearing discoveries into novel treatments for patients with hearing loss. This ranges from designing and delivering first-in-man trials, analysis of routine health data, to health economics and health policy to prepare healthcare systems for the arrival of drug, gene and cell therapies for hearing loss.

I have led the successful delivery of the first trial worldwide of a regenerative hearing drug in adults with sensorineural hearing loss (REGAIN, EU Horizon 2020 €5.8m). I also hold a chair at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, working with primary care researchers to develop evidence-based interventions for otitis media in children.

Nishchay Mehta - BRC Associate Professor Deafness and Hearing Health

I am an Ears Nose and Throat (ENT) Consultant Surgeon with a sub specialty interest in Otology and Auditory Implants appointed at the Royal National ENT hospital within UCL Hospitals Trust. I hold a joint appointment as Associate Professor at the Ear Institute, funded for by the Deafness and Hearing Health Biomedical Research Centre.

My Wellcome Trust funded PhD at 911±¬ÁÏÍøas in health informatics and clinical decision making. Currently, my research interests include (with funding body or collaborators):

• Artificial Intelligence in the diagnosis of hearing loss phenotypes (Wellcome Trust)
• Developing a National Health Informatics Collaborative for hearing health (NIHR BRC)
• Remotely assessing and developing early biomarkers for ototoxicity in cancer patients (Action on Hearing Loss)
• Role of novel measurement techniques in those with hearing loss (UCL BRC)

• Role intra-operative monitoring technology in auditory implantation (Advanced Bionics and Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre)
• Developing core outcome sets for ear related conditions (INTEGRATE)
• Developing on-line hearing health screening and interventions (NIHR PDG)
• Developing tele-otology services (TympaHealth)
• Assessing the predictors and treatment of sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss (Sensorion)

Please see here profile of Nish's PhD student Claudia Contadini-Wright.

George Britton - Clinical Research Manager

In 2021, I moved into clinical research as a Data Manager at the UCLH Clinical Research Facility. I supported up to 30 early and mid-phase clinical trials across neurology (including one globally first-in-patient Alzheimer's Disease trial) and oncology specialties, and high-intensity COVID-19 vaccine trials. I then took on the role of Clinical Trial Coordinator, covering 11 trials across the same specialities, primarily working on COVID-19 vaccine trials. I led recruitment on a vaccine trial in which we were the first to dose nationally and worked with the full range of team members involved in research delivery, both from the commercial/non-commercial sponsor side and from within the Trust. 

In August 2023, I joined the evidENT team as Clinical Research Manager. This role also covers the RNENT&EDH hospital's research portfolio too. My goal is to help run our research trials in a way which is safe for patients and produces the most valuable data possible, so we can drive the development of amazing new treatments and approaches for conditions across the whole ENT speciality. I believe with the resources and incredible expertise available within UCL and UCLH, we can continue to achieve this in a way which inspires both patients and researchers to feel proud of their involvement in clinical research.

Jas Kaur - Research Nurse

I joined the evidENT team as a Research Nurse in September 2023 and I work with the multi-disciplinary clinical and research teams on the Macro Trial, recruiting patients and providing them with relevant nursing care. I have spent most of my nursing career in multi-specialty including medical wards, surgical wards including orthopaedics, respiratory, theatre scrub nurse, for the last 7 years I have worked in different specialist as a research nurse working on different types of studies including, observational registries commercial including IMP and devices.Through the work we carry out we hope to achieve better care outcomes for our patients.

Dr Rohani Omar - Consultant Audiovestibular Physician

Dr Rohani Omar is a Consultant Audiovestibular Physician at University College London Hospital (UCLH) and Honorary Associate Professor at the UCL Ear Institute. She graduated in Medicine at Cambridge University and completed general medical training on the London Hammersmith rotation leading to the MRCP. She then obtained an MD(Res) in Neurology from University College London (UCL) and was awarded a Royal College of Physicians/Dunhill Medical Trust Research Fellowship. She then completed specialist training in Audiovestibular Medicine in London, gaining a distinction for the PGCert in Otology and Audiology from UCL.

Dr Omar was awarded the Pat Jobson prize from the British Association of Audiovestibular Physicians for her services to the specialty. She is the local Postgraduate Medical Education Lead for Audiovestibular Medicine and an educational supervisor, contributing to the development of the Audiovestibular Medicine training curriculum.

Her research interests are in cognitive neuroscience and the interface between hearing loss and cognition in older adults. She has published widely in high-impact peer reviewed journals and book chapters. She is a steering committee member of the British Society of Audiology Cognition and Hearing Special Interest Group, and the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership in Coexisting Dementia and Hearing Conditions. Her current projects include clinical pathways addressing cognitive and hearing impairment, and hearing loss genetics.

Talisa Ross - NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow

I am an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) registrar and Academic Clinical Fellow in the North Thames deanery. The academic clinical fellowship programme allows me to divide my time in higher surgical training with research, working as part of the evidENT team. 

My academic outputs have been widely published and presented internationally. I studied Medicine at the University of Birmingham, gaining a distinction in research. I have an intercalated BSc from King’s College London, during which I developed a full-immersion simulation tool for the daVinci robot. I have a Master’s in Surgical Innovation from Imperial College London, for which I gained a distinction. During my MSc, I completed projects evaluating the use of novel energy devices in trans-oral robotic surgery. 

My enthusiasm for innovation in ENT has led to my current research interest in machine learning. I am passionate about harnessing the power of big data to answer meaningful clinical questions. 

Nikhil Joshi - Clinical Research Fellow

I am a surgical trainee working in Sussex and have worked with the evidENT team as a research fellow since 2020. My research interests focus on using data science methods, such as machine learning and natural language processing, to answer research questions in the fields of hearing loss and childhood obstructive sleep disordered breathing. I also hold a leading role in the central academic team for the SeaSHeL study, the largest UK cohort study on sudden hearing loss, taking place across 100 NHS Trusts since 2019.

I hold an undergraduate degree in pre-clinical medicine from Cambridge University and subsequently completed my medical studies at Imperial College London. I have a Master’s with Distinction in Health Data Science from UCL. I intend to begin ENT surgical training in the next couple of years and will continue to combine clinical and research roles throughout my career. I also have keen interests in global health and environmental responsibility which I hope to incorporate into future research.

Fei Long - Clinical Research Programme Manager

I joined the evidENT team and the UCLH in August 2021 as a Clinical Research Manager and promoted to a new role within the team as the Clinical Research Programme Manager.  My current role is to manage a multi-million NIHR funded research programme on Chronic Rhinosinusitis in adults. 

I gained my MSc in Healthcare Research Methods from the Queen Mary University of London prior to working as a Clinical Research Nurse and later on a Lead Research Nurse in the NHS. I have coordinated commercial and non-commercial phase 1-4 trials across specialities including haematology, orthopaedics, general surgery, diabetes, ITU and perioperative care. I then worked on research project management of COVID-19 vaccine trials in the University of Oxford before joined UCLH and UCL.

My interest is in research support, as I believe well-organised and sufficient research support will help clinicians and researchers to conduct research to its highest quality which will ultimately benefit future patients.

Fahima Khatun - Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead

I run a nationally recognised home care organisation supporting people who live with sensory and cognitive impairments. I am driven by the philosophy of providing safe and quality care. 
 
In my role as the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead for the NIHR UCLH BRC Hearing Health Theme I advocate for people living with hearing conditions in order to help shape research studies and determine the way their healthcare needs are met. Through both of my roles I hope to achieve better outcomes for those affected by sensory impairment and particularly hearing loss.

Diya Vaid - PhD Student

I am a PhD student funded by the NIHR UCLH BRC, under the supervision of Professors Anne Schilder (UCL Ear Institute) and Fiona Stevenson (UCL Department of Primary Care and Population Health). I hold BSc in Biomedical Science and an MSc in Neuroscience, where I focused on cognitive neuroscience and the clinical applications of data science and machine learning.

My research aims to develop strategies, to inform practical recommendations, for audiologists to address cognitive health in hearing clinics for older adults by analysing data gathered from interviews and focus groups with patients, companions, and professionals. 

Dr Liam Barrett - Research Fellow

I am a research fellow with the EvidENT team at the Ear Institute, UCL, where I investigate how AI can enhance hearing care. Specifically, my focus is on utilising large datasets from individuals with hearing loss to train machine learning models that address various issues related to hearing loss.

During my PhD, I researched how machine learning models can predict moments of stuttering from speech and neural signals in individuals who stutter. My continued research interests seek to enhance AI and machine learning models for underrepresented populations in speech and hearing technology.

Lilia Dimitrov – MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow and PhD student

I am an Ear, Nost and Throat surgical trainee in the North Thames deanery. I was awarded the MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship to undertake my PhD at 911±¬ÁÏÍø. My research focus is on using machine learning methods to better understand hearing loss. Through collaboration with the UCLH Clinical and Research Informatics Unit (CRIU), we have established the largest UK database of audiograms. My work involves employing unsupervised machine learning algorithms to discern data-driven hearing loss phenotypes from this extensive database. Additionally, I will use machine vision techniques to analyse clinical images and videos of the eardrum, aiming to investigate the significance of vascularity in this region.

I have combined my academic and clinical interest since graduating from the accelerated medicine program at Bart's and the London. I completed the NIHR Academic Foundation Programme in the North East Thames Foundation School, followed by the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in ENT in London. During this period, I achieved a distinction in my MSc in Health Data Science from UCL. Additionally, I hold an undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology, Philosophy, and Physiology from the University of Oxford.

In addition to my academic and clinical work, I have an interest in education. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority and a school governor of the Boxing Academy in Hackney.

Roulla Katiri - Clinical Research Audiologist

I am a clinical research audiologist with an interest in audio-vestibular diagnostics, auditory implants, and outcome measurement in hearing healthcare. My NIHR-funded PhD investigated outcome measurement in the field of single-sided deafness. In evidENT I work as part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers across UCLH Royal National ENT & Eastman Dental Hospitals and the UCL Ear Institute.

I am involved in translational pathways from early phase trials to implementation science. My role involves engaging with research communities, industry, charities, and other stakeholders to ensure patients with ENT, hearing and balance conditions benefit form new and better treatments.

Eleanor Davies - Clinical Research Audiologist

I qualified as an audiologist in 2010 at 911±¬ÁÏÍø's Ear Institute.  Most of my clinical career has been in paediatric audiology, and I completed my MSc in Advanced Audiology in 2017.  During the pandemic I was redeployed as a Newborn Hearing Screener.  I spent 3 years working as a clinical analyst with electronic health record system Epic, accredited in Ambulatory and Order Transmittal.  

In my current role with evidENT, I work on a wide range of studies, including several focussing on the interaction of hearing loss and cognitive impairment due to dementia.  I am the Audit lead for the audiology teams at University College London Hospitals, co-ordinating and facilitating clinical audits.  I continue to work clinically in paediatric audiology.