ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) Research Program
ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Care) Research Program
Children’s Minnesota’s research program in otolaryngology—ear, nose, and throat care, or ENT—is a leader in clinical outcomes research, which informs clinical decision-making and improves the health of the children we treat every day. Our researchers publish their findings widely and collaborate with other departments so the whole medical community can benefit. View our list of recent publications below.
We are innovators and national thought leaders, but our researchers also translate their expertise into action:
- Staff members Dr. Siva Chinnadurai and Dr. Brianne Roby work with Children’s Surgery International, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that provides free medical and surgical services to children in need around the world. Just this past year travels included Mexico, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Liberia.
- We perform hearing screenings for kids in Minnesota schools and study the results in the Hear Screen Project, led by staff member Dr. Asitha Jayawardena.
- In partnership with Duke University’s Implementation Science Core, Dr. Jayawardena also works to provide hearing screening and other services in countries with little access to ENT resources.
We are also educators who train the next generation of ENT specialists, both here in Minnesota and around the world.
- Dr. Roby and Dr. Chinnadurai are involved in the International Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship Bootcamp, which teaches advanced surgical skills to trainees using 3-D printed Sim models. Dr. Roby is one of the Course Directors and Dr. Chinnadurai is an instructor.
- Our program is home to the Jim Sidman Pediatric Otolaryngology Research Fellowship, which supports fellows’ pursuit of scientific inquiry and allows them to develop deep relationships with well-established mentors in ENT research. Email [email protected] to find out more and apply.
- Since 2002, we have offered the Pediatric ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery Fellowship, which is consistently rated as one of the best in the country. While this fellowship is more practice- and less research-focused, we are proud of the role former fellows have played in research in the field, which is a testament to the research foundation that has developed at Children’s Minnesota. Find out more and apply now.
Pediatric Otolaryngology Research fellowship
Publications
Reduction of Antibiotic-Associated Conditions After Tympanostomy Tube Placement in Children
Chinnadurai, S., Meyer, C., Roby, B., Redmann, A., Meyer, A., Tibesar, R., … & Jayawardena, A. D. (2024).
Early Audiometric Intervention in Bacterial Meningitis: Cochlear Implantation in a 10-Week-Old Child
Schwartz, T. R., Novak, J., Scott, A., Patel, S., Halvorson, K., & Jayawardena, A. D. (2024).
Moral distress in pediatric otolaryngology: A pilot study
Redmann AJ, Smith MM, Benscoter D, Hart CK.
How Strong is the Duty to treat in a pandemic? Ethics in Practice- Point: Counterpoint.
Redmann AJ, Kennedy A, Manning A, Greinwald J, deAlarcon A.
Surgical treatment of type III laryngotracheal clefts (LTEC): techniques and outcomes.
Kou YF, Redmann AJ, Smith MM, Hart CK, Rutter MJ, deAlarcon AD.
Delayed Identification of Infants Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing — Minnesota, 2012–2016
Meyer AC, Marsolek M, Brown N, Coverstone K.
Minimizing transfusion in sagittal craniosynostosis surgery: the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota Protocol
Escher, P. J., Tu, A., Kearney, S., Wheelwright, M., Petronio, J., Kebriaei, M., … & Tibesar, R. J.
A protocol of situation-dependent transfusion, erythropoietin and tranexamic acid reduces transfusion in fronto-orbital advancement for metopic and coronal craniosynostosis
Escher, P. J., Tu, A. D., Kearney, S. L., Linabery, A. M., Petronio, J. A., Kebriaei, M. A., … & Tibesar, R. J.
School Hear Screen Study & Collaboration with Edina Public Schools
Much of the research performed at Children’s Minnesota contributes to the step-by-step advance of science that leads to new therapies over the long term. But Children’s research can also have a direct and immediate impact on children’s health. The Hear Screen Project, led by Principal Investigator Asitha Jayawardena, MD, MPH, of Children’s ENT Facial Plastic Clinic, is a recent example of the latter. Dr. Jayawardena and his core team, including Autefeh Sajjadi, MD, MS (Research Resident at the University of Minnesota) and Stacey Rabusch, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator in Children’s ENT research program, received grant funding from the Lions Minnesota Hearing Foundation to assess the feasibility of providing tablet-based audiometric testing in schoolchildren. Children’s ENT Department provided additional funding support.
The team, which also included University of Minnesota medical students who helped perform the hearing tests at data collection as well as Clinical Research Coordinators, Zainab Adelekan and Marissa Lingle of Children’s Research Institute, investigated the rates at which hearing screens are performed in schools, then tested the feasibility of expanding the current existing screening practices using a technology-based hearing screening.
Their analysis of active public, charter, and private schools registered in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties revealed that 60% of these schools perform standardized hearing screens, but only 4.7% perform screens on all students. These and more detailed findings were presented at the American Academy of Otolaryngology national meeting and are currently under review for publication. An overwhelming majority (89%) of the schools they surveyed expressed interest in participating in a pilot program to determine the feasibility of using HearScreen, HearTest, and HearScope technology in combination with Samsung tablets to efficiently perform comprehensive hearing tests in elementary schools.
The team partnered with Edina Public Schools to perform the feasibility study with the district’s first graders as participants. Dr. Jayawardena, summarizing this phase of the study, reports: “Our team just completed a prospective, multi-school study of about 500 Edina first graders evaluating the utility of a new tech-based hearing screening program. We partnered with Edina Public Schools to study the feasibility of this new smartphone platform which allows the tester to obtain a formal audiogram to grade the degree of hearing loss as well as a picture of the ear drum at the point of care. This facilitates triage to the appropriate care team (pediatrician, ENT, audiology, etc.) and ideally will reduce rates of false referral and increase rates of follow-up.”
With a team of 6 screeners, Dr. Jayawardena’s team was able to screen roughly one child per minute, suggesting that this is a feasible and efficient means to perform school-based screening. The team plans to submit these findings for presentation at the American Academy of Otolaryngology national meeting in 2024. Although this research was performed by medical students, research volunteers, and an attending otolaryngologist, the testing itself is designed to be administered by someone with limited healthcare background. Ideally, this program would be utilized by school nurses.
“The goal is to expand to other districts and evaluate cost-effectiveness, rates of referral by socioeconomic status, home language, etc. We are hoping to obtain larger-scale grant funding with this data,” Jayawardena says. In a follow-up grant application, also requesting funding from the Lions Minnesota Hearing Foundation, the group proposes to run the technology-based hearing screening platform in school districts without direct otolaryngology field support to understand the feasibility of an entirely school-run platform.
In the pilot program assessed in Edina Public Schools in 2023, a total of 388 children (84%) passed the initial hearing screen. Of the 66 patients who did not, 100% received more comprehensive testing at the point of care. Of these children, 64 (97%) also received otoscopy at the point of care. Ultimately, 22 were found to have a mild hearing loss, and 5 had a moderate hearing loss. A follow-up plan was established for each patient who referred.
In other words, this project shows how research can translate immediately “from the bench to the bedside” (or the classroom) and provides a model for how Children’s Minnesota researchers combine innovative minds and caring hearts to perform compassionate research.
ENT Research Team
Dr. Andrew Redmann
Dr. Redmann became a pediatric otolaryngologist because children are more fun than adults. His clinical interests include all aspects of pediatric otolaryngology, with a specific focus on aerodigestive disorders and complex airway reconstruction. His research focuses on decision making in complex situations, with a specific focus on pediatric tracheostomy and accompanying moral distress of both families and physicians. Dr. Redmann also does clinical research on complex aerodigestive disorders and surgical treatment of these disorders. He lives with his wife and three children in the Twin Cities, and enjoys running, reading, cooking, the Green Bay Packers, and spending time with family.
Dr. Robert Tibesar
Dr. Tibesar is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and practices at Children’s Hospital. He earned academic honors at the University of Minnesota Medical School and was elected to the AOA National Honor Medical Society. From there he completed an Otolaryngology residency at the Mayo Clinic. After residency he served as a practicing Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeon for the US Air Force. He then completed a fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology and Facial Plastic Surgery at Children’s Minneapolis and University of Minnesota. He has published numerous articles in his field and has written a book chapter for the premier otolaryngology text. Dr. Tibesar is actively involved in the education of University of Minnesota medical students and residents. He has participated in multiple surgical mission trips abroad to care for children with cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial deformities. His clinical and research interests include craniosynostosis, pediatric facial plastic surgery, cleft lip and palate, craniofacial malformations, distraction osteogenesis, vascular malformations, thyroid surgery, and head and neck tumors.
Dr. Abby Meyer
Dr. Meyer enjoys treating children with a variety of ear, nose, and throat problems. She has a particular interest in caring for children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) or who have chronic ear disease. Related to this interest, she is a member of the Minnesota Department of Health Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Committee and the American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Chapter Champion for Minnesota. She is also the Pediatric Otolaryngologist on the Midwest Fetal Care Center team. Outside of work she enjoys supporting the local sports teams, Peloton, anything Star Wars, reading fiction, and spending time with her husband and 2 sons.
Dr. Asitha Jayawardena
Dr. Asitha Jayawardena is a fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist practicing at Childrens Minnesota with a faculty appointment at the University of Minnesota. His training included medical school at University of Iowa, otolaryngology – head and neck surgical residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a pediatric otolaryngology fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Harvard Medical School). He is board certified in both otolaryngology head and neck surgery and complex pediatric otolaryngology. His interests encompass the breadth of pediatric otolaryngology with a specific focus on children with ear and hearing problems. His research focuses on improving access to hearing and airway healthcare for children using technologic and procedural innovations. He believes that evaluating big data can guide patient- and family-centered care. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications including leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Pediatrics, the Laryngoscope, and Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Jayawardena has been an invited speaker at both national and international meetings including the World Congress of ENT, World Congress of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and the World Congress of Endoscopic Ear Surgery. He enjoys tennis, running, watching sports and spending time with his wife and children.
Dr. Siva Chinnadurai
Dr. Chinnadurai is a pediatric otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon at Children’s Minnesota. He is also a Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Minnesota, as well as Scientific Director of ENT, Medical Director of the Aerodigestive and Ear Shape Programs and Surgical Director of the Vascular Anomalies Program at Children’s Minnesota. His clinical practice focuses on pediatric facial reconstruction, microtia and vascular anomalies, management of head and neck tumors, and complex airway reconstruction. His research focuses on healthcare disparities and how the intersection of medicine and technology can be leveraged to reduce global health inequity.
Dr. Brianne Roby
Dr. Roby is a pediatric otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon at Children’s Minnesota. She is the Director of the ENT and Plastic Surgery Fellowship at Children’s Minnesota and the University of Minnesota. She is also the Director of the cleft lip and palate program at Children’s Minnesota. After growing up in South Dakota, she attended medical school at the University of Minnesota and completed otolaryngology residency at the University of Minnesota. She went on to complete a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at the University of Colorado and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Her interests include all aspects of pediatric otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery, including cleft and craniofacial repair and pediatric neck masses. She has been involved in the American Academy of Otolaryngology, American Cleft Palate Association, and American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngologists, and has served on numerous committees. She lives with her husband and two children in Minneapolis, and enjoys running, golfing, and other outdoor activities.
Stacey Rabusch, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
Stacey joined the ENT research team in 2023. She received a BS in Movement Science from Winona State University and has been working in clinical research since 2015. She received her Certification of Clinical Research Coordinator through the Academy of Clinical Research Professionals in 2017 and has a wide range of research experience working in rehabilitation, neuroscience, and health tech. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and son.
