DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Basic science, translational, and clinical research in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery is making remarkable advances that affect the way we treat patients. A critical component of nourishing and expanding such improvements in patient care is to facilitate the partnership of clinicians and basic scientists. One way to achiev this is by training more clinician-scientists. Herein, we propose to implement a research training program designed to cultivate clinician-scientists who are interested in studying inner ear development, regeneration, function, and physiology. Our research training program is designed to provide residents and post-residency graduates with intense research experiences, a structured didactic program, and close mentorship and guidance in how to integrate clinical and research activities. Trainees will be ingrained with the philosophy that research is intrinsic to a academic surgeon's career and that they should build their career by sustaining excellence in both research and clinical care. If our training program is successful, our graduates will become independent NIDCD-funded investigators in faculty positions in academic departments. The ultimate long-term goal, of course, is for them to improve human health by advancing our field via scientific discovery that is translated to clinical care.