Implementing Non‐Technical Education and Assessment in Otolaryngology Residency Training

Abstract

characteristics in supporting cells from the ears of birds has led to the development of methods for producing hair cells entirely "in the dish." Such avian inner ear cells have be cultured for months, expanded to large numbers in flasks, frozen, and shipped to other laboratories, where they can be thawed, and used to make hair cells while entirely in vitro. At any point up to at least passage 20, these cultures can be induced to undergo a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition that reliably yields new polarized sensory epithelia comprised of supporting cells and numerous hair cells. These hair cells are crowned by hair bundles which contain a single kinocilium and an asymmetric array of stereocilia and they exhibit the potential for hair cell function. Since a vial of these frozen cells can now provide the capacity to produce bona fide hair cells completely in vitro this may allow high throughput screening of pharmaceutical candidates and open new avenues of research aimed at improved treatments for hearing loss and other inner ear disorders.