Minutes from the Wisconsin SOHN Chapter Meeting - September 27, 2012
Location: University of WisconsinHospital and Clinics – ENT conference room
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Attendance (11): Kristina Keppel, Sharon Schroeder, Joanne Anderson, Stacey Brandenburg, Linda Essert-Dobson, Roxanne Link, Jeanne Vitale, Sarah Childress (guest audiologist), Lindsay Resenhoeft, Pam Lippold , Susan Schwartz
Prior to the Chapter meeting, a dinner was provided by Wisconsin SOHN Chapter
Opening Comments and New Business-
Kristina Keppel DNP Chapter President made the opening comments and made general announcements.
Scholarship Recipients -
Chapter members Diane Aide and Jeanne Vitale were the recipients of the Chapter’s scholarships ($750 each) to attend the SOHN 36th Annual Congress in Washington, DC. The scholarship funds were from the 2012 Education Day 50/50 raffle.
Jeanne Vitale thanked the members for scholarships and extended Diane Aide’s thank you.
Wisconsin SOHN website -
Kristina Keppel showed members the website and encouraged all to use it. She has been updating it with valuable information and Congress photos.
National Meetings-
1. ASPO (American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngologyconference)
Arlington/Baltimore, Maryland or Orlando, Florida
April 10-14, 2013
Please refer to SOHN website,
2. SOHN 37ThAnnual SOHN Congress Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada
September 27 – October 1, 2013
Note - Will need a passport to enter Canada
Local Chapter Meetings and upcoming Education Day–
1. WI SOHN 11th Annual Education Day
Country Springs Hotel and ConferenceCenter
Waukesha, WI
Saturday, March 9, 2013
For more information visit the WI SOHN website,
Education committee members are Jeanne Vitale, Linda Essert-Dobson, and Melissa Raines. Raffle coordinator will be Stacey Brandenburg. Our brochure will be designed by Lori Newton.
2. Wisconsin SOHN Chapter Meeting
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 6:30PM
Note - This will be an Election Meeting
If you are interested in running for an office or would like to nominate someone for a position (President, Vice President, Treasure, and Secretary), please contact Roxanne Link, APNP at
Members planning to re-run for positions are Kristina Keppel for President, Linda Essert-Dobson for Treasure, and Jeanne Vitale for Secretary.
(Please refer to Kristina Keppel’s e-mail from Friday, October 12, 2012)
3. There was group discussion about holding a Chapter Meeting in the Fox Valley/GreenBay, WI. This could be pursued as an option.
SOHN and Wisconsin SOHN Membership -
SOHN membership dues are due March 1, 2013
Full member $100/year and Chapter dues $5
Membership application and due payments can be paid on-line,
Old Business –
NONE
Speaker Presentation –
Hearing Loss and Stem Cell Biology by Dr. Samuel Gubbels, MD, NeuroOtologist at UWHC, 1 CEU
Dr. Gubbels gave a slide presentation of research in regenerative therapies for hearing loss, followed by a lab tour at the WaismanCenter.
The presentation was research specific, but provided interesting aspects to the future of inner ear management. Here are a view points from the presentation. With 80% hair cell loss you get hearing loss, and these hair cells do not regenerate in humans. Hair cells are the “Achilles heel” of the hearing system. Currently there are three avenuesof research for regeneration of the hair cells: gene transfer (hair cell genes from the inner ear/Atoh1), inner ear stem cells (harvested from the cochlea and semicircular canal), and pluripotent stem cells or PSC (embryonic stem cells, using cultures technique).
Dr. Gubbels’ lab is a pluripotent stem cell (PSC) lab. He works with pluripotent stem cells translation using two cell lines of embryonic stem cells. His lab is using human stem cells to make hair cells.
The key or “Holy Grail” to all hair cell research is the search for the protein that makes hair cells.
The future is finding this protein. Once the protein is found they will have the ability to regenerate hair cells in humans. This future is greater than 10 years or one lifetime. Note- If your physicians are implanting babies with cochlear implants, they should be one-sided, and should save one ear for regeneration. Remember bilateral cochlear implants destroy both inner ears, and regeneration in a destroyed cochlea is impossible. In summary, the future holds major challenges.
The meeting was adjourned after the lab trip.
Next meeting will be Thursday, January 24, 2013 in Milwaukee.
The Education Committee met after the Chapter meeting. Save the Date cards will be mailed in October. Chapter members who are interested in presenting case studies at the Education Day, please e-mail