THE PEDIATRIC AUDIOLOGY TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH (PAT) CONFERENCE

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Hearing loss affects 12.5% of children in the United States, approximately 50% of whom have additional disabilities. The potential for significant and lasting consequences resulting from pediatric hearing loss can be mediated by early intervention and evidence-based interventions supporting development. Despite the growing impetus for evidence-based practices and the establishment of practice guidelines based on scientific evidence, delays between scientific discovery and clinical uptake are a serious barrier to improving the health burden of childhood hearing loss. To translate research evidence into clinical practice, dissemination of research findings must move beyond the traditional routes of peer-reviewed scientific journals which may not reach patient, clinical, and community stakeholders in a timely manner or in ways that lead to sustainable implementation of evidence- based practices in real-world settings. The Pediatric Audiology Translational Research (PAT) Conference develops new insights and applies different solutions to improving the health burden of childhood hearing loss as it is 1) the only non-industry sponsored conference specifically dedicated to promoting translational research in pediatric audiology, 2) hosted in an environment unique in its longstanding tradition of collaboration between trainees, clinical staff, and research scientists, and 3) deliberate in consideration of diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, ability, and background during all conference phases. AIM 1 brings together aspiring, new, and established clinical audiologists, research audiologists, and research scientists offering sessions developed by leading translational researchers and master clinicians and broad advertising through professional networks, scientific organizations, and university systems including past and current participants in the Innovative Mentoring and Professional Advancement through Cultural Training (IMPACT) program and the Summer Undergraduate Research or Internship Experience in Acoustics (SUREIA) program, as well as members of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color researchers and clinicians in Communication Sciences and Disorders (BIPOC-CSD). AIM 2 promotes and supports inclusivity and representation in pediatric audiologic service providers in educational, clinical, and research settings with input from Steering and Advisory Committee members representing diverse perspectives in terms of gender, background, ability, career stage, and racial and ethnic category, as well as student travel awards based on meritorious research and need, recognizing that privileges to participate in high-level mentored research are unavailable to all students. AIM 3 promotes bench- to-bedside expedience in pediatric audiology translational research findings and discovers new areas of need within the pediatric audiology translational research landscape offering sessions that facilitate robust cross- discipline discourse in domains supporting improved health outcomes for children with hearing loss and provision of speaker summaries of translational findings to highlight applications to improvements in clinical care or further scientific innovation as part of each session.