Newcastle University
Dr Michael Mather is a Clinical Lecturer in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery), and has recently completed his PhD in the Haniffa Lab at Newcastle University. Michael’s research focus is on infections and inflammation in the middle ear of children.
Most children will have at least one ear infection in their first few years – typically at very young ages. In some cases, infections are recurrent and can result in hearing loss due to a fluid build-up behind the ear drum (glue ear) which can cause problems with development and learning.
More about Michaels’s work
Surgery, such as grommets (fitting a tiny tube through the ear drum to allow fluid in the middle ear to drain away) and adenoidectomy (removing enlarged adenoids, small lumps of tissue at the back of the throat behind the nose, which are part of the immune system and help fight infection) is commonly necessary.
Michael aims to improve understanding of this fluid build-up, about which little is known, by analysing the immune cells found in adenoid tissue from the back of the nose. He also plans to develop an lab-based model of adenoid tissue to make it easier to study this process, which he hopes will lead to the development of new treatments for glue ear and reduce the need for surgery in young children.
Improving treatments for glue ear in children
Read about Michael’s research projectMichael’s approaches to hearing research
Discoveries which impact on the common causes of hearing loss which are presently poorly understood – such as glue ear, as this has the potential to improve care for many patients.
Having adequate funding to support the promising work that many researchers are trying to drive forwards.
One of the challenges is having access to biological tissues for research – particularly from humans. This will be essential for translating findings from animal studies into treatments suitable for use in humans.
I hope that it will find new ways to treat common causes of hearing loss, such as glue ear, which avoids the cost and risk associated with surgery – which is necessary in many cases at the present time.