Principal Investigator: Prof. Sam J. Daniel
Established 16 years ago on July 2003, the McGill Otolaryngology Sciences Laboratory (MOSL), previously known as McGill Auditory Sciences Laboratory, is a state-of-the-art laboratory recognized globally for its expertise in otolaryngology (head and neck surgery) research. The lab is equipped with evoked potential, oto-acoustic emission technology, laser Doppler vibrometry, and sound-proof audiological chambers, temporal bone drilling stations, Faxitron X-Ray machine, amongst others.
This was achieved through equipment grants from the FRSQ, MUHCRI, McGill Head & Neck Fund, private industry, McGill University, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
The laboratory is well-known for its validated animal models that assess ototoxicity of various drugs and products as well as animal models to study chemo-radiation induced hearing loss and noise induced hearing loss. Recently the laboratory has also become experts in evaluating xerostomia and sialorrhea. Research derived from the laboratory has used gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, mice, athymic nude mice, and chinchillas.
The core principle of the laboratory is to simultaneously conduct basic science research at the lab and parallel clinical trials in patients. This gives the MOSL the distinctive advantage of taking relatively rapidly our findings from the laboratory to the clinic and vice-versa. Our expertise in specialized auditory research is now recognized by academic institutions and industry. As such, we are the only centre in Québec that qualified for a competitive research grant from Alcon Research Ltd in order to study the toxicity and efficacy of the new eardrop Moxidex. Our ototoxicity expertise is also sought after by several international consulting (Exponent Inc.) and pharmaceutical development companies (US, Israel, Spain, India).
The MOSL has developed and validated 5 animal models that can be used to test the mechanics of the middle ear as well as the toxicity to the cochlea. These models can be used for knowledge translation from the bench to the bedside and vice versa. To the best of our knowledge there is no other program that has established this dual expertise for both the middle and inner ear in so many models. Our setting is also unique by having a full integration of modeling with experimental measurements. This allows an integration of knowledge and powerful data validation.
Our Collaborators
