Department News and HighlightsDr. Anne Kane was awarded a Triological Society Career Development Award to be funded in the amount of $40,000.Dr. Gina Jefferson was awarded a John C. Ruckdeschel CCRI Pilot Grant for $32,000 to support the improvement of laryngeal and lung cancer screening.The department had its highest year ever for peer-reviewed publications, with 41 in this past fiscal year.Ashley Grillis, Au.D., became the only certified pediatric audiologist in the state. She also served as Mississippi’s ASHA ambassador, meeting with Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Congressman Michael Guest to discuss bills in congress to expand hearing services and telehealth services for speech and audiology.The Translational Auditory Physiology Lab led by Dr. Christopher Spankovich was awarded a R21 grant for $275,000 in research support from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The project, titled "Ear Level Cooling for Otoprotection," will explore applications of mild therapeutic hypothermia to prevent cisplatin-induced hearing loss.The Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education approved the UMMC Doctor of Audiology program. The program is taking applications immediately and begins in the fall semester.