Meet the experts

Dr. Danesh is professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Florida Atlantic University. He also has a secondary appointment as the Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Schmidt College of Medicine. He teaches students in audiology, medicine, and speech, language pathology. Dr. Danesh is a board-certified clinical audiologist who has presented more than 80 scientific papers in local, state, national, and international meetings. In the past few years, Dr. Danesh has published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers on topics related to hearing, tinnitus and balance disorders in a variety of prestigious journals and proceedings. He received his Doctorate in audiology with an emphasis on auditory electrophysiology from the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. Professor Danesh has a keen love of genetics and genetic hearing loss. 

Dr. Stephanie Browning McVicar is the Director of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program, the Children’s Hearing Aid Program, and the Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Public Health Initiative in Utah.  She works for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ Children with Special Healthcare Needs Office in Salt Lake City. Dr. McVicar is a pediatric audiologist, an advocate for CMV testing in newborns, and passionate about the prevention of congenital CMV infection. She is originally from Western New York and has extensive experience and knowledge in Audiology and the management of health care programs in both the public and private sectors.

Christopher Spankovich, AuD, PhD, MPH, is a tenured professor and vice chair of research for the Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Spankovich is a clinician-scientist with a translational research program focused on prevention of acquired forms of hearing loss, tinnitus, and sound sensitivity. His research includes clinical trials of otoprotectants, epidemiological studies of determinants (e.g., dietary quality) of hearing loss/tinnitus, basic research in thermal stress for prevention of ototoxicity, and translational research on the effects of noise on auditory physiology/perception. His research has been funded by industry, federal, and professional bodies. He has published over 100 articles and book chapters (>65 in peer-reviewed journals) and has given over 60 national and international presentations. Dr. Spankovich continues to practice clinically with special interest in tinnitus, sound sensitivity, ototoxicity, hearing conservation, and advanced diagnostics. He holds Adjunct faculty status with Salus/Drexel University and serves as an associate editor for the International Journal of Audiology. He is a former board member for the American Academy of Audiology and currently serves on the board of the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE). Dr. Spankovich also provides consultant services for medico-legal cases.