The Comprehensive Research Program in Laryngology is a set of interdisciplinary research projects in both clinical and basic science departments at Northwestern University. It is designed to 1) improve the scientific understanding of laryngology, and 2) advance the standard of patient care through research. Projects are intentionally designed to be collaborative and interdisciplinary in nature to take advantage of resources and perspectives unique to each discipline. Projects are presently in progress in the following areas:

• Applied Clinical Research
  
• Pathophysiology
  
• Epidemiology
  
• Voice & Dysphonia
  
• Neuromuscular Disorders
  
• Cancer Physiology
  
• Modeling

Residents in Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, medical students and graduate students are encouraged to participate in research projects. The goals and objectives of the residency/student research rotation are 1) to give the resident experience with a research project in basic or applied clinical science, 2) to gain an appreciation for the role of research in advancing the standard of patient care, and 3) to develop their skills in critical analysis of scientific data and the scientific literature. Resident/student research projects are designed with consideration of:

• appropriate nature, extent and critical analysis of pertinent literature
  
• adequate development of a hypothesis
  
• practical choice of research methods to generate results in the allotted time
  
• generation of results with statistical analysis of data
  
• conclusions with relevance to the improving the scientific knowledge base or advancing the standard of patient care
  
• summary of the project in abstract form for presentation at a national meeting