Manuel Vicente selected for T35 research program at Boys Town National Research Hospital

04 Mar 2021    

Manuel Vicente, a second-year student in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Clinical Doctorate in Audiology (Au.D.) program, was selected to participate in a T35 short-term research training program at Boys Town National Research Hospital in the summer. 

During the three-month program, Vicente will be working on a project aiming to learn more about electrophysiological measures in a variety of patient populations. Most of his time will be spent focusing on obtaining high frequency Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) data on infants and individuals with Down syndrome. 

“My experience working in research labs motivated me to stay involved and find opportunities like this during my time in graduate school,” Vicente said. “The program at Boys Town also included laboratories with very different goals within the field of audiology, and this gave me the chance to work on a topic that would be new to me.” 

A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Vicente earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Baylor University, and began working in a hearing research laboratory. It was in that lab where he learned the importance of hearing healthcare and became interested in pursuing a graduate degree in audiology. He chose Nebraska because of the research opportunities as well as the amount of clinical experience the program offers. 

“I was given the chance to work at the Concussion and Vestibular Evaluation (The CAVE) Lab, while also finding my own interests in the field by having a capstone,” Vicente said. “I also wanted to have as much patient interaction as possible during graduate school, and the program allows students to be involved in patient care and complete clinical assessments from the start of their first semester.” 

Vicente said he hopes to gain a better understanding of the variety of roles audiologists can play in research through the T35 program. 

“I know the program and the project I am involved in will help me improve my writing and clinical testing skills,” Vicente said. “I’m also excited to collaborate with researchers and other students from different programs around the country who have similar interests.” 

Vicente is uncertain exactly what path his audiology career will take. For now, he remains focused on continuing to learn and grow his skills, while keeping his mind open to ways in which he can make a big impact. 

“At the moment, I want to continue to learn as much as possible and improve my skills through programs like the T35 traineeship and the courses taught in the Nebraska audiology program. In the long run, I want to contribute to the improvement of the clinical measures used by audiologists and work on getting audiological services to underserved populations.” 

The T35 program at Boys Town is funded by a training grant from the National Institute for Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Each student accepted into the program works full-time for three months with one of 11 investigators currently conducting clinical or translational research related to hearing and balance. This year marks Boys Town’s 15^th consecutive year of training Au.D. students through the program.