Accelerating Otitis Media Research and Workforce Development

Post Date: May 26, 2026

Expiration Date: May 26, 2028

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common childhood illnesses and a leading cause for antibiotic prescriptions in children. More than 80% of children experience at least one episode of OM by three years of age. In children with recurrent or chronic disease, the impact on development can be substantial, including prolonged conductive hearing loss and delays in speech, language, and learning. OM has a significant disease burden, including care-giver strain and health care costs. In the United States alone, annual health care costs associated with OM are estimated at over $4.5 billion. Current prevention strategies consist primarily of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has had modest effects on OM incidence due to pathogen replacement. Furthermore, the factors that make some children susceptible to OM while others remain resistant are not well understood. Research into the factors that contribute to OM-resistance may be critical to developing prevention strategies. Finally, expanded and innovative treatment options, beyond antibiotics and pressure equalization tubes, are needed to address this public health challenge.

Taken together, OM imposes a substantial disease burden that demands expanded research capacity and innovation. NIH is committed to accelerating basic, clinical, and translational OM research and cultivating the next generation of investigators.

Capacity building areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Mentored research training experiences for pre- and post-doctoral trainees in projects focused on OM.
• Early-stage researchers in the initial stages of building a research program in OM.
• Investigators at all career stages that are interested in connecting or redirecting their current scientific programs (e.g., biofilm, metabolomics, genomics, pathogenesis, immunity, pharmacology, infectious disease, epidemiology, bioinformatics, etc.) to research directly related to OM.

Scientific topics of interest include, but are not limited to, epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of OM.