Research Collaboration
We work with colleagues in other centres on questions neither of us could answer alone. This page sets out what that collaboration usually looks like and how to start one.
What we are looking for
Three kinds of work interest us most.
Multicentre clinical studies. Laryngology deals in conditions that are individually uncommon, which makes single-centre series small and slow. Pooling cases across centres is often the only route to a useful sample. We take part in multicentre work through the European Laryngological Society and directly with individual departments.
Datasets and external validation. Our research on machine learning for laryngeal diagnosis needs images and recordings from outside our own clinic to test whether a model generalises. A model that performs well only on the data it was trained on has not been validated. We are interested in both contributing to and drawing on shared datasets, under appropriate ethical approval and data protection terms.
Studies arising from clinical practice. Some of the most useful questions come from a colleague noticing something in clinic and wanting to test it properly. If you have such a question in voice, swallowing, or the larynx, we are glad to discuss whether we can build a study around it together.
Our active research lines
Collaboration is easiest where our existing work overlaps with yours: sulcus vocalis, office-based laryngology and training standards, laryngeal dystonia, and artificial intelligence in laryngeal diagnosis. See Research Areas for what each line involves and where it currently stands.
How we work
We expect the usual standards, and we hold to them. Ethical approval before data collection, agreed authorship criteria before work begins rather than after, honest reporting including of negative results, and data handling that meets the requirements of every participating country. The institute's director has contributed to consensus work on the legal basis and quality assurance of multicentre laryngology research across Europe, published through the European Laryngological Society, and we follow that framework in our own collaborations.
We are a small centre. That means we can move quickly and commit properly to a defined project, and it also means we take on a limited number at a time. If the timing is wrong we will say so rather than agree and stall.
Getting in touch
Send a short description of the question, the design you have in mind, and what you would want from us, to info@istanbulvoicecenter.com. A paragraph is enough to start.
Research and teaching, open to colleagues
Observerships, collaboration and the monthly Brief are the three ways most clinicians connect with the institute.