Margaret Kenna, MD, MPH

Department	Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement
Hospital Title Department Title	Associate in Otolaryngology Director of Clinical Research
Academic Title	Professor of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School
Phone	617-355-8852
Fax	617-730-0726
Email	Margaret Kenna
Location	300 Longwood Avenue LO-367 Boston MA 02115

Research Overview

Margaret Kenna's research focuses on pediatric otology; currently, she is studying the underlying causes of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), the most common congenital sensory impairment. Her research includes the genetics of hearing loss, especially GJB2 (Connexin 26) and Usher syndrome; anatomic inner ear anomalies and vestibular function testing; and congenital cytomegalovirus infection. Dr. Kenna's earlier research focused on the causes and treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). She and her colleagues in Pittsburgh established that medical, not surgical therapy was very effective and should be the initial management option.

About Margaret Kenna

Margaret Kenna received her MD degree from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed an internship and residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University Hospital of Arkansas and a fellowship at in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She received a MPH in Clinical Effectiveness from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005.

Key Publications

1.         Kenna MA, Bluestone CD. Microbiology of chronic suppurative otitis media in children. Pediatr Infect Dis. 1986 Mar-Apr;5(2):223-5.

2.         Kenna MA, Bluestone CD, Reilly JS, Lusk RP. Medical management of chronic suppurative otitis media without cholesteatoma in children. Laryngoscope. 1986 Feb;96(2):146-51.

3.         Dohar JE, Alper CM, Rose EA, Doyle WJ, Casselbrant ML, Kenna MA, et al. Treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media with topical ciprofloxacin. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1998 Oct;107(10 Pt 1):865-71.

4.         Wu BL, Kenna M, Lip V, Irons M, Platt O. Use of a multiplex PCR/sequencing strategy to detect both connexin 30 (GJB6) 342 kb deletion and connexin 26 (GJB2) mutations in cases of childhood deafness. Am J Med Genet A. 2003 Aug 30;121A(2):102-8.

5.         Kenna MA, Rehm HL, Robson CD, Frangulov A, McCallum J, Yaeger D, et al. Additional clinical manifestations in children with sensorineural hearing loss and biallelic GJB2 mutations: who should be offered GJB2 testing? Am J Med Genet A. 2007 Jul 15;143A(14):1560-6.

6.         Zhou G, Gopen Q, Kenna MA. Delineating the hearing loss in children with enlarged vestibular aqueduct. Laryngoscope. 2008 Nov;118(11):2062-6.

7.         Licameli G, Zhou G, Kenna MA. Disturbance of vestibular function attributable to cochlear implantation in children. Laryngoscope. 2009 Apr;119(4):740-5.

8.         Cheng AG, Johnston PR, Luz J, Uluer A, Fligor B, Licameli GR, et al. Sensorineural hearing loss in patients with cystic fibrosis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Jul;141(1):86-90.

9.         Kenna MA, Feldman HA, Neault MW, Frangulov A, Wu BL, Fligor B, et al. Audiologic phenotype and progression in GJB2 (Connexin 26) hearing loss. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010 Jan;136(1):81-7.

10.       Gopen Q, Zhou G, Poe D, Kenna M, Jones D. Posterior semicircular canal dehiscence: first reported case series. Otol Neurotol. 2010 Feb;31(2):339-44.

11.       Kenna MA, Rehm HL, Frangulov A, Feldman HA, Robson CD. Temporal bone abnormalities in children with GJB2 mutations. Laryngoscope. 2011 Mar;121(3):630-5.

12.       Jacobson SG, Cideciyan AV, Gibbs D, Sumaroka A, Roman AJ, Aleman TS, et al. Retinal disease course in Usher syndrome 1B due to MYO7A mutations. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011;52(11):7924-36.

13.       Lee GS, Zhou G, Poe D, Kenna M, Amin M, Ohlms L, et al. Clinical experience in diagnosis and management of superior semicircular canal dehiscence in children. Laryngoscope. 2011 Oct;121(10):2256-61.

14.       Francey LJ, Conlin LK, Kadesch HE, Clark D, Berrodin D, Sun Y, et al. Genome-wide SNP genotyping identifies the Stereocilin (STRC) gene as a major contributor to pediatric bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment. Am J Med Genet A. 2012 Feb;158A(2):298-308.

15.       Wilkins A, Prabhu SP, Huang L, Ogando PB, Kenna MA. Frequent association of cochlear nerve canal stenosis with pediatric sensorineural hearing loss. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012 Apr;138(4):383-8.