We’re happy to see so many familiar faces who will be presenting at a one-day hybrid research symposium hosted by Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. This event will be presented by the Translational Hearing Center and Creighton University School of Medicine and is free and open to the public.
The center is headed by Peter Steyger, Ph.D., who has been a longtime member of Hearing Health Foundation’s Council of Scientific Trustees (CST), which oversees our Emerging Research Grants program, and he is himself a 1995–1996 ERG scientist.
Register here for Creighton’s research symposium May 19.
The symposium is named after Richard J. Bellucci, M.D., who earned multiple ERG grants in the 1960s into 1970, including for temporal bone research. In 1960 HHF established the National Temporal Bone Banks Program (NTBB) to encourage individuals with ear disorders to donate their temporal bones at death toward research at one of four regional centers. Nearly 6,000 individuals registered as donors over the years. The NTBB later became the National Temporal Bone Hearing and Balance Pathology Resource Registry, and since 1992 has been a part of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and Mass Eye and Ear.
Creighton’s Translational Hearing Center will be taking Bellucci’s name during the symposium, becoming the Richard J. Bellucci Translational Hearing Center.
The 2023 Bellucci Prize Winner is Jaime García-Añoveros, Ph.D., of Northwestern University, who will deliver the keynote address.
The 2023 Trainee Awardee is Nesrine Benkafadar, Ph.D., Pharm.D., who is part of the Stanford University lab of Stefan Heller, Ph.D. Heller is a member of HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project and a past ERG scientist.
In addition to Benkafadar, the symposium’s featured speakers include many with ties to HHF so we are eager to attend virtually. Register here.
Alan Cheng, M.D., Stanford University (past ERG scientist)
Ronna Hertzano, M.D., Ph.D., NIDCD (CST, HRP, past ERG scientist)
Matthew Kelley, Ph.D., NIDCD (CST)
Jennifer Stone, Ph.D., University of Washington (HRP and past ERG scientist)
Doris Wu, Ph.D., NIDCD (a member of our Scientific Advisory Board that oversees the HRP program)
There is also an academic poster session, available both in person and online, as well as a gEAR workshop led by Joshua Orvis from Johns Hopkins University.
Register and get more information about the May 19 Bellucci Symposium, a free hybrid symposium.
Read Steyger’s story of how his experience growing up with a hearing loss informed his research preventing ototoxicity in medications in Hearing Health magazine.
I wanted to create a story that not only celebrated the beauty of differences but also conveyed the importance of empathy and understanding. My heart was set on crafting a tale that could empower children with hearing loss while also educating their peers about the significance of inclusivity.