Each October Hearing Health Foundation is thrilled to announce the new grant year’s researchers who earned funding through our Emerging Research Grants program.
We are thankful to our scientific reviewers and Council of Scientific Trustees, who had the very difficult task of deciding whom to fund among an exceptional pool of applicants. As of this year, our general hearing health grants have been renamed Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards in recognition of Keithley’s impact on the field and long service to HHF, and the awards’ focus on supporting the next generation.
Our ERG program remains the preeminent seed funding opportunity for hearing and balance researchers, particularly in early stages of their careers. By earning this competitive grant, they are better poised to earn future major federal funding to make impactful discoveries. We are deeply grateful for the continued dedication of our generous donors. The advances these scientists will make is only possible because of your support.
Thank you and congratulations to the 12 grantees for 2024!
First Year
Franziska Auer, Ph.D.
New York University
Project: Defining myelin’s role in developing vestibular circuits
Recipient of an Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Award
Divya Chari, M.D.
Mass Eye & Ear
Project: Auditory and vestibular phenotype characterization of a Ménière’s disease model in humans and mice with X-linked hypophosphatemia
Generously funded by an anonymous donor
Amanda Griffin, Ph.D., Au.D.
Boston Children’s Hospital
Project: Toward better assessment of pediatric unilateral hearing loss
Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance
Nicole Tin-Lok Jiam, M.D.
Mass Eye & Ear
Project: Age-specific cochlear implant programming for optimal hearing performance
Recipient of an Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Award
HiJee Kang, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Project: Age-related changes on neural mechanisms in the auditory cortex for learning complex sounds
Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance
Melissa McGovern, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh
Project: Hair cell regeneration in the mature cochlea: investigating new models to reprogram cochlear epithelial cells into hair cells
Recipient of the Neil Segil Memorial Award in Hair Cell Regeneration
Wei Sun, Ph.D.
University at Buffalo
Project: Foxg1 gene mutation-caused hyperacusis—a novel model to study hyperacusis
Generously funded by Hyperacusis Research
Second Year
Francisco Barros-Becker, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Project: Aminoglycoside compartmentalization and its role in hair cell death
Carolyn McClaskey, Ph.D.
Medical University of South Carolina
Project: Age and hearing loss effects on subcortical envelope encoding
Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance
Sharlen Moore, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Project: Modulation of neuro-glial cortical networks during tinnitus
Generously funded by the Les Paul Foundation
Melissa Polonenko, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
Project: Identifying hearing loss through neural responses to engaging stories
Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance
Raphael Robert, Ph.D.
Rice University
Project: Understanding the biophysics and protein biomarkers of Ménière’s disease via optical coherence tomography imaging
Thank You to Our Supporters
We are so grateful to our community of supporters for helping us fund these researchers and their innovative approaches to hearing and balance science, especially our partners Hyperacusis Research, the Les Paul Foundation, and Royal Arch Research Assistance. Thank you.
The next cycle for grant applications opens October 16, 2023. For more, see hhf.org/erg.
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Our results suggest that mature cochlear supporting cells can be reprogrammed into sensory hair cells, providing a possible target for hair cell regeneration in mammals.