It's Reasonable to Continue Drinking Coffee

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

National Coffee Day was yesterday. A number of national fast food chains doled out free coffee to mark the day. But wait! There is more than one reason to celebrate this dark caffeinated drink.

New study findings have shown that higher caffeine intake is associated with a lower risk of tinnitus, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. The study showed that intake of caffeine, in the form of coffee, tea, sodas, candy and chocolate, was on the contrary, associated with a lower risk of incident self-reported tinnitus.

Caffeine has long been thought to play a role in the development of tinnitus, but no pertinent clinical data are available. On the basis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a team of researchers from Ontario, Canada and Massachusetts, USA, compared caffeine intake levels and the incidence of tinnitus. Study participants included 65,085 women in the survey, aged 30 to 44 years and who did not have tinnitus at baseline in 1991. Participants completed questionnaires about lifestyle and medical history every two years and food questionnaires every four years.

Information on self-reported tinnitus and date of onset was obtained from the 2009 questionnaire, with cases defined as those reporting experiencing symptoms “a few days/week” or “daily.” Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

“We can’t conclude that caffeine is a cure for tinnitus,” says the lead author, Dr. Jordan T. Glicksman. “But our results should provide some assurance to people who do drink caffeine that it’s reasonable to continue doing so.”

Sources:

• Glicksman JT, et al. A prospective study of caffeine intake and risk of incident tinnitus. The American Journal of Medicine 2014 Aug;127(8):739-43;

• New York Times August 13, 2014

• For more tinnitus resources, please visit ‘What is Tinnitus’ section on HHF’s website

ERG 2015 Announcement

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

We are excited to inform you of the opening of the application period for Hearing Health Foundation's 2015 Emerging Research Grants program. 

This program is designed only for the first year applicants, who are dedicated to explore new avenues for hearing and balance science. Please note that the current Hearing Health Foundation awardees, applying for a second year of funding, are no longer eligible. 

We encourage you to review our announcement and Policy on Emerging Research Grants, as several eligibility changes have gone into effect for this funding cycle. If you are eligible to apply for this program, please make note of the deadlines given below. 

For 1st year Applicants:

LOI deadline: October 25, 2014 by 5pm ET

Full Application opens: Early November, 2014

Full Application deadline: December 6, 2014 by 5pm ET
Then please review the instructions for submitting a LOI.

With any questions about this opportunity, please feel free to reach out to us at grants@hearinghealthfoundation.org . 

Thank you for your interest in this program and please do share this information with your interested colleagues as well. 

Emerging Research Grants for 2014 Announced

By Tara Guastella

HHF is proud to announce that 10 leading hearing scientists have been an awarded an Emerging Research Grant. It was an incredibly competitive funding cycle and it is a true honor for these investigators to have risen to the top and received this award.

Six grantees are first-year grant recipients and are studying areas such as noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, ototoxicity (hearing loss caused by certain drugs and medications), age-related hearing loss, and hearing aids.

Four previous grantees are receiving a second year of funding for their work. This group is researching such areas as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), auditory physiology, cochlear implants, genetic hearing loss, and Usher syndrome.

One first-year grant recipient, whose work is funded by the continuing support of the General Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons International, is aimed at developing better ways to assess auditory processing disorders. Here is an excerpt on his work:

Srikanta Mishra, Ph.D.

New Mexico State University

Medial Efferent Mechanisms in Auditory Processing Disorders

Many individuals experience listening difficulty in background noise despite clinically normal hearing and no obvious auditory pathology. This condition has often received a clinical label called auditory processing disorder (APD). However, the mechanisms and pathophysiology of APD are poorly understood. One mechanism thought to aid in listening-in-noise is the medial olivocochlear (MOC) inhibition— a part of the descending auditory system. The purpose of this translational project is to evaluate whether the functioning of the MOC system is altered in individuals with APD. The benefits of measuring MOC inhibition in individuals with APD are twofold: 1) it could be useful to better define APD and identify its potential mechanisms, and 2) it may elucidate the functional significance of MOC efferents in listening in complex environments. The potential role of the MOC system in APD pathophysiology, should it be confirmed, would be of significant clinical interest because current APD clinical test batteries lack mechanism-based physiologic tools.

Read more about the research all of the 2014 grant recipients are conducting.

The HRP's Andy Groves, Ph.D. and HHF Board member Nancy M. Williams to Speak at HLAA Convention

By Tara Guastella

If you are headed to Austin for the Annual Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Convention at the end of June, make sure to stop by Andy Groves, Ph.D.’s workshop on Friday, June 27, at 1:30pm.

Andy Groves, Ph.D.

Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Groves will be giving a presentation on the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) and how the power of collaboration is expediting the road to a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Chickens, fish, and most non-mammals have a remarkable ability to naturally restore damaged inner ear hair cells (damage or death of these cells is what causes hearing loss). The HRP is working to identify how we can translate this process, known as hair cell regeneration, to humans to develop a biologic cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

The HRP scientists are working collaboratively sharing ideas, data, and resources to shorten the timeline to a cure. During our last monthly conference call with the consortium, an HRP scientist was presenting initial data on a series of experiments he is conducting. After feedback from other consortium members, he will now approach the experiment in a more beneficial way with greater impact to the research process. This experience highlighted the power of many minds over one.

Hear more about the HRP and the exciting research advancements at Dr. Groves’s workshop on Friday. Materials and information on the HRP will be available for attendees so don’t forget to pick up more information while you’re there.

HHF Board member, Nancy M. Williams, pianist and hearing loss advocate, will also be presenting at the HLAA Convention. She will share her story of reclaiming the piano to help participants tap into their passions.

When Williams reclaimed her passion for the piano after a 25-year hiatus, she came to terms with her hearing loss—and pursuing her passion radiated out to other aspects of her life. Ms. Williams will share her story in the “Finding Your Calling... Despite a Hearing Loss" workshop on Saturday, June 28 at 8:45am.

Be sure to stop by both exciting sessions!

What Does a Chicken Have to Do with Hearing Loss?

http://aubankaitis.com/2014/05/14/chicken-and-hearing-loss/

What would you think if someone told you that a baby chick holds the cure for hearing loss? One of the keys to restoring normal hearing in humans is cochlear hair cell regeneration, something that most animals other than mammals, including chickens, can do.  The Hearing Health Foundation recently launched a new public service announcement (PSA) called “Chirp the News” which features a baby chick with hearing loss who goes on to live a happy, normal-hearing life. After viewing it, my curiosity was piqued. I had an opportunity to ask Shari Eberts, Chairman of the HHF’s Board of Directors, a couple of questions and wanted to share what I learned.

Question: For those that are not familiar with your organization, what is the Hearing Health Foundation and/or what is the Foundation’s mission?

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is the largest private funder of hearing research, with a mission to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus through groundbreaking research. Since 1958 HHF has given away millions of dollars to hearing and balance research, including work that led to cochlear implant technology and now through the Hearing Restoration Project is working on a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Hearing Health Foundation also publishes Hearing Health magazine, a free consumer resource on hearing loss and related technology, research, and products.

Question: Shari, it is my understanding that you acquired a hearing loss in your late 20′s.  Can you tell me a little bit about how your hearing loss was identified, the cause of your hearing loss, and how it has impacted your personal and professional lives?  

I first noticed my hearing loss in business school. Students were participating in class, and I would sometimes miss their comments, particularly the funny ones that were made almost as an aside. My father and my grandmother both had a hearing loss, so I figured I should get tested. It turns out that I had a mild hearing loss in both ears. The loss is genetic and is centered in the mid-range or speech frequencies. Luckily, my high pitch hearing is almost perfect. My loss has gotten progressively worse each year since business school, but I am able to manage it with hearing aids and by advocating for myself. At first, I didn’t want to admit that I had a hearing loss, and I hid it from others, but eventually I began to realize how much better my life could be if I used my hearing aids, and I began wearing them all the time. I am glad that I do.

As someone who lives with hearing loss everyday, I am personally thrilled with the prospects for a cure. Life with hearing loss can be frustrating.  Sometimes you miss the joke when everyone else is laughing and sometimes you miss important information because you don’t hear it. Supportive family and friends can make living with hearing loss easier, but a genuine cure would be life changing. After having met and worked with our consortium scientists for these past two years, I am confident that we will have a cure in my lifetime. I am counting the days.

Question: Knowing that you acquired a hearing loss in your late 20′s, it makes sense that you would be passionate about educating people about hearing loss and learning about various research focusing on a cure. With so many different organizations dedicated to hearing loss, what made you specifically gravitate toward Hearing Health Foundation? What makes this organization so unique?

HHF’s approach to research is unique and I believe it will shorten the timeline to a cure. For years, scientific research has been conducted in relative isolation—one researcher or one institution working alone to tackle a major health issue. HHF developed the HRP Consortium model to do things differently. Our HRP scientists work on research projects together, share their unpublished data and tools, and collaborate on the development and refinement of the HRP’s strategic research plan. The group meets bi-annually in person, monthly by conference call, and communicates frequently by email. This continual dialogue is helping to eliminate repetitive work across the team, saving time and research dollars, and most importantly, accelerating the timetable to a cure.

Our HRP Consortium is the dream team of hair cell regeneration, comprising the best auditory scientists at leading institutions worldwide such as Harvard and Stanford. With more than 200 years of combined experience in hearing research, the HRP Consortium publishes widely (over 400 published papers among them) and have well established labs (receiving over 600 NIH grants combined). We have every confidence we have the right team in place, and the right model to accelerate the timeline to a cure.

Question: The Hearing Health Foundation was established in 1958 and had been seeking donations from the public to help fund “groundbreaking research” for the prevention of and cure for hearing loss. Can you provide a historical synopsis of some of the more significant research achieved by the Foundation since its inception?

HHF’s founder, Collette Ramsey Baker, was steadfast in her support of funding for new technologies and treatments for hearing loss. For example, back in the 1960s, HHF began funding research into cochlear implant technology. HHF’s founder, Collette Ramsey Baker, prevailed despite objections and doubts from supporters that she was wasting money. Cochlear implants have proven to be a valuable treatment option for people with profound hearing loss, benefiting 125,000 people in the U.S. and 300,000 people worldwide. HHF has also research that led to the development of many of today’s standard treatments for otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth in the ear) and ear infections.   In the 1990s, HHF was a leader in advocating for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation, which increased testing from 5% of newborns to 94% by 2007. In 2011, HHF launched our most important project yet, the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP),  which aims to discover a biological cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

Question: What research is the Foundation currently working on that is anticipated to have a significant and/or practical impact on hearing loss prevention and/or cure within the next 10 years?

HHF officially launched its Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) in 2011 and is currently funding 5 projects from its consortium scientists, but the initial discovery that led to the HRP came many years before. Many types of hearing loss result from damage to the delicate hair cells of the inner ear. Humans can’t regrow these cells—but in a game-changing breakthrough in 1987, HHF-funded scientists discovered that birds can. While studying how drugs that are known to cause hearing damage affect the tiny sensory cells in the ear, these scientists needed to permanently damage a chicken’s hair cells. For 10 days, research assistants administered a common antibiotic, known to cause hearing loss, to laboratory chickens. On day 11 many of the hair cells were lost and a few days later, even more were lost. Surprisingly, when the scientists looked three weeks later, almost all the hair cells had returned.  They didn’t believe these results so they did the experiment again and again. Sure enough, chickens can naturally regenerate their inner ear hair cells, restoring their hearing after damage.

The amazing thing is that regeneration happens naturally and very robustly in almost all animals – mammals are the exception. This makes HHF and the researchers confident that we will find a way to stimulate this regeneration in mammals, including humans.

The HRP consortium of scientists has developed a strategic research plan to develop a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus in 10 years. This three-phase plan starts with discovery research and culminates in clinical trials. The plan, developed specifically by the HRP scientists and updated to incorporate new findings and approaches, is a living document meant to guide but not limit the work. Relevance to this strategic plan is one of the criteria for a project to receive HRP funding.

The HRP is currently in Phase I of its strategic research plan (years 1-5). This first phase focuses on searching for the genes or series of genes that trigger natural regeneration of hair cells in animals such as birds and zebrafish. This phase will also examine which genes in mammals prevent the natural regeneration of hair cells. Finally, Phase I will determine the types of cells in mammals’ ears that could serve as available targets for regeneration therapies. Phase II (years 3-8) starts with the residual cells that remain in a mammal’s inner ear after hearing loss and uses the genes identified in Phase I to trigger hair cell regeneration. In Phase III (years 8-10), the HRP Consortium will partner with a pharmaceutical or other company to develop drugs that mimic the identified genes, resulting in a regenerative therapy.

Question: How can audiologists and other hearing health care providers get involved with the Hearing Health Foundation?

HHF is always eager to partner with hearing health care providers! In fact, we have developed a brochure specifically for use by hearing health care providers that includes important information for their patients about how hearing works, the types of hearing loss, and common treatment solutions. It also lets patients know about the resources HHF can offer, like its free quarterly magazine. Hearing Health Magazine is the award-winning leading consumer publication on hearing loss filled with the latest on research breakthroughs, strategies to manage hearing loss, personal stories, hearing technologies and products and features on seniors, pediatrics, parents, musicians, veterans and more!   Please feel free to contact us at info@hhf.org if you are a hearing health care professional and would like copies of our patient brochure or magazine.

Question: How can the general public support the mission and goals of the Hearing Health Foundation?

There are lots of ways for people to learn more about HHF and help support our research for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

1. Visit our website to learn more

2. Stay up to date on all the latest news by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter

3. Sign up for our informative monthly e-newsletter

4. Subscribe to Hearing Health Magazine, our award-winning leading consumer publication on hearing loss. Get the latest on research breakthroughs, strategies to manage hearing loss, personal stories, hearing technologies and products, and features on seniors, pediatrics, veterans, musicians and more.

5. Inspire others by sharing your personal story and draw comfort from the stories of others

6. Create a fundraising event or giving page

7. Make a tribute gift to honor a loved one with hearing loss or a favorite audiologist

8. Support our work with a tax-deductible donation

Shari Eberts is Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Hearing Health Foundation, an organization whose mission is to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus via collaborative, groundbreaking research. She received her BS from Duke University in 1990 and MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1995. Previously employed by Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company, Shari spent 13 years at J.P. Morgan in the capacity of a senior equity analyst (broadlines retail) and, most recently as Associate Director of U.S. Equity Research.  This mom of two and former Wall-Streeter joined HHR in 2010 and has committed herself to supporting the search for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

This Better Hearing & Speech Month, New HRP Research Projects Commence

By Tara Guastella

In conjunction with Better Hearing & Speech month this May, I'm excited to share that HHF is funding, for the third consecutive year, new research grants for our Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) consortium. This year is exciting as our HRP scientists are finishing up the first of three phases of the Strategic Research Plan. This plan defines our road-map to clinical trials for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus within a decade.

Many types of hearing loss result from damage to the delicate hair cells of the inner ear. Humans can't regenerate these cells-but in a game-changing breakthrough in 1987, HHF-funded scientists discovered that birds can. Over the last several years, the HRP scientists have produced new genomic datasets from fish and birds, which show regeneration, and mouse, which does not; these datasets now allow us to take the next steps in understanding which genes promote regeneration in some animals and which genes block it in others.

“The 2014 funded projects will continue to move us closer to our goal of inducing hair-cell regeneration in people, to produce a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus," shares Peter G. Barr-Gillespie, Ph.D., director of the HRP consortium. "I am incredibly pleased with the outcome of the work the HRP consortium members have been conducting over the last several years.”

We are renewing three projects from previous years as well as initiating four new projects, each moving us closer to a cure. There are also four new projects that have commenced on May 1. Here are the details about the new projects:

Led by Andy Groves, Ph.D., Tatjana Piotrowski, Ph.D., and Jennifer Stone, Ph.D., one of the new projects is focusing on bioinformatic analysis of genetic data collected throughout Phase I. Bioinformatics is a set of sophisticated computational tools that will allow us to compare genetic data from zebrafish, chickens, and mice. Since we know that zebrafish and chickens spontaneously regenerate their inner ear hair cells, we can compare their genetic data to that of mice, which like mammals do not regenerate hair cells. Once we know what genes, or series of genes (known as pathways), trigger regeneration in zebrafish and chickens, and which inhibit it in mice, we will have better targets for drug therapies that may be able to induce regeneration in humans.

Another new project building off of work started in Phase I is analyzing the inner ears of chickens. Chickens have a remarkable ability to regrow hair cells once they are damaged. The consortium members involved—Stefan Heller, Ph.D., Michael Lovett, Ph.D., Jennifer Stone, Ph.D., and Mark Warchol, Ph.D.—are using newly developed techniques to study how supporting cells react when neighboring hair cells die and which signaling pathways are activated or deactivated. They are also are determining if this new technique, known as single cell transcript analysis, can be used more broadly in analyzing regenerative capabilities.

Edwin Rubel, Ph.D., who is also known as the co-founder of hair cell regeneration in chickens, is working on the characterization of a mouse system in which the inner ear hair cells can be reproducibly removed from the inner ear without doing damage to other components of the inner ear. Such a "model system" would allow the systematic study of hair cell regeneration at any age and in live animals.

Finally, Alain Dabdoub, Ph.D. and Albert Edge, Ph.D. are collaborating on a project studying the signaling molecules in the Wnt pathway to better understand its role in regeneration. Wnt signaling has been shown to play a major role in stem cell biology, cell proliferation, and cell fate determination.

“As a person living with hearing loss, I am thrilled with the progress that the HRP consortium is making,” says Shari Eberts, the chairman of HHF’s board of directors. “We are funding the best hearing scientists, conducting groundbreaking research, and are on track to see a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus within a decade.”

Read more about all of the currently funded HRP projects and updates on progress from past research as well.

Will Research on Chickens Provide a Solution to Needing Hearing Aids?

By Aaron Rodriques

Researchers hope to develop hearing loss treatments by studying the regenerative capabilities inner ear cells in chickens. We discovered some interesting info on these little guys and hearing aids. 

An Alternative to Hearing Aids

Scientists are on the path of a new application that could provide a unique alternative to hearing aids. By studying hair cells found in the inner ears of chickens, researchers are in the process of creating treatments that cure hearing loss in humans, minimizing the demand for hearing aids in the future.

Chickens can regenerate inner ear cells that replace cells damaged from noise and other forms of physical trauma. All vertebrates except mammals can exhibit this phenomenon. 

"The key to restoring hearing in humans is to regenerate cells deep within the inner ear," said Shari Eberts, chairwoman of the board of directors of the Hearing Health Foundation, which is funding the research. "While humans cannot regenerate hair cells in the inner ear after they are damaged, chickens can. In fact, most animals other than mammals can regenerate these delicate cells, restoring their hearing spontaneously after damage."

Hearing Aids and the Hearing Restoration Project

The Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) involves researchers from more than 10 institutions including Harvard Medical School, who are studying chickens in order to find out how humans could possibly regenerate inner ear cells. 

Approximately 36 million adults in the U.S. have some kind of hearing loss, and 25 million have tinnitus, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The Hearing Health Foundation aims to manufacture a cure by 2024.

According to Eberts, researchers are studying fish and mice as well. Fish can regenerate hair cells like chickens, but mice cannot.

"By analyzing what genes allow for regeneration in fish and chickens, we can compare those to mouse genes to see where the differences occur," she said. "Once we have an understanding of what genes and sets of genes (known as pathways) play a role in allowing for regeneration in fish and chickens, and which inhibit regeneration in mice, we will have a clearer understanding of how to trigger regeneration in humans."

Animal Biology and Hearing Aid Design

Similar studies with different animal species have found them to have unique hearing capabilities that offer promising new innovations for hearing aid technology. This includes the impressive hearing abilities of the Greater Wax Moth, a tiny insect found in beehives, and the unique anatomy of the locust. Hearing aids based on structures found in nature are considered to have a “biomimetic design.”

This article was republished with permission from Audicus.

Can Plants Hear?

By Yishane Lee

As a friend of HHF, you are no doubt well aware that chicks, fish, and reptiles have the ability to regenerate their inner ear hair cells, an ability that means any damage to their hearing is corrected.

Mammals, including humans, cannot, and this is the core of what HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project is working to solve within the next decade—how we can translate the chick’s ability to regrow hair cells to humans, and as a result find a biologic cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

Now comes news that it is not just the animal world that can hear. Plants can, too. A recent story by Michael Pollan in the New Yorker included this paragraph (italics mine):

“Plants have evolved between 15 and 20 distinct senses, including analogues of our five: smell and taste (they sense and respond to chemicals in the air or on their bodies); sight (they react differently to various wavelengths of light as well as to shadow); touch (a vine or a root ‘knows’ when it encounters a solid object); and, it has been discovered, sound. In a recent experiment, Heidi Appel, a chemical ecologist at the University of Missouri, found that, when she played a recording of a caterpillar chomping a leaf for a plant that hadn’t been touched, the sound primed the plant’s genetic machinery to produce defense chemicals. Another experiment, done in [Italian plant physiologist Stefano] Mancuso’s lab and not yet published, found that plant roots would seek out a buried pipe through which water was flowing even if the exterior of the pipe was dry, which suggested that plants somehow ‘hear’ the sound of flowing water.”

I find this absolutely fascinating. Could it be the plants “hear” via sensing sound vibrations—just like we do? And then they’re able to correctly correlate these vibrations to the category of friend or foe—again, just like we do? To hear the plant biologists in the story put it: Yes, it’s entirely possible, and even likely.

The article raises interesting issues of why animal-based biology deserves primacy, and whether a typical (animal) brain is needed for something to be considered intelligent. In addition to reading the piece, which I highly encourage you to do, there is a TED Talk by Mancuso, if you want to learn more.

We can learn much from plants. The promise of the Hearing Restoration Project is that we can also learn much from chicks, fish, and reptiles. Indeed, there has been early success with hair cell regeneration in mice.

Support the search for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus within a decade.

Hybrid Cochlear Implants Blend High and Low Frequencies for a Fuller Sound

By Yishane Lee

“Electro-acoustic stimulation” is a mouthful, which may explain why “hybrid cochlear implant” is becoming shorthand for the latest thing in cochlear implantation.

What is a hybrid CI? It is a cochlear implant that makes use of residual hearing in the cochlea, with the goal of preserving it. Lina Reiss, Ph.D., of the Oregon Health and Science University, is a 2012 and 2013 Emerging Research Grant recipient conducting research in hybrid CIs, and she cowrote a piece in our Winter issue of Hearing Health introducing us to this exciting development.

The hybrid is especially promising because it is ideal for people with age-related hearing loss. As the story says:

“The hybrid CI helps people with high-frequency hearing loss while retaining their natural, residual hearing in the low frequencies. A high-frequency hearing loss, like that common in age-related hearing loss, makes consonants difficult to discern. The hybrid CI provides high-frequency information electrically and restores consonant perception. The residual low-frequency acoustic hearing helps ‘round out’ the artificial hearing provided by the CI, and together this gives the user a fuller hearing experience.”

Dr. Reiss collaborated with Christopher W. Turner, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa. Dr. Turner has been involved from the beginning in the development, assessment, and optimization of the hybrid electrode, with more than 20 publications on the subject since 2003, and he is a former HHF grant recipient as well.

One risk of hybrids is losing the low-frequency hearing entirely after implantation. A slightly longer electrode length—shorter than a traditional CI but longer than the initial hybrids—allows the implant to function like a traditional CI if the acoustic hearing is lost. It is undergoing clinical trials and received preliminary FDA approval last November, which is a very good sign.

I asked Dr. Reiss how she became a researcher, and specifically how she came to study cochlear implants. She says:

“I was always interested in science because my father was a scientist. In high school and college, I had some very stimulating research experiences in biological research. I also have a severe-profound hearing loss, and so have a personal interest in auditory research.

“After my sophomore year, I was lucky to obtain a summer research internship working in Eric Young’s auditory neurophysiology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, where I studied how auditory nerve fibers encode speech sounds. I ended up doing my Ph.D. in that lab, studying how the dorsal cochlear nucleus encodes sound localization cues.

“However, I wanted to do more translational research, so ended up doing a postdoctoral fellowship with Chris Turner at the University of Iowa, where I got involved with the hybrid CI clinical trials. We got a lot of very interesting data with the hybrid CI study, particularly regarding brain plasticity, and there were many other interesting research directions to go on to from there.”

At HHF, we’re definitely excited to see where Dr. Reiss’s curiosity leads.

Meeting of the HRP at ARO Midwinter Meeting

By Tara Guastella

Last Saturday, the second meeting of the year for the members of the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) consortium occurred. In conjunction with the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) Midwinter Meeting, the HRP meeting took place in sunny San Diego—a much-needed respite from the frigid temperatures many of us around the country are encountering!

This HRP meeting was unique as it was the first time the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the HRP was invited to attend. During the meeting, scientists for each of the currently funded HRP projects made brief presentations of their research progress. Following each presentation, other consortium members and SAB members took part in lively discussion identifying new ideas and opportunities for collaboration.

The group also had an in-depth discussion about the use of bioinformatics. These are sophisticated computational tools that will allow HRP consortium members to analyze large sets of cross-species data. Bioinformatics is a crucial part of the work of the HRP consortium as it will help identify and compare which genes allow for the natural regeneration of hair cells in animals like chickens and fish, and which genes inhibit this regeneration in animals like mice.

Once we have a clearer understanding around the genetics that allow for hair cell regeneration, we can begin to move into Phase II of our Strategic Research Plan. Phase II centers around using the knowledge gleaned through bioinformatic analysis to trigger hair cell regeneration in mammals—getting us one step closer to a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.  

Stay tuned for updates on newly funded HRP projects to be announced this spring!