Jane Mondul, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A
Meet the Researcher
Mondul received her Au.D. and Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Now an assistant professor in the department of speech, language, and hearing sciences at Purdue University, Mondul is a 2026 Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Award recipient, generously funded by William Randolph Hearst Foundations.
Loud sounds can damage the auditory system and cause hearing loss. But not all sound is bad—safe sound exposure can actually help the brain finetune how we hear, especially in noisy places. A part of the auditory system called the lateral olivocochlear (LOC) pathway may help with this. The LOC system’s chemical signals change after sound exposure, suggesting a form of “plasticity” (adaptability), but scientists don’t yet know exactly how it works. Our project will study how the LOC system changes after safe sound exposure, how this LOC plasticity affects hearing, and whether it still occurs when the ear is damaged. We will test this in mice by measuring their ability to hear sounds in noise and by looking closely at cells in the ear and brain. What we learn could guide new sound-based or pharmacological therapies to protect hearing and improve communication in noisy settings.
Understanding the function and plasticity of the LOC system has broad implications for both basic science and clinical audiology. The long-term goal of this research is to establish guidelines for safe hearing levels in order to optimize hearing in noisy environments and prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Understanding what types of sound exposure are beneficial vs. harmful is essential for promoting healthy hearing habits to reduce the economic and socioemotional burdens of hearing loss. As an initial step toward this goal, this project aims to better understand the LOC system as an innate noise suppression pathway—both with regards to normal variations in acoustic environment and damaging noise exposures. Next steps in this line of work will investigate whether the LOC system can be leveraged to improve hearing in noise, prevent noise-induced cochlear damage, and guide sound-based or pharmacological therapeutic interventions for individuals with hearing difficulties.
This project ultimately represents a combination of all my research questions and methodologies into one study. Studies designed to assess structure-function correlations can be so powerful in science, especially when the functional measures include both objective (physiological) and subjective (behavioral) components. Here, I get to apply my expertise in cochlea and brain histology with physiological and behavioral measures of hearing in noise abilities to address one potential mechanism underlying signal encoding in noise. While it seems to me like an obvious next step based on previous work that I and others in the field have done, I realize that I am one of the few positioned to see this because of the particular experiences and work that I have been involved in. I’m beyond excited to carry out this project and I can’t wait to see where the science leads!
My inclination for science certainly revealed itself in my childhood. I still remember an activity from my 2nd grade class where each of us raised a caterpillar in an empty milk jug. When the monarch butterflies finally emerged from their chrysalises, we gathered outside to set them free. I was captivated by the transformation, trying to take in every detail, and I even cried as we watched them fly away.
My foray into hearing science, however, began in my undergraduate education at St. Olaf College. After a brief stint working in a social psychology lab investigating moral exemplars in computer science (which ultimately was not my cup of tea), I joined the speech cognition (SCog) research lab of Dr. Jeremy Loebach. Little did I know that this experience, along with courses in biopsychology and sensation & perception, would ultimately set the course for my career trajectory.
While working in the SCog lab, I gained many research skills—from data collection and analysis to formulating research questions and conducting literature reviews. I was smitten with the research process as well as with the ability to study sensory systems in an objective way. Dr. Loebach was and is an incredible mentor. He provided me with opportunities to present research posters at local and regional conferences and connected me to additional opportunities in research and clinical observations with Dr. Doug Sladen (at Mayo Clinic at the time). Through many conversations in the lab and office hours, Dr. Loebach helped me discover the audiology clinician-scientist path that I ended up pursuing and that I love to this day. Now as a professor myself, I hope to uphold Dr. Loebach’s legacy into the future by guiding and inspiring the next generation of hearing scientists.
My sister has congenital hearing loss, which was not diagnosed until early childhood. I remember attending her audiology appointments as a child, including the hearing aid fittings where the audiologist would give me the extra ear mold impression material to play with. While this did not directly influence my decision to pursue a career in audiology (at least not consciously), I reflected on these experiences often during my clinical training.
During my Au.D. training, I frequently consulted with my grandmother about her hearing aids. She had a typical age-related hearing loss accompanied by significant difficulties hearing in background noise. She was always asking me whether there were any new hearing aids or treatments that could help her hear better, as she was quite frustrated by her inability to participate in conversations in noisy settings. Ultimately, individuals like my grandmother and other patients I saw in clinic with similar hearing challenges continue to inspire me to do my research, in hopes that one day my work will advance our understanding of hearing loss and improve hearing outcomes for patients.
There is no question that the highlight of my career is the mentoring. A career in academia is not easy and comes with a wide array of responsibilities, daily challenges and uncertainties, and long hours (as I sit here writing this in the late hours of the evening). Mentorship is what makes it all worthwhile for me. Sometimes, I still cannot believe that I’m on “the other side.” Every conversation with a mentor meant (and means) so much to me as a mentee, so I feel a deep responsibility to provide the best mentorship possible to others.
One “pinch-me” moment was when I recently gave a keynote address at a symposium for audiology graduate students engaging in auditory neuroscience research. While I spent a lot of time and energy crafting the best possible talk—weaving in lessons learned among my scientific journey—I received back significantly more through individual conversations and the broader impact of the event. I also recently established the Audiology Clinician-Scientist Collective with my colleague Dr. Samantha Hauser to help identify and directly address the needs of trainees and professionals in our niche area of the academic community. Mentorship experiences like these fuel me through the long days.
As a child, I wanted to be either an oceanographer (inspired by my love of marine animals) or an editor (not sure where I got this idea from, other than having a passion for grammar and spelling). In high school and college, I became very interested in psychology and the ability to investigate why people think and behave the way they do. This manifested as interests both in research and in clinical care. If I had not become an audiology clinician-scientist and hearing researcher, I would probably have become either a psychology researcher or an otolaryngologist. Ultimately, I’m grateful to have found the career path that allowed me to perfectly blend my interests together.
Outside of academia, I am a classically trained professional singer. I mostly spend my time doing choral singing, with an emphasis on early music like Bach and Palestrina as well as some dabbling in musical theater. I usually view my singing engagements as a time to disconnect from my research and work my brain in a different way. But I also enjoy being a resource to my musician friends when they have questions about hearing protection or tinnitus.
I lived in Nashville throughout most of my graduate training, which fed my love of country music. Through opportunities with one of the choirs I sang in (Portara Ensemble), I got to share the stage with several famous country music stars, including Carrie Underwood, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, and Martina McBride. We also recorded backup vocals for various tracks (and even one music video) in a few of the music studios on Music Row.
As I progress with my research program, I aim to incorporate human studies alongside my work in preclinical animal models to apply my scientific discoveries directly to the benefit of clinical populations. First, I hope to develop a non-invasive diagnostic test of LOC function for use in animal models and humans. Once LOC (dys)function can be measured, this opens the door to develop novel sound-based or pharmacological therapies as new treatment strategies for hearing-in-noise difficulties.
Second, I hope to conduct a longitudinal study of sound experience, olivocochlear function, and hearing in noise abilities in infants and young children to develop noise exposure safety guidelines for pediatric populations. There are scant recommendations for safe hearing levels in infants and young children, despite findings that young animals are more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss than adults. Early sound experience can permanently shape auditory system function, as seen in studies of children and young animals with conductive hearing loss caused by chronic ear infections. The impact of increased sound experience—such as that from infant sound machines, intensive care unit stays, or urban living—is unknown but likely has a substantial impact on auditory system function across the lifespan. This work will strengthen the translational impact of my research program by serving the needs of diverse patient populations and taking steps toward precision audiology.
The Research
Jane Mondul, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A | Purdue University
Sound-induced plasticity of the lateral olivocochlear efferent system
Loud sounds can damage the auditory system and cause hearing loss. But not all sound is bad – safe sound exposure can actually help the brain fine-tune how we hear, especially in noisy places. A part of the auditory system called the lateral olivocochlear (LOC) pathway may help with this. The LOC system’s chemical signals change after sound exposure, suggesting a form of “plasticity” (adaptability), but scientists don’t yet know exactly how it works. Our project will study how the LOC system changes after safe sound exposure, how this LOC plasticity affects hearing, and whether it still occurs when the ear is damaged. We will test this in mice by measuring their ability to hear sounds in noise and by looking closely at cells in the ear and brain. What we learn could guide new sound-based or drug-based therapies to protect hearing and improve communication in noisy settings.
Long-term goal: Understanding the function and plasticity of the LOC system has broad implications for both basic science and clinical audiology. The long-term goal of this research is to establish guidelines for safe hearing levels in order to optimize hearing in noisy environments and prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Understanding what types of sound exposure are beneficial vs. harmful is essential for promoting healthy hearing habits to reduce the economic and socioemotional burdens of hearing loss. As an initial step toward this goal, this project aims to better understand the LOC system as an innate noise suppression pathway—both with regards to normal variations in acoustic environment and damaging noise exposures. Next steps in this line of work will investigate whether the LOC system can be leveraged to improve hearing-in-noise, prevent noise-induced cochlear damage, and guide sound-based or pharmacological therapeutic interventions for individuals with hearing difficulties.
Recipient of an Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Award, generously funded by William Randolph Hearst Foundations