Gail M. Seigel, Ph.D.

Meet the Researcher

Seigel received her doctorate in microbiology/immunology at Albany Medical College in New York and is a research associate professor in the Center for Hearing and Deafness at the University at Buffalo. Her 2019 Emerging Research Grant was generously supported by donors to Hearing Health Foundation.

I run the ocular and auditory Neuroscience Lab in the Center for Hearing and Deafness at the University at Buffalo. After my work in the ocular field, this grant represents the first awarded to me for auditory neuroscience, planned in conjunction with colleagues at the center. As such it is a career milestone, and I am particularly grateful to the center’s director, Richard Salvi, Ph.D.

I am affected by tinnitus and hope this research will help us to better understand it as well as hyperacusis, which causes pain from moderate-level sounds. I am investigating whether we can prevent hyperacusis after noise exposure by using anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce inflammation in the sound processing centers of the brain.

My first major scientific discovery was the R28 retinal cell line in the early 1990s. Since then, I have also developed the Mocha cell line, a microglial cell line from the rat cochlea. Both are commercialized and used by many other researchers. I’m always thrilled to read about how my cell lines are being used for important studies around the world.

The idea for the R28 line came to me while I was driving on a highway to a clarinet performance. I am a serious amateur clarinet player and play in two musical groups (and use ear protection when needed!). I am also on the board of the Rochester NY March for Science, promoting scientific outreach, especially to underserved populations, and for which I host a monthly “Ask-a-Scientist” booth at our farmers’ market. We highlight local scientists and present kid-friendly science demonstrations.

I grew up reading the Merck Index and Medical Surgical Nursing books. My parents are a retired pharmacist and a nurse. When I was very young, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but later realized I wanted to work with smaller creatures (cells) and in 2015 I published a memoir, “Academania: My Life in the Trenches of Biomedical Research.”

The commute to my lab is long, 140 miles round trip, through the Upstate New York “snow belt.” Winter driving can be tricky, but thanks to technology when I’m snowed in I can analyze data, write papers, and video-chat with colleagues, all while sipping hot chocolate.

Gail M. Seigel, Ph.D., is funded by donors to Hearing Health Foundation who designated their gifts for the most promising research. These projects address the full range of hearing and balance science.

Click to download a PDF of Dr. Siegel’s Meet the Researcher profile.

The Research

University at Buffalo, the State University of New York
Targeting microglial activation in hyperacusis

Hyperacusis is a hearing condition in which moderate-level noise becomes intolerable. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly 6 percent of the U.S. population experiences some form of hyperacusis, ranging from mild discomfort to severe medical disability, with a diminished quality of life. There is currently no cure for hyperacusis. Therefore, there is a pressing medical need for targeted treatment approaches for the permanent relief of hyperacusis. This study will focus on the involvement of inflammation in the sound processing centers of the brain following noise exposure by using anti-inflammatory drugs to attempt to reduce inflammation and prevent hyperacusis after noise exposure. Results from this study will test the feasibility of anti-inflammatory drugs as a potential therapy for hyperacusis and hearing loss caused by excessive noise exposure.

Long-term goal: To prevent damaging inflammation in the brain caused by excessive noise exposure. Since hyperacusis is often associated with hearing loss, both conditions will benefit from the results of this study.