The American Hearing Research Foundation awards nearly $200,000 in grants in FY18

The American Hearing Research Foundation (AHRF) recently awarded ten grants totaling nearly $200,000 for 2018.

Grant recipients will investigate genetic causes of hearing loss, speech-in-noise hearing loss in middle age, ways to identify noise-induced hearing loss in college students, hearing tests for newborns, improved surgical techniques, and biochemical developments that allow us to hear.

“Impaired hearing is a major health issue in the U.S., affecting nearly 48 million people,” stated Richard G. Muench, longtime Chairman of AHRF. “We’re learning more about the ripple effect hearing loss has on a person’s life – affecting jobs, education, relationships, as well as physical and mental health. Each study AHRF funds contributes to the medical community’s knowledge. Inch by inch, we help researchers get closer to solutions for hearing and balance loss. If we can find solutions to hearing impairment, this will have a ripple effect, too – a positive one – in our communities.

Since 2010, the Foundation has funded over $1.4 million in research grants. The 2018 grant recipients, academic institutions, and research grant projects, are:

  • Jessy Alexander, PhD; State University of New York at Buffalo; Complement, hearing loss and lupus
  • Karl Doerfer, MD; Christina Runge, PhD; Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Development of In-House Genetic Screening for Pediatric Hearing Loss
  • Michael M. Ebeid, MBBCh, MS, PhD; University of Nebraska, Omaha; Mechanism of FGF signaling in regulating mouse cochlear progenitor proliferation
  • Anna Lysakowski, PhD; University of Illinois at Chicago; Understanding genetic heterogeneity in familial Meniere’s Disease
  • David C. Martinelli, PhD; University of Connecticut; Determination of the Auditory Function of the Outer Hair Cell Afferent Synapses in the Mammalian Cochlea
  • Tobias Overath, PhD; Josh Stohl, Leslie Collins, PhD; Michael Murias, PhD; Duke University; Optimizing cochlear implant sound processor configurations via neural response properties to improve speech comprehension
  • Enrique Perez, MD MBA; University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; High-resolution contrast-enhanced microendoscopy in cholesteatoma surgery: safety, efficacy and feasibility
  • Isabelle Schrauwen, PhD; Baylor College of Medicine; Identification of genes for non-syndromic rare congenital inner ear malformations in children
  • Erika Skoe, PhD, Jennifer Tufts, PhD; University of Connecticut; Biological indices of noise exposure in the clinically-normal ear
  • Spencer Smith, Northwestern University; Investigating the Relationship between Binaural Hearing and Speech-in-Noise Performance in Middle-Aged Listeners

The Foundation serves two vital roles: to fund significant research in hearing and balance disorders, and to help educate the public about hearing loss and balance disorders related to the inner ear. For more information on the Foundation, interested parties should visit www.American-Hearing.org.d parties should visit www.American-Hearing.org.

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American Hearing Research Foundation

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Elmhurst, IL - Illinois 60126

(630) 617-5079