CURRENT EXTERNAL FUNDING

 

The primary mission of the Center for Hearing and Deafness is to conduct research. This mission is funded in

large part by grants and contracts from government and private sources, as well as through support from the

University.

 

The Center is available to execute contracts for specific research projects, to serve as a training and research

facility for personnel from industry, and to provide consultants for legal matters pertaining to hearing loss.

 

The Center actively collaborates with clinicians, scientists, and researchers from other institutions in the U.S.

and abroad. These affiliated scientists provide a unique and important resource, bringing new skills and ideas

to the laboratory and expanding the scope of the research programs. Collaborations, which range from sharing

projects to hosting international symposia, have been undertaken with visitors from China, France, Italy, India,

and Japan, as well as other centers in the U.S.

 

 

P.I.

Sponsor

Project Title/Focus of Project

Funding Period
Brian Allman NIDCD

Auditory Cortex Plasticity and Tinnitus; Tinnitus, a subjective perception of a phantom auditory sensation (e.g., ringing in the ears), affects approximately 10-15% of the general population.  Using an animal model, Dr. Allman will investigate the relationship between chronic tinnitus and cortical plasticity resulting from noise-induced hearing loss, as well as determine the effect of an enriched acoustic environment (i.e., sound therapy) on suppressing chronic tinnitus and tinnitus-related cortical plasticity.

02/01/11 to 01/31/14

Dalian Ding

NIH / Jackson Labs

 
Genetics of Age-Related Hearing Loss; This project is 
aimed at identifying genes and their modifiers that cause 
age-related hearing loss.

12/01/06 to 11/30/11
Bohua Hu NIDCD

Noise-Induced Acute Hair Cell Death; The objective of this research is to determine the role of membrane disruption in the generation of acute hair cell death. The following 3 aims will be addressed: (1) determine the role of membrane permeabilization in the regulation of acute hair cell death and evaluate the effect of a membrane repair strategy on the hair cell's response to mechanical stress, (2) determine the effect of the disruption of membrane adhesion on the cytoskeletal structure of apoptotic hair cells, and (3) identify the apoptosis-related molecules that are involved in the generation of acute cochlear damage.

 07/01/10 to 06/30/15
Samson Jamesdaniel NIDCD

Role of Protein Nitration in Cisplatin Mediated Ototoxicity; This project investigates the nitration of cochlear proteins, which is considered as an oxidative posttranslational modification that can lead to catastrophic consequences. Determination of cisplatin-induced nitration of cochlear proteins and its correlation with hearing loss, Identification of the nitrated cochlear proteins and evaluation of the role of protein nitration in cisplatin mediated ototoxicity, using inhibitors, are some of the important aims of this study.

07/01/09 to 06/30/12
Edward Lobarinas NIDCD

Effect of Selective IHC Loss on Functional Hearing in the Chinchilla; The overall goal of this study is to evaluate changes in auditory perception as a function of inner hair cell loss.

04/01/11 to 03/31/14

Richard Salvi

NIDCD

Animal Models of Tinnitus, Brain Imaging & Therapy; The goal of this project is to identify the neural correlates of tinnitus in the auditory cortex using animal models with behavioral evidence of tinnitus, image brain metabolic function associated with tinnitus, and assess therapeutic compounds that may suppress tinnitus.

09/01/07 to 08/31/12

Richard Salvi

NIDCD

Neural Aspects of Tinnitus; The primary goals of this project are to evaluate the physiological changes that occur in the auditory cortex in animal models that can report on the presence of tinnitus and to evaluate two different drug therapies to suppress tinnitus.

03/01/08 to 02/28/13
Richard Salvi Quark Pharmaceuticals Feasibility of Functional Hearing Restoration via Hair Cell Regeneration or Protection Upon Local Application of Quark's siRNA's in Drug- and Noise-Induced Chinchilla Hearing Loss Models; The goals of this project are to determine if siRNA applied to the innear ear can prevent hearing loss and restore hearing using proprietary Quark siRNAs. 09/06/11 to 03/06/12
Richard Salvi Pfizer Limited Evaluation of GABA-A Receptor Modulators in a Model of Tinnitus 12/12/11 to 12/11/12
Wei Sun Royal National Inst. For Deaf People

Auditory Cortex Reorganization Related to Tinnitus and Hyperacusis; The goal of this grant is to study how central reorganization is related to tinnitus and hyperacusis.  We will use tinnitus animal model induced by salicylate and noise exposure in this project.

10/01/08 to 09/30/12