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DRF 2009-2010 GRANT RECIPIENTS
ANNOUNCED
DEAFNESS RESEARCH FOUNDATION NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2009
Contact:
Trisha Donaldson
212-328-9483
tdonaldson@drf.org
www.drf.org
Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) is excited to
announce that it has awarded 17 grants of up to
$25,000 and one Centurion Clinical Research Award
of $50,000 to outstanding young scientists in the
field of hearing and balance research.
Each year DRF awards research grants to young
investigators who are exploring new avenues of
hearing and balance science. These funds will
support research in the following areas research:
- Fundamental Auditory Research --
development, genetics, molecular biology,
physiology, anatomy, and regeneration biology;
- Hearing and Balance Restoration -- Infants,
children and adults
- cochlear implants/surgical therapy for
otosclerosis, hair cell regeneration, hearing
aids, and medical therapy;
- Hearing loss -- aging, noise-induced,
otosclerosis, viral infection (sudden deafness),
ototoxicity, temporal bone pathology, otitis
media, cholesteatoma, and tumors;
- Vestibular and Balance Disorders (dizziness
and vertigo, Meniere's disease); and
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and
Hyperacusis (decreased tolerance of sound).
Deafness Research Foundation was founded in 1958
by Collette Ramsey Baker, who suffered for almost
40 years with hearing loss caused by otosclerosis.
Since its inception, DRF has awarded nearly $24
million through more than 2,200 research grants to
researchers who are dedicated to exploring new
avenues of hearing science. This seed money has led
to dramatic innovations that increase options for
those living with hearing loss, as well as
protecting those at risk. With the potential for
hearing restoration through regeneration biology,
the scope of DRF funded research has expanded
enormously.
For this year's grants selection, DRF's Council
of Scientific Trustees reviewed applications from
scientists at renowned research institutions around
the U.S. The selected research projects received
detailed peer review for scientific merit and
program relevance. A complete list of the 2009-2010
grants recipients is provided below, including
recipients whose research is funded in whole or
part by the Centurion Clinical Research Award, the
C.H.E.A.R. Endowment Award and The Burch-Safford
Foundation, Inc.:
FIRST YEAR HEARING & BALANCE RESEARCH
GRANT RECIPIENTS
Edward L. Bartlett, Ph.D., Purdue University
Cellular mechanisms contributing to in vivo
neuronal responses in auditory thalamic
neurons
Martin Basch, Ph.D., Baylor College of
Medicine
Live imaging of the developing cochlea
Adrian Rodriguez-Contreras, Ph.D., The City
College of New York
Defining the role of olivo-cochlear feedback in
the development of the auditory brainstem
Alain Dabdoub, Ph.D., University of California,
San Diego
Canonical wnt signaling in the developing organ
of corti
Michelle Hastings, Ph.D., Rosalind Franklin
University of Medicine and Science
Therapeutic correction of USH1C splicing in a
mouse model of Usher syndrome
Ronna Hertzano, M.D., Ph.D., University of
Maryland
A new protocol for selective and efficient
sorting of the auditory sensory epithelium
Christina Kaiser, Ph.D., Boston University
School of Medicine
An active role for the supporting cell
cytoskeleton in controlling hair cell death and
regeneration
Khaleel A. Razak, Ph.D., University of
California, Riverside
Impact of age-related hearing loss on cortical
processing of frequency modulated sweeps
Olga Stakhovskaya, M.D., Ph.D., University of
California, San Francisco
Estimating optimum insertion depth for the
hifocus electrode array in individual human
cochleae based on high resolution ct images
Arminda Suli, Ph.D., University of
Washington
Assessing functional recovery after
mechanosensory hair cell regeneration in the
zebrafish lateral line
Patricia A. White, Ph.D., House Ear
Institute
Forkhead box o transcription factors and
mammalian cochlear regeneration
Ruili Xie, Ph.D., University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
Synaptic transmission in the principal cells of
the anteroventral cochlear nucleus during
age-related hearing loss
Eunyoung Yi, Ph.D., The John Hopkins University
School of Medicine
Dopaminergic modulation of inner hair cell
afferent synaptic transmission
SECOND YEAR HEARING & BALANCE RESEARCH
GRANT RECIPIENTS
Christian N. Paxton, Ph.D., University of
Utah
The role of fgf4 in otic placode
induction
Kathleen T. Yee, Ph.D., Tufts University School
of Medicine
A role for pax6 in cochlear nucleus
development
DRF CENTURION CLINICAL RESEARCH AWARD
RECIPIENT
Mark Eckert, M.D., Medical University of South
Carolina
Neural changes underlying speech-perception
training in the aging brain
This research award is funded by the Centurions
of the Deafness Research Foundation. DRF has
partnered with CORE Grants Program of the American
Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
(AAO-HNS) to offer a one-year Centurion Clinical
Research Award (CCRA) for clinical research in
hearing and balance science.
DRF C.H.E.A.R. ENDOWMENT GRANT
RECIPIENT
Chin-Tuan Tan, Ph.D., New York University,
School of Medicine
2nd Year DRF Grant Recipient
Nonlinearly distorted music and speech as perceived
by hearing-impaired people
The C.H.E.A.R. endowment was created to support
an annual Sensory-Neural Deafness Research Grant.
C.H.E.A.R. (Children Hearing Education and
Research) was absorbed into DRF in 1991, and we are
very proud to continue their legacy of funding
research in sensory-neural deafness.
THE BURCH-SAFFORD FOUNDATION, INC.,
RECIPIENT
Adam Markaryan, Ph.D., The University of
Chicago
1st Year DRF Grant Recipient
Mitochondrial DNA deletions and cochlear element
degeneration in presbycusis
This research award is funded by The
Burch-Safford Foundation, Inc.
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Deafness Research Foundation's mission is to
attain a lifetime of healthy hearing and balance
through quality research, education, and advocacy.
DRF is the leading national source of private
funding for basic and clinical research in hearing
and balance science.
www.drf.org
Deafness Research Foundation
641 Lexington Avenue, Floor 15
New York, NY 10022-4503
Voice (212) 328-9480
Toll-Free (866) 454-3924
TTY (888) 435-6104
Fax (212) 328-9484
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