Research Meet the

Meet the 2023 Grantees

With the new grant year starting each October, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is thrilled to announce the 15 researchers who earned funding through our Emerging Research Grants (ERG) program. These include first-year projects that are renewable for a second year, as well as second-year funding for researchers who demonstrated compelling progress. We are thankful to our scientific reviewers and Council of Scientific Trustees, who had the very difficult task of deciding whom to fund among an exceptional pool of new proposals and applicants.

Our ERG program remains the preeminent seed funding opportunity for hearing and balance researchers, particularly in early stages of their careers. By earning this competitive grant, they are better poised to earn future major federal funding, thanks to the preliminary data, findings, and experience gained from their HHF grants.

We are deeply grateful for the continued dedication of our generous donors. The advances these scientists will make is only possible because of your support. Thank you and congratulations to the 2023 grantees:

FIRST YEAR Francisco BarrosBecker, Ph.D.

University of Washington Project: Aminoglycoside compartmentalization and its role in hair cell death

George Burwood, Ph.D.

Oregon Health & Science University Project: Apical cochlear mechanics after cochlear implantation

Carolyn McClaskey, Ph.D.

Medical University of South Carolina Project: Age and hearingloss effects on subcortical envelope encoding Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance

Sharlen Moore, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins University Project: Modulation of neuro-glial cortical networks during tinnitus Generously funded by the Les Paul Foundation

Melissa Polonenko, Ph.D.

University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Project: Identifying hearing loss through neural responses to engaging stories Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance

SECOND YEAR Timothy Balmer, Ph.D.

Arizona State University Project: The role of unipolar brush cells in vestibular circuit processing and in balance

James Dewey, Ph.D.

University of Southern California Project: Filtering of otoacoustic emissions: a window onto cochlear frequency tuning

James Dias, Ph.D.

Medical University of South Carolina Project: Neural determinants of age-related change in auditory-visual speech processing Generously funded by the Meringoff Family Foundation

Mishaela DiNino, Ph.D.

University at Buffalo Project: Neural mechanisms of speech sound encoding in older adults Generously funded by the Meringoff Family Foundation

Subong Kim, Ph.D.

Montclair State University Project: Influence of individual pathophysiology and cognitive profiles on noise tolerance and noise reduction outcomes

Manoj Kumar, Ph.D.

University of Pittsburgh Project: Signaling mechanisms of auditory cortex plasticity after noiseinduced hearing loss Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance

Matthew Masapollo, Ph.D.

University of Florida Project: Contributions of auditory and somatosensory feedback to speech motor control in congenitally deaf 9- to 10-year-olds and adults

Z. Ellen Peng, Ph.D.

Boys Town National Research Hospital Project: Investigating cortical processing during comprehension of reverberant speech in adolescents and young adults with cochlear implants Generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance

Megan Beers Wood, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Project: Type II auditory nerve fibers as instigators of the cochlear immune response after acoustic trauma Generously funded by Hyperacusis Research

Calvin Wu, Ph.D.

University of Michigan Project: Development and transmission of the tinnitus neural code Generously funded by the Les Paul Foundation

The next cycle for grant applications opens in mid-October. For more, see hhf.org/erg.