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National Institutes of Health Grant for the gEAR Platform
Created by the gEAR, this figure’s resemblance to North America has made it easier to explain a Hearing Restoration Project goal to get from “Florida” (4) to “Cuba” (2).
Ronna Hertzano, M.D., Ph.D., and team are happy to report that their gEAR (gene Expression Analysis Resource) platform has been awarded a major R01 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health. The gEAR is the data sharing and data visualization tool the team developed, maintains, and continues to expand that has had, since it was created in 2016, majority funding from Hearing Health Foundation through the Hearing Restoration Project. The NIDCD grant recognizes the gEAR’s value to the entire hearing and balance research community and will allow Hertzano’s team to further expand the tool’s capabilities.
Joining Forces With the HLAA to Empower People With Hearing Loss Hearing Health Foundation is pleased to have partnered with the Hearing Loss Association of America on several initiatives this spring and summer. HLAA, whose mission is to open the world of communication through information, education, support, and advocacy to people with hearing loss, has been a longtime partner of HHF. In May 2021, HHF joined the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the American Speech-LanguageHearing Association, and the Hearing Industries Association, among others, as partners for HLAA’s PatientFocused Drug Development Meeting (PFDD). The virtual meeting centered on individuals with hearing loss, their 8
hearing health
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daily lives, and their experiences with technology. The Food and Drug Administration employs PFDD meetings to solicit information directly from patients, caregivers, and families to support drug development and the review of marketing applications for new drugs. Beginning in mid-June 2021, HLAA’s annual Walk4Hearing program kicked off virtually. The program joins together people across the country who understand what it’s like to live with hearing loss, and doing it online means it can be done from the comfort and safety of your home. Because HHF is a proud National Alliance Partner for Walk4Hearing, a portion of the funds raised by your team can be directed
to HHF. Simply select HHF as your Alliance when you register your team to send 40 percent of the dollars raised to support HHF’s hearing and balance research. HHF was also thrilled to attend the HLAA Virtual Convention 2021 in late June 2021. The three-day event included a research symposium and workshops on advances in hearing aids, accessibility through mobile devices, hearing access in the workplace, and more. HHF staff enjoyed engaging with visitors to our virtual booth to converse about our life-changing research and awareness programs.
Support our research: hhf.org/donate.
