Since its inception, the NOHR Foundation has provided more than $9 million for more than 480 separate research grants. In 2009, we are funding 16 different projects. Ultimately, discoveries about auditory function will lead to strategies to treat, prevent or cure hearing loss, deafness and related disorders.

TWO-YEAR INNER EAR HAIR CELL REGENERATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE GRANT
The NOHR Foundation is providing one investigation $100,000 in 2009 for the second year of a two-year $200,000 inner ear hair cell regeneration program. This grant is supporting the following:

Bioinformatics investigation to define and characterize the molecular and cellular interactions occurring during hair cell regeneration in zebrafish with the long-term goal of activating these pathways in mammals (Tatjana Piotrowski, Ph.D. & Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado, Ph.D., University of Utah School of Medicine)

MULTI-YEAR INNER EAR HAIR CELL REGENERATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE GRANTS
The NOHR Foundation provided a total of $2.5 million to two investigations for five years (2001-2005) for hair cell regeneration programs; and provided one program a total of $300,000 for a three-year (2001-2003) inner ear hair cell regeneration project.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

FIVE YEAR PROGRAM
Neil Segil, Ph.D. and Andrew Groves, Ph.D. House Ear Institute, Los Angeles

Studying embryonic and postnatal mice, they have discovered

auditory supporting cells from newborns can spontaneously change into hair cells under culture conditions

a gene called p27Kip1 blocks this process in the inner ear

in mutant mice lacking p27Kip1, cells were able
to divide and make hair cells

Michael Lovett, Ph.D. and Mark Warchol, Ph.D. ,
Washington University, St. Louis

In microarray studies of cochlear and vestibular avian ear genes,

specific genes that are switched on and off during
the process of inner ear hair cell regeneration after damage have been discovered

new genomic techniques to shut down/off genes
and investigate subsequent changes in other genes and in the regeneration process were developed

genetic components of regeneration in balance
structures have been revealed

THREE YEAR PROGRAM

Douglas A. Cotanche, Ph.D. Children’s Hospital, Boston

Developed embryonic mammalian cochlear cultures to serve as neural stem cell transplant recipients

Discovered neural stem cells transplanted into cochlear cultures do differentiate into cochlear cells

ONE-YEAR SEED MONEY GRANTS
The Seed Money Program is the NOHR Foundation’s primary focus, making funds available for scientists to pursue new ideas and directions in their research.

Seed Money grants of $20,000 each are awarded on an annual basis, after a competitive application and peer review process. By sponsoring projects on a wide range of topics in auditory anatomy, biochemistry, genetics, hereditary hearing loss, molecular biology, pathology, physiology, and psycho-acoustics, the NOHR Foundation continues to be in the forefront of auditory science.

We continue to encourage research into the regeneration of inner ear hair cells (which change sound energy into electrical signals interpreted by the brain), for discoveries in this area could help 80% of hearing-impaired people.

Seed Money Grants awarded by the NOHR Foundation for 2009 are supporting the following:

Investigation in animal model of how age-associated declines in regions of the brain that process speech, the auditory thalamus and cortex, are related to some older individuals’ hearing difficulties (Edward L. Bartlett, Ph.D., Purdue University)

Development of mouse model to test experimental genetic therapy to maintain inner ear neurons and auditory nerve fibers after deafness from hair cell loss, relative to improving hearing via cochlear implants (Kirk W. Beisel, Ph.D., Creighton University)

Genetic study utilizing mouse cochleae and microarrays to identify factors in mammals that prevent transformation of inner ear supporting cells to new hair cells after damage, as occurs in birds and fish (Olivia Bermingham-McDonogh, Ph.D., University of Washington)

Developmental study in zebrafish of the gene six1a, crucial for both inner ear hair cells and their innervating neurons, relative to the congenital disorder responsible for 2% of profound deafness in children (Olivier Bricaud, Ph.D., House Ear Institute)

Genetic study in mouse model of the potential role of two enzymes in protecting the cochlea from damage from “free radicals” during noise exposure (Tzy-Wen L. Gong, Ph.D., University of Michigan)

Study in primate model of frequency perception at neuron level in midbrain, relevant to a potential new cochlear implant site for individuals lacking an auditory nerve connecting the cochlea to the auditory cortex (Jennifer M. Groh, Ph.D., Duke University)

Investigation of how noise-induced hearing loss affects the auditory nerve’s encoding of frequencies characteristic of speech, related to cochlear implant stimulation strategies (Michael G. Heinz, Ph.D., Purdue University)

In vitro investigation of how sound conveyed via a cochlear implant through the auditory nerve is initially received by individual neurons in the auditory brainstem, related to speech perception in background noise by CI users (Katrina MacLeod, Ph.D., University of Maryland)

Genetic studies in chick of the role of the hormone estrogen in regulating the development and regeneration of inner ear hair cells, relative to understanding gender differences in hearing loss (Jennifer S. McCullar, Ph.D., University of Washington)

Creation of animal model to study hearing loss caused by congenital cytomegalovirus, affecting 40,000 infants annually, relative to potential development of an antiviral therapy or vaccine (Albert Park, M.D., University of Utah)

Investigation of how frequency components of speech are discriminated, relative to difficulties hearing-impaired individuals experience in multi-talker situations (Stanley E. Sheft, Ph.D., Rush University)

Examination of cellular targets of cisplatin, a cancer-treatment drug that may cause hearing loss; and assessment of regenerative capability of chick cochlea after cisplatin damage (Eric Slattery, M.D., Washington University)

Study to identify the stem cell renewal gene BMI1 in vestibular schwannomas, one of the most common tumors affecting hearing; and determination of its potential role in the tumor’s development, proliferation and invasiveness (Jessica Wang-Rodriguez, M.D., University of California, San Diego)

Investigation in zebra finches of the effects of the hormone estrogen on discrimination of simple and complex bird songs, and on neural coding of auditory features of bird songs in different brain regions (Sarah M.N. Woolley, Ph.D., Columbia University)

Genetic exploration in mutant mice of the role of the protein prestin, necessary for sound amplification, in other outer hair cell functions and in outer hair cells’ viability (Jing Zheng, Ph.D., Northwestern University)