#  Dr. Andreas Eckhard Presented Sandy and Herb Pollack Young Investigator Award 

 





December 13, 2023

 

 

 Congratulations to [Andreas Eckhard, MD,](https://researchers.masseyeandear.org/details/486/andreas-eckhard?Index=5) Co-Director of the Otopathology Laboratory at Mass Eye and Ear, who was recently presented the Sandy and Herb Pollack Young Investigator Award at the 2023 Mass Eye and Ear Annual Meeting of Trustees and Medical Staff.

   ![Dr. Varvares presenting Dr. Eckhard the Pollack Award](/sites/g/files/omnuum8391/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/oto/files/new_pollack_award_2_.jpeg?itok=RnqjsvVo) 

 

This award was endowed by the late Herb Pollack, a former Mass Eye and Ear Board Member and Trustee, and his wife Sandy, with the intention to provide financial support for promising young clinician-scientists. Dr. Eckhard is the third recipient of the Pollack Award.  After graduating from the University of Tuebingen Medical School and the Hearing Research Center, Dr. Eckhard completed a research fellowship at the Mass Eye and Ear Otopathology Laboratory before returning to Switzerland for his clinical training.

 He returned to Mass Eye and Ear from University Hospital, Zurich, to become an Investigator in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories and join [Alicia Quesnel, MD,](https://doctors.masseyeandear.org/details/72) the [inaugural recipient of the Pollack Award](/news/dr-alicia-quesnel-presented-sandy-and-herb-pollack-young-investigator-award), in shaping the future research direction of the Otopathology Laboratory.

 His primary research focus revolves around elucidating the genetic and molecular factors causing Meniere's disease, a chronic inner ear disorder characterized by recurrent vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss and tinnitus. His teams prior research has identified the specific inner ear cells that are likely the first to be affected in Meniere's disease, even years to decades before the initial symptoms manifest.

 Currently, their ongoing work involves replicating this cellular disease process in an animal model and examining subsequent changes in gene expression within the inner ear using transcriptomic techniques. The objective of this project is to pinpoint the most critical molecular pathways implicated in the development of Meniere's disease, which, in turn, will hopefully uncover potential "druggable targets" for the development of effective therapies.  
   
The Pollack Award was accompanied by a generous research grant, which will be utilized to launch this project. “Dr. Eckhard is an emerging leader in the field of otolaryngology and is a gifted clinician, researcher and educator,” said [Mark Varvares, MD, FACS,](https://doctors.masseyeandear.org/details/49) Chief of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear. “I have no doubt that he and his team will make great strides in their critical research, thanks to the generosity of the Pollacks.”



 

 

 



 

 

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