Dr. Daniel Polley Promoted to Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery

March 3, 2021
Dr. Polley

The Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School recently celebrated the promotion of Daniel B. Polley, PhD to Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Polley is the inaugural Amelia Peabody Chair in Otolaryngology and Director of the Lauer Tinnitus Research Center at Mass Eye and Ear.

Dr. Polley graduated with honors from the University of Richmond before earning his MS and PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of California, Irvine. Prior to joining the HMS faculty in 2010 as an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Polley completed fellowship training at the University of California, San Francisco and was an Assistant Professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Dr. Polley’s research focuses on the neurobiology of sound perception and the development of new biomarkers and treatment avenues for tinnitus, hyperacusis, and other types of “hidden” hearing disorders. Dr. Polley has pursued questions about these topics using cutting-edge neurotechnology in mouse genetic models and has pioneered new approaches for hearing assessments and hearing rehabilitation in human subjects.

“Please join me in congratulating Dan on this well-deserved accomplishment. He is an outstanding researcher and is the world’s leading scientist in unlocking the mechanisms of auditory system plasticity. His work will pioneer the treatment of people around the world with complex auditory conditions, such as hidden hearing loss,” said Interim Chief of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Mark A. Varvares, MD, FACS.