Nicole T. Jiam, MD, a second year neurotology and skull base surgery fellow, and Divya Chari, MD, investigator in the Jenks Vestibular Diagnostic and Physiology Laboratories, were awarded the Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) Emerging Research Grant (ERG). This is a highly prestigious grant earned by promising investigators working on groundbreaking hearing research.
HHF is the largest nonprofit funder of hearing and balance research in the U.S. and has been awarding scientific research grants for over 65 years. ERG recipients are recognized as being exceptionally well-positioned to receive future grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal research funders, leading to tremendous innovations in the field.
Both Dr. Jiam and Chari were awarded the maximum grant amount of $50,000. Dr. Jiam is using this grant to study age-specific differences in electrical hearing neuroplasticity and hearing health and to develop personalized cochlear implant programs to improve music perception. Dr. Chari is using this grant to explore a possible link between a subtype of Meniere's disease and X-linked hypophosphatemia, a rare form of hereditary rickets.
Congratulations, Drs. Jiam and Chari!