Graham Clark Wiins German Neuroscience Award

Graham Clark, has been awarded Germany's highest accolade in neuroscience, the 2007 Klaus Joachim Zulch prize, for his research into neuroscience and cochlear implants. He shared the prize with Dr John Donoghue who leads the brain science program at Brown University.

Michael Chorost at MIT Conference

Michael Chorost spoke about his experiences as a cochlear implant user at MIT's Media Lab conference, "H2.0: New Minds, New Bodies, New Identities," the lab's May 9 symposium that showed how addressing the challenges posed by disabilities can broaden the scope of human ability.

Keck Futures Initiative Grant to Study Cochlear Implant Children

The National Academy of Sciences announced that Phillip M. Gilley, a postdoctoral researcher in University of Colorado - Boulder's speech, language and hearing sciences department, and Arizona State University collaborator Michael F. Dorman, are one of 16 projects selected to receive the highly competitive Keck Futures Initiative grants, which support interdisciplinary research on "smart" prosthetics such as cochlear hearing implants. They aim to develop clinically useful and less invasive ways of studying the brain activity of children who wear cochlear implants.

Utah State University Enhances Hearing Impaired Program

This fall, USU will unveil Sound Beginnings of Cache Valley a $3 million initiative that will have an auditory-oral focus, concentrating on developing speaking skills rather than sign language.

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education department head Beth Foley said the program will provide an alternative for deaf children and their families, not replace the department's sign language training program.

. . .

"Parents can, and should, be able to choose how they want to communicate with their children," Houston continued. "The fact is that 95 percent of all newborns with permanent hearing loss are born to hearing parents, and with all of the advances in the field, most of these parents want to communicate via spoken language. Many parents are now choosing to get their children cochlear implants, and these children need intensive follow-up training and services to take full advantage of this technology."

University of York Scientist Join Deafness Research UK

Deafness Research UK has appointed Professor Quentin Summerfield to be its new chief research adviser.


According to Professor Summerfield:

"Hearing research is entering a very exciting period -- never before have there been so many promising lines of research which could lead to new therapies, treatments, or even cures that will transform the lives of millions of sufferers.

Cochlear Implants in Third World Countries

Dr. Muazz Tarabichi, an American Board Certified Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist at the American Hospital Dubai spoke at a Deafness Week Seminar organised jointly by the College of Information Technology, University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) and the American Hospital in Dubai.

While describing Cochlear Implantation (CI) as 'one of the most successful, life transforming, and expensive intervention in medicine today,' Dr Tarabichi said the different CI manufacturers are unable to cater to the needs of Third World countries.

'A CI device consisting of an internal and external apparatus costs approximately US$30,000 to $40,000. A software engineer in India, for example, who could in all likelihood be involved in programming such a device, would have to dedicate his entire income for six years just for the cost of the device, while a teacher would have to dedicate his earnings for 24 years.'

Neuralplasticity Blog

Michael Merzenich, the author of article Cochlear Implant News highlighted in February

(Advances in Neural Prostheses)

has a blog worth visiting.